(by Steve Hopkins, photo ITTF) So far, no stunning upsets in Beijing at the China Smash.  Top seed Wang Chuqin won his opening match 3-0, and Tomokazu Harimoto and Felix Lebrun each advanced easily as well.  Most of the bottom half of the draw will not see action until Monday.  There were some small surprises […]

(by Steve Hopkins) USA’s Kanak Jha has had an amazing start to the 2024/25 German League.  TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt, Jha’s team, are currently in third position, ahead of many of the perennial favorites including Dusseldorf, Saarbrucken, and Ochsenhausen. Today, Schwalbe faced off against current No. 2 Fulda.  Fulda features World No. 16 Dimitrij Ovtcharov and […]

(by Steve Hopkins) Origin Table Tennis Academy is in Little Neck, NY (a neighborhood in  the borough of Queens in New York City). The coaching staff is led by Coach Yutian Wang.  Origin TTA is dedicated to the growth and development of every student. As a physical activity, table tennis has extraordinary benefits to the training […]

(by Steve Hopkins) China’s Lin Shidong is the biggest mover this week as he jumped up five spots into the Top 10.  Shidong leaped over Lin Gaoyuan (and Tomokazu Harimoto and Lin Yun-Ju and Patrick Franziska and Truls Moregard).  Shidong’s jump is based upon the strength of his win in Macao a week ago, and […]

(by Steve Hopkins) USA’s Kanak Jha has had an amazing start to the 2024/25 German League.  TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt, Jha’s team, are currently in third position, ahead of many of the perennial favorites including Dusseldorf, Saarbrucken, and Ochsenhausen. FC Bayern Munich is currently in first, a squad that features Kirill Gerasimenko and Mattias Falck.  The other […]

(by Steve Hopkins, photo WTT) Anders Lind dominated the draw at this week’s WTT Feeder Series event in Panagyurishte, Bulgaria.  Top seeded Steffen Mengel was upset in his first match, leaving Lind as the highest remaining seed.  Lind never looked back.  Wins of 3-1, 3-0, 3-0, 3-1, and 3-0 dotted Lind’s path to victory, with his […]

(by Steve Hopkins, photo WTT) Lin Shidong entered the WTT Champions Macao as the 9th seed, but that did not deter him.  Shidong, World No. 13, topped Tomokazu Harimotor (World No. 8), Lin Yun-Ju (World No. 9), Wang Chuqin (World No. 1), and Dang Qiu (World No. 12) on his way to the title.  Of […]

(by Steve Hopkins) The tour next turns its attention towards Macao where the WTT Champions Series event will be played this week.  The draws have been posted, and action will begin on Monday – there are no easy matches. Top seeded (and World No. 1) Wang Chuqin’s path to the Semifinals could include Patrick Franziska […]

(by Steve Hopkins, photo ITTFWorld) The WTT Contender series event this week was in Almaty, Kazakhstan and the top seeded Shidong (World No. 14) did not disappoint.  Shidong swept the titles, winning Men’s Singles, Men’s Doubles, and Mixed Doubles – three events and three wins. In Men’s Singles, Shidong dropped a game to Aidos Kenzhigulov […]

(by Steve Hopkins) Ian Seidenfeld fell today to Matteo Parenzan of Italy in their Semifinals match in Class 6.  Seidenfeld had a great run up until this point, but he fell behind early and never regained the momentum.  Parenzan won 11-7, 11-2, and 11-8, leaving Seidenfeld (and TeamUSA) with the Bronze medal. Our other two […]