(by Steve Hopkins) All of the World’s Top 10 ranked men (and 8 of the Women’s Top 10) headline a massive $800,000 prize money event this week in Macao.  Thirty two men and 32 women qualified to compete in the singles competitions.  The first round is underway, and Kanak Jha is one of the early […]

(by Steve Hopkins) Fans of Kanak Jha have seen him wear a number of shirts.  TeamUSA’s top ranked player often takes the court with a U.S. flag or “USA” emblazoned across the front.  And as Butterfly’s top ranked male player in this hemisphere, most of his jerseys (including the TeamUSA uniforms) have the classic Butterfly […]

(by Steve Hopkins) As the dust has settled at the 2022 ITTF World Team Championships Finals in Chengdu, the host Chinese squads have claimed both titles.  The Chinese women clinched on Saturday with a 3-0 win over Japan, and the Chinese men clinched on Sunday with a 3-0 win over Germany. The dominance of the […]

(by Steve Hopkins) Only the Finals remain at the 2022 ITTF World Team Championships Finals in Chengdu.  China and Germany are the final two teams – a result that most would have expected a few months ago.  That said, when Germany decided to send a team that didn’t include many of their biggest stars, and […]

(by Steve Hopkins, photo ITTFWorld) We are down to the Final 8 at the 2022 ITTF World Team Championships Finals in Chengdu.  Top seeded China, dominated their Round of 16 match against India 3-0 to advance.  China will face a Swedish squad the topped Belgium 3-0.  The other two teams in the top half of […]

(by Steve Hopkins, photo USATT) When the 2022 ITTF World Team Championships Finals began this week in Chengdu, many would have expected TeamUSA to have results below their seeding.  The men were without Kanak Jha and Nikhil Kumar, and the women had Lily Zhang as their anchor, but the other names were new to this […]

(by Steve Hopkins) The Silicon Valley Table Tennis Club was founded in 2011.  The club features professional flooring, butterfly tables, good lighting and high ceilings.  It is a great environment for elite training.  There is also a Butterfly Pro shop for equipment needs. SVTTC is located in Milpitas, just North of San Jose on the […]

(by Steve Hopkins, photo USATT) The 2022 ITTF World Team Championships Finals is underway in Chengdu, and both American squads have some new faces.  The Men’s team includes Mishel Levinski, Jishan Liang, and Earl James Alto.  Mishel is from Brooklyn, New York.  He has a World Ranking of 350 and a USATT rating of 2578.  […]