(by Steve Hopkins) No one is surprised that defending champion Borrussia Dusseldorf is in first place atop the German League, though a 6-0 start is better than their start a year ago.  Still, their strong roster will have them favored in every match this year – so thus far, the top ranked squad is in […]

(by Steve Hopkins) With their location in Santa Clara, Spartans Table Tennis Club is just North of San Jose at the South tip of the San Francisco Bay with easy access to the major metropolitan centers of Northern California.  The facility is over 16500 square feet; ample space for 30 tables. Spartans Table Tennis Club […]

(by Steve Hopkins) A week ago in the German League (TTBL), there were three undefeated teams.  Borussia Dusseldorf topped Neu Ulm, leaving just Dusseldof and Ochsenhausen undefeated.  Today, Ochsenhausen faced off against No. 3 Neu Ulm, with the winner holding the second position. In the opening match, Tiago Apolonia beat Simon Gauzy 3-2, giving Neu […]

(by Steve Hopkins) The PongNow Interview Series – talking table tennis to some of the best players and personalities in the sport. The guest this week is Jenson Van Emburgh – fresh off his Bronze Medal performance at the Tokyo Paralympic Games.  Big smiles from Paralympian Bronze Medalist Jenson Van Emburgh this week as […]

(Steve Hopkins) Egypt and Nigeria have each had periods of dominance in Africa.  Nigeria has had strong individual players, with recognizable names like Quadri Aruna and Segun Toriola leading the way.  Egypt has had depth, and has dominated the team competitions – winning 10 of the last 12 African Men’s titles and 9 of the […]

(by Steve Hopkins) Borussia Dusseldorf hosted TTC Neu-Ulm today in a battle of undefeated teams.  TTBL No. 1 Dusseldorf dominated No. 2 Neu-Ulm throughout.  Anton Kallberg started things off for the Butterfly-sponsored team beating young Russian Vladimir Sidorenko 3-0.  Next up was Kristian Karlsson who fell behind 0-1 to 2020 Russian champion Lev Katsman.  The […]

(by Steve Hopkins) Ochsenhausen took on a tough Werder Bremen squad today, and did so without Simon Gauzy.  Kanak Jha anchored the Ochsenhausen team with Kulczycki and Kubik playing the 2 and 3 positions and they lined up against  Mattias Falck (World Top 10), Gerassimenko (World Top 50), and Szocs (World 122). In the opening […]

(by Steve Hopkins) From their location  on the Southeastern side of San Francisco Bay, the Fremont Table Tennis Academy (FTTA) is easily accessible to San Jose as well as the other major cities that surround the Bay.  They are located on Warm Springs Blvd., sandwiched between the 680 and 880.  The facility is a USATT […]

(Steve Hopkins) After the third round of matches in the Tischtennis Bundesliga (TTBL), three teams have remained undefeated: Borussia Dusseldorf (with Boll, Karlsson, and Kallberg), Neu Ulm (with Apolonia, Russian champion Sidorenko, and German youngster Kay Stumper), and Ochsenhausen (with Simon Gauzy, USA’s Kanak Jha, and Polish champion Samuel Kulczycki). In last week’s matches, all […]

(by Steve Hopkins) Sunday Benedikt Duda won his first German championship with a 4-2 win over Bastian Stegar.  Duda was the only player from the Germany Silver Medal-winning German squad to compete (Boll and Ovtcharov did not enter).  However, Duda and Stegar and semifinalists Fan Bo Meng and Ruwen Filas made for a very talented pool […]