(by Steve Hopkins) The Rhode Island Club is open 5 days for open play and leagues, and the other two days are set aside for juniors programs and lessons.  Rhode Island is the smallest State by size in the USA, but the depth and breadth of its table tennis impact reaches well beyond the State’s […]

(by Steve Hopkins) Lin Shidong entered as the top seed and didn’t disappoint as he won both Men’s Singles and Mixed Doubles, a pair of first place finishes.  Shidong was down 0-2 to Sathiyan Gnanadekaran in the opening round, but three strong games set him on the right track again.  Shidong went on to win […]

(by Steve Hopkins) No movement in the Top Four as Wang Chuqin, Lin Shidong, Fan Zhendong, and Liang Jingkun hold their positions in that order.  Felix Lebrun is the biggest mover in the Top 10, jumping two spots over Ma Long (now 6) and Hugo Calderano (now 7).  Harimoto, Gaoyuan, and Franziska round out the […]

(by Steve Hopkins) World No. 1 Lin Shidong has pressed through to the Semifinals of the WTT Champions Series Event in Montpellier with relative ease.  Shidong has been on a roll – with wins that clearly make him the best player since the Olympics this Summer.  However, France’s young star stopped him in his tracks […]

(by Steve Hopkins) Ottawa has a 200,000 square foot sports facility (indoor and outdoor) in the heart of the city. The RA is a multi-sport facility offering Archery, Badminton, Chess, Curling, Cards, Firearm Ranges and Courses, Martial Arts, Pickleball, Racquetball, Squash, and other sports.  They have recently added table tennis space offering five or six […]

(by Steve Hopkins) Table tennis fans have been following Tomokazu Harimoto on the Men’s tour for many years.  More recently, his 16 year old sister, Miwa Harimoto, has shined as well.  The results of these two at the recent ITTF Asian Table Tennis Championships was historic. For Tomokazu’s part, he won the Men’s Singles title.  […]

(by Steve Hopkins, photo ITTFWorld) Seedings matter.  This lesson was all-to-clear for Kanak Jha who continues to rise in the rankings, but has not yet reached the levels he had two years ago.  Jha entered the event as World No. 72, and  after logging two solid wins (over Ramon Vila and Rogelio Castro), he fell […]

(by Steve Hopkins) Princeton Pong’s 10,000 square foot table tennis facility is in Princeton Junction, New Jersey.  They are located between Philadelphia and New York City – centered in one of the largest population centers in the United States.  The elite facility features 14 professional tables,  custom sport flooring, high ceilings, great lighting, a player’s […]

(by Steve Hopkins) Tomokazu Harimoto beat Xu Yingbin, Lin Yun-Ju, Oh Junsung, and Lin Shidong as he won Men’s Singles at the 2024 ITTF-Asian Table Tennis Championships. Lin Shidong was the last of the Chinese players after a series of upsets – but it was Harimoto who headlined on the final day. Harimoto started strong, […]

(by Steve Hopkins) When’s the last time at a major event that the table tennis community looked at the results and said, What’s Up With China?  It could be the venue or the fans or the altitude or the humidity, but at the ITTF-Asian Table Tennis Championships, China is not performing at the elite level […]