Singapore Smash 2026, Singapore, 2/19-3/1

[Dr Evil]

Spinsight needs to get some numbers on those short heavy Felix serves.

 

[Dr Evil]

Great comeback in game 5 by LSD. Would be a great win for him if he can come all the way back.

 

[zeio]

MS QF
LSD (3) 2-4 F. Lebrun (6) (-12, 9, -6 -4, 9, -10)
World No. 2 and No. 3 up for grabs?

 

[Dr Evil]

No great comeback, but a great match. Felix may have the best serve/receive combo in the game.

 

[TampaBayTableTennis]

INCROYABLE!

 

[Takkyu_wa_inochi]

il est FEFE-NOMENAL !!!

 

[baotran]

Félix has above elite short game lol. LSD is nowhere near him on that aspect.

 

[Oliverpool]

Félix has above elite short game lol. LSD is nowhere near him on that aspect.

It is a fascinating tactical contrast. Felix Lebrun’s ability to change direction with the Reverse Penhold Backhand (RPB) defies the traditional physics of the grip, while Lin Shidong (LSD) often opts for the high-percentage diagonal.


Especially when Felix arguably has a weaker forehand then backhand

 

[pongfugrasshopper]

Right.

Hirano has actually touched on that "mental trap" that she fell into after ATTC 2017, how she thought she couldn't lose to other foreign players after a few wins over CNT players. Her coach Zhang Cheng also said Hirano had lost her motivation and goal and how winning the World Cup 2016 and ATTC 2017 at such a young age was detrimental to her career.

Ito has also been "conditioned" by her mom since childhood (Ito said it in TV interviews several years back) to think she is the only one who can beat the CNT.

Hayata is currently very vocal about and focused on beating CNT players, rarely addressing her creeping losses against non-CNT players. Compared to Hirano, Nakazawa Rui and Zhang Cheng who went over the WS QF upset by SYB at Paris 2024, Hayata and Ishida never addressed the XD 1st-round upset (but he explained why once) at the hand of Ri Jong Sik/Kim Kum Yong that I warned about before the draw was out.

But unlike Ito and Hayata, Hirano has become much more mature and much less extreme in recent years, with a renewed passion for table tennis and a re-calibrated aim of learning from CNT players.

Are you still trying to convince everyone that Hirano was better than Hayata in the Paris cycle and still better in this cycle? This despite the fact that Hayata won multiple All Japans, dominated the selection race, and beat SYB *with an injured playing arm*... the very same SYB that Hirano lost to on the biggest stage in table tennis. And in the current cycle Hina won the 2025 All Japan and made the finals this year. Beat Miwa at a Champions event in 2025. Miu's ranking has fallen off a cliff and only recently is starting to come back by making the finals of SC Chennai. And good for her... I do want her to do well. She was absolutely amazing as a teenager, but at this stage, Mima and Hina are in the top 10 in the world rankings.

 

[zeio]

WS QF
WYD (7) 2-4 Winter (15) (4, -5, 9, -5, -4, -4)
Another late TO, this time by Yu Ziyang. But different from ZYL, WYD is clueless.
Will Ito get a chance to play Winter ever again?

 

[Lando]

Penhold!!!

 

[zeio]

That's entirely fair and your opinion, which is probably shared by a few other people and disagreed with by others. It is not against the rules to have your opinion. I don't insult athletes on a regular basis and I would not disqualify myself on that basis. IT is interesting that you know that such behavior is appalling yet you regularly engage in it.

That's funny coming from the one who got into a stupid game of liking posts with Tony's Table Tennis and getting hung up on the so-called "insult" that is admitted by the very players, telling people they are free to disagree when the very person needed to be reminded about his inconsistent past comments on certain players, and yet OTOH, has consistently failed to respect the opinions of former/current players and coaches.

 

[zeio]

MS QF
WCQ (1) 4-0 JWJ (12) (6, 8, 7, 3)
G4 00 JWJ wanted to forfeit again after Asian Cup 2026 but he must finish the match to get the points?

Oh, please, ump. Seriously? That was the very last point. Too much outside interference (ball and umpiring) to take this tournament seriously.

Also, there are the equipment supplier issues on top of TTR. Too many external factors at play here to ignore and feel confident about those wins/upsets.

 

[chandyrandy]

Anyone have a clue what happened (not including zeio)?

 

[mamedium]

View attachment 40544
Anyone have a clue what happened (not including zeio)?

JWJ was saying “i only told zeio about this, sorry guys”

 

[longle]

umpires making too many wild guesses on those serves

 

[Janard]

Winter Vs SYS (or Hayata) should be fairly interesting.

 

[Shine]

WS QF
WYD (7) 2-4 Winter (15) (4, -5, 9, -5, -4, -4)
Another late TO, this time by Yu Ziyang. But different from ZYL, WYD is clueless.
Will Ito get a chance to play Winter ever again?

Didn't watch the match but surprised to hear Yu Ziyang is coaching now? I'm astonished he came back to the team as a coach given the "repression" allegations we've heard from Mr Agent.

 

[Shine]

Lin Shidong loses to anyone playing inspired table tennis these days. Things are not looking good because I foresee his ranking dropping drastically over the course of this year. Who knows what his ranking is gonna prior to the Olympics. Who plays second singles? I don't think CYY's performance here is a good omen of things to come. He's just having a good tournament. The men's team are in a world of trouble imo. The women's team will be fine until 2032.

 

[dingyibvs]

Lin Shidong loses to anyone playing inspired table tennis these days. Things are not looking good because I foresee his ranking dropping drastically over the course of this year. Who knows what his ranking is gonna prior to the Olympics. Who plays second singles? I don't think CYY's performance here is a good omen of things to come. He's just having a good tournament. The men's team are in a world of trouble imo. The women's team will be fine until 2032.

LSD needs to take some time off and revamp his game IMO. If he wants to be a contender for GOAT, and I think he has the talent to do so, he needs to work on his footwork and develop a more reliable FH finisher.