World Table Tennis (WTT) announced the long-term strategic partnership with IMG a global leader in sports fashion events and media.   The extensive alliance which commences in January 2021 includes global media rights development and distribution production oversight of WTT events betting data and streaming rights for IMG Arena non-exclusive sponsorship representation as well as the general mandate to grow the sport of table tennis globally.   The events covered by the deal will include the World Table Tennis Championships and all tiers of the revamped WTT event structure: Grand Smashes WTT Cup Finals WTT Champions Series and WTT Contenders Series.   In January 2021 WTT will launch its new WTT Series a totally revamped competition which will radically change the sport and its perception. Supporting the WTT Series an innovative commercial strategy will be implemented controlling content production and enabling digital engagement with fans around the world as well as factoring in best practices and latest consumer trends.   Liu GUOLIANG WTT Council Chair stated: “We are very excited to have IMG on board this historic journey to help us professionalize and commercialize table tennis throughout the world and I look forward to our joint efforts to develop the global game to greater new heights.”   Steve DAINTON ITTF CEO and WTT Director declared: “The World Table Tennis era will revolutionize the sport forever and we are delighted to be welcoming on board an industry powerhouse in IMG whose wealth of expertise will help us to make this historic transformation for table tennis. This is fantastic news for the sport the players the fans the host cities the commercial partners and everyone who will be joining us on this exciting journey.”   Adam KELLY Co-President of Media & Events at IMG also underlined the bright future that lies in wait for table tennis: “This is an exciting partnership at a key stage in the commercial redefinition of table tennis through WTT around the world. We share the vision that the ITTF and WTT have for the sport over the coming years and believe our energy creativity and expertise on a global scale will add true value across all aspects of the WTT business.”   He added: “In addition we are already looking at opportunities to involve other parts of the wider Endeavor network to further enhance the commercial value and consumer offering for table tennis. We look forward to continuing to build upon this strategic relationship by adding more services that help to reinvent the sport.”   The innovative partnership is structured in a way that allows both partners to work openly and collaboratively to develop all the commercial rights of WTT and to ensure the global growth of table tennis.    

Han Ying is the winner of the Duesseldorf Masters. In the final the number 25 in the World defeated 17-year-old talented Sophia Klee who had caused two tournament upsets on her way to the final. The Women’s Masters was firmly in the hands of the host: in the semi-finals the Germans were in controle. The Duesseldorf Masters will continue next week from Friday to Sunday (July 10-12). Then the men will play their fifth tournament.   Han Ying the top favourite of the tournament prevailed at the ARAG CenterCourt. The draw had given the defensive ace Shan Xiaona from Berlin as the semi-final opponent an outstanding specialist against defensive systems. Tactician Han Ying therefore presented herself in the semi-final against her national team colleague in a decidedly aggressive manner and sought the opportunity at every available opportunity to prevent her opponent from finding her rhythm with offensive attacks. With success: In the end an 11:8 11:5 and 12:10 victory was on the credit side of the 37-year-old.   Han Ying was happy with her victory in the women’s masters especially woth her performance in the preliminary round: “I played pretty relaxed and hadn’t won against Shan for a long time before. I didn’t have any pressure and attacked very well so maybe that made them a bit insecure. But she also didn’t play as well as I expected. Overall my tournament performance was very ok even if I played a bit too relaxed in the final. But congratulations to Sophia she fought very well.   The final match against Sophia Klee 20 years younger was the expected clear-cut affair for Germany’s experienced players with 11:2 8:11 11:3 and 11:7 but the talent from Niestetal in Hessen can be more than satisfied with her performances at the Duesseldorf Masters despite the final defeat. Unseeded the world number 481 winner of the 2017 Europe Youth Top 10 for Cadets defeated in the quarter-finals surprisingly Nina Mittelham (Berlin). Klee confirmed today by winning also against Yuan Wan that the yesterdays victory over the German champion was no coincidence. In the fight for a place in the final the multiple German youth champion who had already shown nerves of steel yesterday when she beat Mittelham 3:2 won 14:12 13:11 and 11:8 against the six years older World Rankings no 163 from Bingen.   Sophia Klee was satisfied: “I am happy about my second place! Ying is of course better by classes and also I don’t like to play against defense. But I hope that there were some good rallies in the final for the spectators at the livestream. The semi-final against Yuan could have been the other way around. Because the first two games were very close and the third one she led 8:3. I am very happy that I reached the final at the Masters. I never expected this.”   Yuan Wan was not very happy about the defeat although the U21 European Championship runner-up from 2017 had fully convinced Barbora Balazova (Slovakia) in the quarter-finals with her success over the 109 places better in the world: “I was happy about my victory against Barbora I had put a lot of energy into the game. But I am sad about the defeat against Sophia and also a bit disappointed. But Sophia played really well against me today. She had a very good tactic and I couldn’t develop my game that way. In the end I ran out of breath.” In the second quarterfinal of the day Shan Xiaona had no problems with world number 77. Sarah de Nutte (Luxembourg) and was satisfied: “I felt very good against Sarah. I was better than yesterday and not so nervous. In the semi-final against Ying I didn’t play so strong but Ying was also very good today.”     Duesseldorf Masters Womens’ Tournament (July 4-5) Final July 5 Han Ying GER – Sophia Klee GER 3:1 (2 -8 3 7) Semifinals July 5 Han Ying GER – Shan Xiaona GER 3:0 (8 5 10) Sophia Klee GER – Yuan Wan GER 3:0 (12 11 8) Quarter-finals 4-5 July Han Ying GER – Chantal Mantz GER 3:0 (7 4 7) Shan Xiaona GER – Sarah de Nutte LUX 3:0 (6 10 3) Barbora Balazova SVK – Yuan Wan GER 2:3 (-10.4 -9.8 -12) Nina Mittelham GER – Sophia Klee GER 2:3 (-8 8 -12 9 -5) Round of 16 July 4th Han Ying GER (gametlement position 1) bye Chantal Mantz GER (7) – Anastasia Bondareva GER 3:0 (6 6 1) Sarah de Nutte LUX (5) – Leonie Berger GER 3:1 (13 -10 10 9) Shan Xiaona GER (3) – Jele Stortz GER 3:0 (5 5 3) Barbora Balazova SVK (4) – Annett Kaufmann GER 3:0 (8 6 5) Yuan Wan GER (6) – Naomi Pranjkovic GER 3:0 (4 2 10) Yuki Tsutsui GER (8) – Sophia Klee GER 2:3 (8 -10 6 -8 -7) Nina Mittelham GER (2) bye    

Sporting CP won this Sunday the fifth championship and 37th national title of its history when they beat GD Toledos 3-0 in the 2nd leg of the final held at the High Performance Center of Vila Nova de Gaia having already recorded a 3-0 victory in the first leg.   The team dominated the National Championship having finished the regular phase with 18 wins in 18 games and by losing only five sets. The “lions” reached 70 points 22 more than GD Toledos second place.   Diogo Carvalho Sporting CP player said: “We managed to win another title for Sporting which was our goal. The match with Énio was very tactical because we know each other well we played together for six years in Spain so we know each other’s game.”   Aruna Quadri Sporting CP player stated: “It was a very difficult game Diogo Silva is a player with a lot of talent. We played together for four years and it is always difficult to play against him. After ten years in Portugal it was time to leave for a championship with another level. I was very happy here Portugal for me is almost the same as Nigeria and I will continue to live in Portugal because I have a family here. I will train a few times at Sporting for the year.”   Bode Abiodun Sporting CP player said: “It was a very difficult game but I am very satisfied with the victory and with another title which was the main objective of the season.”   Chen CP Shao Sporting CP coach explained: “This Championship final was complicated with a long stop and now without public at the stands. The players managed to show some quality despite having been out for four months. ”   Pedro Miguel Moura president of the Federation underlined: “This was a very special moment for the Portuguese Table Tennis Federation I hope it is very special for the whole community. Although this is the end of the season we start with the starting point of what will be the next months of table tennis in Portugal with this new reality. It was a learning process to continue doing what we like which is to practice table tennis. Train and compete within the rules of protection with health. We will have been the first sport to compete in this phase of deflation so it is a very special moment for us. I would also like to leave a word to the club presidents because they have offered to come here to dispute this final phase and to the Federation staff who have been tireless in these last two weeks. ”   GD Toledos 0 – Sporting CP 3 Venue: Centro de Alto Rendimento de Vila Nova de Gaia Umpires: Francisco Rocha / Serafim Mendes (Oporto) Énio Mendes 1 – Diogo Carvalho 3 (3-11 3-11 11-5 5-11) Diogo Silva 1 – Aruna Quadri 3 (11-5 6-11 7-11 3-11) Boboye Oyenyan 0 – Bode Abiodun 3 (8-11 5-11 8-11) GD Toledos coach: Diogo Silva Sporting CP coach: Chen Chi Shao

Sporting CP beat GD Toledos team this Saturday by 3-0 in the 1st leg of the final of the Men’s National Championship played at the High Performance Center of Vila Nova de Gaia and this Sunday can guarantee the 37th national title and fifth in a row.   The Sporting team who beat Toledos by 4-0 in both matches in the regular phase faced this Saturday difficulties to overcome the Azorean club. Sporting conceded four sets in the match one less than the total number of sets lost over the entire regular phase.   Aruna Quadri who will play in the German championship next season in the TC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell team after a decade in Portugal in which he won the last seven national titles – three by GD Toledos and four by Sporting – will play this Sunday his last match by the “lions”. The Nigerian Olympic player number 20 in the World was losing 2-1 against Énio Mendes a somewhat surprising fact.   In the second match between Diogo Carvalho and Diogo Silva the clash was also very leveled but the experience of the National Team player preveiled.   In the final match between Bode Abiodun and Boboye Oyenyan both from Nigeria the sportinguista player was stronger.   Sporting team ended the regular phase with 18 wins in 18 games and reached 70 points 22 more than GD Toledos second place.   Sporting is the club with the record number of national titles 36 in total and is currently four-time champion. Club is the holder of the National Championship Portuguese Cup and José Manuel Amaro Super Cup.   Toledos has four national championship titles.   The games are all broadcast live on the television channels “A Bola TV” and RTP Açores and on the Federation’s Facebook and Youtube pages. The finals will also be broadcast live on the Facebook pages of the European (ETTU) and international (ITTF) federations.   Aruna Quadri Sporting CP player said: “It was a very difficult game since we haven’t played in a long time and Énio Mendes has always been a great player. It is always difficult to play against him but in the end I was very lucky to win. ”   Diogo Carvalho Sporting CP player added: “It was a very complicated match we have known each other for a long time and he knows how to play against me. It is very difficult for me to play against him but I managed to achieve the victory which is the most important thing. It was a very tactical game I was not able to serve short which was my goal.”   Bode Abiodun Sporting CP athlete said: “We are closer to winning the title but tomorrow we have to maintain our concentration to achieve a new victory.”   Diogo Silva GD Toledos coach and player: “We knew it was a very difficult task but we were not going to throw the towel down anyway. We will fight and try to do the best we can. Today we were close to being able to do something that would put us in a better position for tomorrow. We know that with 3-0 defeat it will be very difficult but either way we will arrive here tomorrow with the same attitude fight and try to make a good result. Tomorrow we will try to win our games regardless of whether or not we can be champions. ”   Chen Chi Shao Sporting CP coach: “In view of the long break this game was normal. The players were stopped for a long time. But we are closer to winning the title. ”   Sporting CP 3 – GD Toledos 0 Venue: Centro de Alto Rendimento de Vila Nova de Gaia Umpires: Celeste Araújo / Rui Oliveira (Aveiro) Aruna Quadri 3 – Énio Mendes 2 (11-4 9-11 7-11 11-7 11-3) Diogo Carvalho 3 – Diogo Silva 1 (13-11 9-11 11-8 11-7) Bode Abiodun 3 – Boboye Oyenyan 1 (11-8 11-4 10-12 11-6) Sporting CP coach: Chen Chi Shao GD Toledos coach: Diogo Silva      

  Top favourite HAN Ying and surprisingly the 7-year-old national youth player Sophia KLEE after an unexpected victory over the German Champion Nina MITTELHAM are the first two semi-finalists at the Women’s Duesseldorf Masters. The final decisions in the ARAG CenterCourt will be made tomorrow Sunday at 10 a.m. All matches of the women’s tournament can be seen on Sportdeutschland.TV Borussia-TV and tischtennis.de in live streaming.   The last game of the opening day was the sporting highlight – and it brought a completely unexpected end to the second seeded Nina MITTELHAM. The number 39 in the world lost out to Sophia KLEE who is ranked 442 places behind her by 8:11 11:8 12:14 11:9 and 5:11. The Hessian winner of the 2017 Europe Youth Top 10 Cadets tournament kept a clear head even in critical situations. Despite a 10:7 lead and after four missed chances and the defence of a gamepoint from MITTELHAM she won the important third game to take a 2:1 lead with 14:12. Even the subsequent set equalisation did not break the rhythm of the multiple German Youth Champion. KLEE herself could hardly believe her success afterwards: “I am a little speechless right now because I never expected this. I tried to use my chances and it worked. I’m happy about the victory but I also know how to put it down: At this early stage of the season preparation Nina is far from being at the level she could actually play at.”   Nina MITTELHAM proved to be a fair loser: “I think Sophia played well and deserved to win. I haven’t been able to train fully lately. Therefore the result is okay.”   As expected defensive ace HAN Ying who together with MITTELHAM qualified directly for the quarter-finals with a walk-through in round one had no problems to overcome the former European U21 champion Chantal MANTZ in three straight games. HAN Ying is happy to play at the Masters because the last months were completely reduced only to training: “I felt good. Of course the young players have a lot of respect you could see that. But it’s good to play a match to slowly get back into the competition rhythm.” Two more semi-finalists will be determined on Sunday at 10am. In the fight for a place in the final HAN Ying will test the winner of the duel between Berlin’s SHAN Xiaona and Luxembourg’s Sarah de NUTTE.   SHAN Xiaona said today: “It was a completely new competition atmosphere everything was somehow unusual. I think that I can improve my performance in the tournament.”   Sophia Klee will have to deal with either the world number 54 Barbora BALAZOVA (Slovakia) or her national team colleague YUAN Wan who was generally satisfied with her first appearance today: “I was a bit nervous at the beginning of the first competition after such a long time but in the end it was a good game.”   In the morning the clear favourites in five of six matches in the round of sixteen prevailed. However Borussia Duesseldorf youth talent Leonie BERGER proved her capacities in the match against the 77th-ranked Sarah de NUTTE. The 2018 German Cadets’s Champion delivered an open exchange of blows over long distances at 13:15 12:10 10:12 and 9:11 to the experienced Luxembourgian who breathed a sigh of relief after the match: “I am very happy that I won. It was quite funny to play a match after such a long time. I wasn’t excited before the match but then everything was so quiet in the hall. It’s a strange atmosphere you have to get used to. At the beginning I concentrated all the time to pay attention to the special rules and not wipe my hand at the table. I made too many simple mistakes. After all it was a very exciting match.”   As expected the four DTTB talents Annett Kaufmann Jele STORTZ Naomi PRANJKOVIC and Anastasia BONDAREVA paid their dues in the duels with Slovakian Barbora BALAZOVA as well as against the DTTB women’s national team players Shan Xiaona Yuan Wan and Chantal MANTZ. Number 8 seeded Yuki TSUTSUI missed out on a place in the quarter-finals but the narrow 2-3 defeat to eventual semi-finalist Sophia Klee does not come as a surprise given the balance between the two 2019 European Youth Champions. Yuki TSUTSUI however mourned a missed opportunity: “I actually felt quite good and had a good start. I was leading 10:7 in the second set I should have closed that then things would have been different.”   Duesseldorf Masters Women’s Tournament (July 4-5)   Round of 16 July 4th Han Ying GER (settlement position 1) bye Chantal Mantz GER (7) – Anastasia Bondareva GER 3:0 (6 6 1) Sarah de Nutte LUX (5) – Leonie Berger GER 3:1 (13 -10 10 9) Shan Xiaona GER (3) – Jele Stortz GER 3:0 (5 5 3) Barbora Balazova SVK (4) – Annett Kaufmann GER 3:0 (8 6 5) Yuan Wan GER (6) – Naomi Panjkovic GER 3:0 (4 2 10) Yuki Tsutsui GER (8) – Sophia Klee GER 2:3 (8 -10 6 -8 -7) Nina Mittelham GER (2) bye   Quarterfinal 4 July Han Ying GER – Chantal Mantz GER 3:0 (7 4 7) Nina Mittelham GER – Sophia Klee GER 2:3 (-8 8 -12 9 -5)   Quarterfinal July 5 Shan Xiaona GER – Sarah de Nutte LUX 10 am Barbora Balazova SVK – Yuan Wan GER directly after but not before 10.35   Semifinals July 5 Han Ying GER – Shan Xiaona GER or Sarah de Nutte LUX immediately following but not before 11.35 Sophia Klee GER – Barbora Balazova SVK or Yuan Wan directly after but not before 12.10   Final July 5 1:45 p.m.

GD Toledos team from the Azorean island of Pico secured this Friday the place in the final of the Portuguese Men’s National Championship of the 1st Division by beating GDCS Juncal by 3-0 in the 2nd leg of the semi-final played at the Vila Nova de Gaia High Performance Center. In the first leg held on Thursday Toledos recorded a 3-0 victory.   The final will be played against Sporting CP the team that finished in the 1st place in the regular phase of the Championship on Saturday and Sunday starting at 04:00 PM. Sporting is the club with the highest number of national titles 36 in total and is currently four-time champion. He is the holder of the National Championship Portuguese Cup and José Manuel Amaro Super Cup.   Toledos has four national champion titles.   The games are all broadcast live on the television channels “A Bola TV” and RTP Açores and on the Federation’s Facebook and Youtube pages. The finals will also be broadcast live on the Facebook pages of the European (ETTU) and international (ITTF) federations.   Énio Mendes GD Toledos player said: “It is very important to achieve the goal we set at the beginning of the Final Phase and it is always good to be in a final against Sporting. In today’s game I know Saheed well because we played in the same team for the last four years ADC Ponta do Pargo. I had never played against him but as we played together for four years the game was more balanced and more difficult. The game becomes more tactical.”   Boboye Oyenyan GD Toledos player added: “It was a difficult game because he managed to put a lot of good balls on the table. The semi-final was easier than we expected because the opponent has a good team.”   Diogo Silva GD Toledos coach and athlete said: “I tried to begin the match focused and with the same motivation. I got it in the first set but then in the second I lost my focus and I didn’t play well and lost that set. Then I tried to regain confidence and motivation and to stay focused on the game and the other two sets went much better. The semi-finals went very well both yesterday and today. We started the game very well with a very good attitude and we managed to record a very important victory yesterday. Today I already knew that there would be less pressure for the players because we only needed three sets to guarantee the final. So things got a little complicated but we managed to counteract that relaxation and get a 3-0 victory which was very good. We know that we have a very difficult task against a super Sporting who has a very strong team with world-class player such as Quadri Aruna who is a player in the top 20 in the World. Diogo Carvalho is from the National Team and Bode Abiodun is also part of the Nigeria Team. They have three very strong players and it will be very difficult. In the regular phase we lost both games by 4-0 and we know it will be very difficult but in sport there is nothing impossible and we will try to fight and make a good result.”   Bruno Silva GDCS Juncal coach admitted: “Yesterday’s game greatly affected our performance today. Today we managed to be a little better but it was extremely difficult to overcome the opponent. Congratulations to Toledos. Today the team had to be perfect we couldn’t make any mistakes and from the moment that Saheed resolves the issue in the first game from then on it was just to stick to the schedule. It was already resolved and there was nothing more to do.”   GDCS Juncal 3 – GD Toledos 0 Venue: Centro de Alto Rendimento de Vila Nova de Gaia Umpires: Francisco Rocha / Serafim Mendes (Oporto) Idowu Saheed 1 – Énio Mendes 3 (8-11 11-8 12-14 6-11) Andrei Bukin 1 – Diogo Silva 2 (6-11 11-9 4-11 6-11) David Bessa 1 – Boboye Oyenyan 3 (13-11 9-11 10-12 8-11) GD Toledos coach: Diogo Silva GDCS Juncal coach: Bruno Silva                

GD Toledos team from Pico island in Azores won the first leg of the semi-final of the Portuguese National League by 3-0 and needs to win three sets in the second leg to assure the presence in the final match against Sporting CP.   The team only lost two sets during the match in the third game when young athlete David BESSA cadet player of the Portuguese National Team started winning 2-0 in the game against the Nigerian Boboye OYENYAN. However the more experienced player managed to recover and set the final score.   All the games are played live at the Facebook and Youtube pages of the Portuguese Federation.     The Portuguese Federation President Pedro MOURA said:“The competitions have been interrupted since March 13 due to the situation that we all know but it was possible to organize this Final Phase and we seized our opportunity. We started preparing for this event about a month ago. This is the first indoor competition to be held in Portugal since the quarantine period and it is a great pride for the Portuguese Table Tennis Federation. It is a very special moment for our sport and I hope it will also be a special moment for Portuguese sport.”   Diogo SILVA GD Toledos coach and player added: “It was a very important victory by 3-0 and I was not expecting this result. I always thought it was going to be a more close game. Both Énio and I got started well on our matches and made it 2-0 right away which gave us an even greater motivation. We knew that the third game was going to be very difficult but after been losing by 2-0 we managed to win and that was very important. Tomorrow we can start the second game under less pressure. It will still be very difficult but the pressure is different. I’ve been playing table tennis for years and I’ve seen it all. This does not mean that this victory by 3-0 will take us directly to the final. Tomorrow we have to begin the game with exactly the same motivation and concentration to try to win every game we are going to play.”   Bruno Silva GDCS Juncal coach stated: “I was expecting everything but this final result. I couldn’t see even half of what my athletes can do. The long quarantine period without playing reflected a lot in their game. There was some nervousness too. All of this is a little new without public at the games this long break and my players did not manage it in the best way. They fell far short of what they can usually do. Tomorrow we will fight every point until the end of the game.”   GD Toledos 3 – GDCS Juncal 0   Venue: Centro de Alto Rendimento de Vila Nova de Gaia Umpires: Celeste Araújo / Rui Oliveira (Aveiro) Diogo Silva 3 – Idowu Saheed 0 (11-7 11-8 12-10) Énio Mendes 3 – Andrei Bukin 0 (11-3 11-5 11-8) Boboye Oyenyan 3 – David Bessa 2 (5-11 6-11 11-8 11-8 11-7) GD Toledos coach: Diogo Silva GDCS Juncal coach: Bruno Silva