Reigning World Olympic and China Open Champion Ma Long is aiming for a record-breaking 28 ITTF World Tour titles this week in Shenzhen   Following two days of intense qualification rounds this is where the business begins in earnest with a star-studded line-up of seeded players stepping onto the main stage in Shenzhen.  Who will take the main prizes when Sunday eventually arrives at the Seamaster 2019 ITTF World Tour Platinum China Open?   An unavoidable question but the journey towards those final battles will be a long and hard one for all involved such is the unbelievable elite quality of the players on show. Take a look at the entry list and you could make a very strong case that the China Open is harder to win than most World Table Tennis Championships or even the Olympic Games.   Of the top 50 Men’s Singles players on the planet 46 turned up in Shenzhen in search of glory with the total number of titles (171) won by all Men’s Singles participants outnumbering the entries (153)!  Competition for the Women’s Singles title will be red hot as well especially when you consider that the top five seeds all have experience of winning the China Open: the Chinese quintet of DING Ning (2014 2016 2017) ZHU Yuling (2015) CHEN Meng (2012 2013) WANG Manyu (2018) and LIU Shiwen (twice in 2009).    Reigning World and Olympic Champion MA Long (CHN) is also defending his China Open crown in Shenzhen starting today with his R32 match against Mizuki OIKAWA (JPN) at 20:15 GMT+8 (live on itTV). For MA to go all the way again this year he will most likely have to overcome world no. 1 FAN Zhendong (CHN) at the quarter-final stage in what would be another classic encounter between the pair.   ‘The Dragon’ has extra incentive to claim the top prize this week which would see him set a new benchmark of 28 career ITTF World Tour titles. He currently shares the Men’s Singles record with the legendary Vladimir SAMSONOV (BLR) the 43-year-old coming through his qualification rounds to book a match-up against LIANG Jingkun (CHN).   In the Women’s Singles LIU Shiwen (CHN) will be looking to capitalise on her fine recent form which saw her end a 10-year wait to clinch gold at the 2019 World Table Tennis Championships in Budapest. The question now is ‘can she go on to win her first China Open in a decade?’ Her journey begins today at 16:05 against compatriot GU Yuting (CHN) who defeated in-form Hina HAYATA (JPN) in qualification.  Top seed FAN Zhendong will be keen to bounce back from the disappointment of his R16 exit at the World Championships with a strong showing on home soil. He kicks off his campaign against Sathiyan GNANASEKARAN (IND) who produced some of the most pulsating performances throughout qualification with three victories that went the full seven-game distance!   One of the main entertainers in Budapest with his swashbuckling style Simon GAUZY (FRA) will take on 6th seed LEE Sangsu (KOR). Both players have plenty of tricks up their sleeves! The winner of that match could well set up a quarter-final clash against 4th seed and teenage talent Tomokazu HARIMOTO (JPN)   Can World Championships silver medallist Mattias FALCK (SWE) maintain recent momentum? Form dictates that the 16th seed could take on 2006 China Open champion  Timo BOLL (GER) in the R16 with 2nd seed XU Xin (CHN) lying in wait in the last eight.   As 7th seed Hugo CALDERANO (BRA) would face no higher-ranked opponent before the quarter-final stage where LIN Gaoyuan (CHN) and Dimitrij OVTCHAROV (GER) would be the favourites to come up against him. Before that however the reigning Pan American champion will likely face the challenge of LIANG Jingkun or SAMSONOV.  World no. 1 DING Ning (CHN) has the very real prospect of three consecutive contests against Japanese opponents. After kicking off today against Miyuu KIHARA the top seed is in line to face 9th seed Miu HIRANO and 7th seed Mima ITO should they all progress.   Defending China Open champion and 4th seed WANG Manyu (CHN) is on course to meet 5th seed LIU Shiwen in the quarter-finals while 3rd seed CHEN Meng (CHN) faces arguably the toughest possible R32 match-up against compatriot SUN Yingsha.   The winner of that clash would put themselves in the driving seat to reach the semi-finals where 2nd seed ZHU Yuling would be the favourite to reach that stage as comfortably the highest ranked player in her quarter of the draw. Silver medallists at the World Championships the mixed nationality Men’s Doubles pairing of Alvaro ROBLES (ESP) & Ovidiu IONESCU (ROU) look determined to build on that success having booked their place in the quarter-finals where they will take on World Champions MA Long & WANG Chuqin (CHN) who have progressed from the qualification rounds. That’s right there will be a rematch of that Budapest final on Friday!  In the Women’s Doubles WANG Manyu & ZHU Yuling (CHN) will fancy their chances of glory. The top-ranked pair are through to the quarter-finals with 2nd and 3rd seeds Barbora BALAZOVA (SVK) & Hana MATELOVA (CZE) and DOO Hoi Kem & NG Wing Nam (HKG) no longer in the running.  The Mixed Doubles story so far sees plenty of big names through to the quarter-finals: top seeds WONG Chun Ting & DOO Hoi Kem (HKG) the newly formed partnership of XU Xin & CHEN Meng (CHN) and also Tomokazu HARIMOTO & Kasumi ISHIKAWA (JPN) back together again. Could success in Shenzhen ensure they are Japan’s preferred choice for Tokyo 2020?  STAY TUNED! Live Streaming Live Blog Live Scores Daily Schedule Photo Gallery Flash Quotes Media Kit ITTF Social: Facebook  Instagram  Twitter  Youtube  Weibo  LinkedIn

Games of the Small States of Europe   Cyprus clinched the title in the Men’s Team’s Event at the Games of the Small States of Europe whilst Luxembourg secured the top place at the medal rostrum in Women’s Event.   Hristo HRISTONOV and Marious YIANGOU of Cyprus overcame Eric GLOD and Gilles MICHELY of Luxembourg in both singles and doubles matches – 3:0. In semifinal Cyprus beat Montenegro and Luxembourg overcame Monaco.   Danielle KONSBRUCK Egle TAMASAUSKAITE and Tessy GONDERINGER proved too strong for San Marino’s Chiarra MORI YAN Chimei and Letizia GIARDI in the final of the Women’s Event / 3:0. In semis they overcame Montenegro whilst San Marino overcame Monaco.   In Group Stages in Women’s Group A Luxembourg was first followed by San Marino and Cyprus; in Group B Monaco and Montenegro clinched top two sport. Third and fourth were Malta and Iceland.   In Men’s A Group Monaco won the top spot whilst at the position no. two and three were Montenegro and Iceland. In Group B Cyprus and Luxembourg progressed from top places and San Marino and Malta were at the lower half of the standings.

The ITTF is looking forward to receiving many strong bids this Friday for a long-term Commercial Strategic Partner to support its ambitious vision for table tennis.  Since the ITTF issued its Commercial Rights Tender in March the level of interest has been very positive with 50 companies expressing an interest to assist in the remodelling of table tennis’ commercial rights and boost the sport’s global growth.  The conversations held since then including a number of meetings during April’s World Table Tennis Championships have been extremely encouraging and the ITTF is buoyed by the prospect of joining forces soon with the perfect partner in order to revolutionise the world of table tennis forever.  From 2021 all commercial rights to all major international ITTF properties will be available and the ITTF wants to remodel the way in which these rights are monetised and main products are run to finally unlock the full potential of table tennis so that it can compete among the highest-profile sports in the world. All of the ITTF’s core commercial assets will be held within a brand new commercial vehicle called ‘World Table Tennis’ (WTT) and it is proposed that the Strategic Partner that comes on board will be a key partner of WTT to help shape the transformation and drive success in this revolutionary commercialisation of table tennis.  The comprehensive range of commercial rights available include the following areas: Sponsorship; Media: Digital Social and TV; Gaming and Data; Event Hosting; Licensing; Players; CSR; Future Products.  The road to 2021 is already under way since all of the ITTF’s commercial rights were brought back in-house in 2017 and the ITTF Strategic Plan was launched in 2018. Significant progress has already been made to improve competition structures and commercialise international events assisted by the ITTF’s close collaboration with Deloitte Sports Business Group. “It’s a time of challenge for many International Federations and based on the recent ASOIF report we believe that splitting the commercial and governance arms of the organisation will be fundamental to driving our commercial growth via our new commercial vehicle World Table Tennis. We believe this modern approach is the key to success ”  said Thomas Weikert ITTF President.  “This is the dawn of a new era for the ITTF but also the moment of truth after years of hard work and preparations. Since we brought our commercial rights back in-house in 2017 we have set out to revolutionise our key products such as the ITTF World Tour and World Championships always with the bigger picture in mind of what we can sell from 2021. As we edge closer to that date we are confident and excited to join forces with the right Strategic Partner to really hone our long-term strategy for professionalising and commercialising table tennis like never before ”  Steve Dainton ITTF CEO.  “For the first time ever we have stopped and looked at the way we are running our commercial operations and decided to make a fundamental change about how we do business. We are very happy about how the tender process has been run together with our professional consultants at Deloitte Sports Business Group and Withers KhattarWong and the results seen so far. It is very refreshing to see the market show such an immense interest in our tender process and we are sure that this new way of doing business will unlock the undoubted commercial potential of table tennis. We are looking forward to seeing many innovative tender proposals on Friday!”  added Matt Pound ITTF Marketing Director.

Games of the Small States of Europe   The opening day of the Games of the Small States of Europe Women’s team of Luxembourg concluded unbeaten. In Sport Center Zupa in Tivat KONSBRUCK TAMASAUSKAITE and GONDERINGER overcame Cyprus’ MELETIE and KOUREA 3:0. In second match Luxembourg prevailed against San Marino’s MORRI and YAN.   Malta overcame Island 3:0 whilst Monaco prevailed against Montenegro by same margin. Montenegro recovered to overcame Malta in the second Round and Monaco secured another victory over Island.   In Men’s Team’s Event Monaco overcame Island 3:0 and Montenegro by same margin. Cyprus overcame Luxembourg and Malta also in three matches whilst San Marino needed one more to beat Malta. They lost against Luxembourg 3:0.  

1. Tradition and Innovation   China and Japan are the only national associations to organise ITTF World Tour events since the concept was born in April 1996. The 2019 China Open represents the 33rd edition of what is widely regarded as the most prestigious event on the ITTF World Tour which counts a total of 12 events throughout the year. How could there be 33 editions between 1996 and 2019 you ask? That is because the China Open was held twice a year between 2004 and 2013 except for 2010.   Steeped in history and tradition the China Open has also been a venue for new ideas with the 2018 edition marking the first ITTF World Tour event to feature the Mixed Doubles competition.   Also held every year since 1996 the Japan Open will be in its 24th edition when play kicks off in Sapporo this June. By contrast the Hong Kong Open is the ‘baby’ of the ITTF World Tour having been added to the circuit for the first time in 2018.   2. Stars on show in Shenzhen!   Boasting an entry list stronger than most World Championships and Olympic Games the 2019 China Open will be showcasing quite literally the very best talent that international table tennis has to offer.   Of the top 50 Men’s Singles players on the planet 46 are in Shenzhen to battle it out for glory while all of the top 35 world-ranked names are present. The fact that there are more titles (171) won by Men’s Singles participants at the China Open than the total number of entries (153) underlines the incredible calibre on show!   Competition for the Women’s Singles title is set to be red hot as well. The top five seeds all have experience of winning it before: the Chinese quintet of Ding Ning (2014 2016 2017) Zhu Yuling (2015) Chen Meng (2012 2013) Wang Manyu (2018) and Liu Shiwen (twice in 2009).   Liu will be looking to capitalise on her fine recent form which saw her end a 10-year wait to clinch Women’s Singles gold at the 2019 World Table Tennis Championships in Budapest  having finished runner-up at the most recent ITTF World Tour event: the Qatar Open in March. The question now is ‘can she go on to win her first China Open in a decade?’  3. More history in the making for Ma Long?   Three-time World Champion reigning Olympic Champion and former Grand Slam winner Ma Long (CHN) is also the name on everyone’s lips when it comes to the China Open where he will be defending his crown.   ‘The Dragon’ has already won a record seven Men’s Singles titles at his native ITTF World Tour event and if he makes it eight times this week he will set yet another record of 28 career ITTF World Tour triumphs!   The 30-year-old equalled Vladimir Samsonov’s benchmark of 27 titles at this year’s Qatar Open on his comeback from injury and he’s not looked back since winning his third straight World Championships last month in Budapest.    Make sure you don’t miss potentially more history in the making for Ma Long who would add further weight to the argument that he is the greatest male table tennis player of all time.  4. Europe’s chances in China?   A notoriously tough event for players outside the host nation there are only three non-Chinese names to have ever tasted success in the Singles competitions of the China Open:   Croatia’s Zoran Primorac (1997) and German duo Timo Boll (2006) and Dimitrij Ovtcharov (2017) form that select group of players while no player born outside China has ever lifted the Women’s Singles trophy.   Joining Boll and Ovtcharov as the other two Euroean seeds in Shenzhen are Liam Pitchford (ENG) and Mattias Falck (SWE). Interestingly Pitchford was the last ever player to defeat Ma Long on the ITTF World Tour at the 2018 Bulgarian Open.   Meanwhile Falck enters this event in the best form of his life having won a silver medal at the World Championships in Budapest exactly one month ago.  5. Double Trouble?   A couple of high-profile changes have been made in the Doubles game as national associations appear to be testing different partnerships in the build-up to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.   In the Mixed Doubles the 2019 World Championships winning pair of Xu Xin and Liu Shiwen (CHN) will not be teaming up for any of the upcoming events as Chen Meng replaces Liu at the China Open while Zhu Yuling is set to join Xu in Japan.   Also in Shenzhen Tomokazu Harimoto and Kasumi Ishikawa (JPN) are back together after the combination was broken up prior to the World Championships where the latter had played alongside Maharu Yoshimura.     Meanwhile in the Men’s Doubles the proven partnership of Mattias Falck and Kristian Karlsson (SWE) will not be on show in Shenzhen as the former focuses on his Singles game meaning that Karlsson is joined by Jon Persson. 6. Who will be the heroes in Hong Kong?   Kazuhiro Yoshimura (JPN) was an unlikely hero in the very first Hong Kong Open last year emerging from the qualification rounds to win his debut Men’s Singles title on the ITTF World Tour.   Wang Manyu (CHN) picked up the Women’s Singles crown in what was a remarkable 2018 for the 20-year-old talent while compatriots Chen Xingtong and Sun Yingsha (CHN) held their nerve to win Women’s Doubles gold.   The biggest cheers of that unforgettable inaugural event came for local heroes Ho Kwan Kit and Wong Chun Ting (HKG) as they celebrated the Men’s Doubles title in front of their fans.   Who will be the stars this time around? Click here to see the entries.   7. Japanese names jump out!   Sandwiched between the China and Japan Opens the Hong Kong Open is still being taken very seriously indeed by Japan’s star players who look set to take the Queen Elizabeth Stadium by storm.   Tomokazu Harimoto (2nd seed) Koki

The Sprts Center Zupa in Tivat is the host of the table tennis events at the The Games of Small States of Europe in Montenegro. The competitions started today with seven asociation with 40 players participates in Singles Doubles and Team’s Events.   There are seven teams 14 players in singles and seven pairings in doubles. Every association can only enter two players for the singles and one pair for the doubles.   The participating countries are: Cyprus Iceland Luxembourg Malta Monaco Montenegro and San Marino.   – Team events will be played today and tomorrow. – Doubles event on Thursday – Singles event on the Friday and Saturday (semifinals and finals).  

German player won both titles in Singles and Doubles events   German player Ruwen FILUS has recorded his first ever titles at an open international tournament in both events – Men’s Singles and Doubles; at the Seamaster 2019 ITTF Challenge Series Thailand Open concluded today May 26th in the city of Bangkok. Japan’s Hitomi SATO is the crowned champion of the Women’s Singles.   Actual world no. 87 Ruwen FILUS the no.3 seed in Bangkok had two exciting clashes in just few hours playing Men’s Singles event. First he beat Frenchman Andrea LANDRIEU after full seven games of the semi-finals – 4:3 (11:8 11:9 11:9 5:11 10:12 8:11 11:5) then he overcame Korea Republic qualifier SEO Hyundeok in the final 4:2 (11:6 7:11 11:8 11:8 9:11 11:8).   Ruwen FILUS and his compatriot Steffen MENGEL the no.5 seeds won the Men’s Doubles title as they beat Chinese Taipei’s FENG Yu-Hsin and WANG Tai-Wei the no.8 seeds 3:1 (11:7 8:11 12:10 7:11 11:5).   Hitomi SATO prevailed against Saki SHIBATA in the all-Japanese Women’s Singles final. SATO managed to reverse the score from 1:3 to 4:3.