United States Smash 2026, Los Angeles, 6/26-7/5

[Janard]

Wow WCQ has so many points that even though he had major deductions from not defending US Smash, he's still 4000 points ahead of WR#2 which by now has become more like a revolving door 😬

 

[NDH]

Guys, whilst the worldwide political situation is very important, can we please leave the discussions elsewhere?

There IS a political thread if you'd like to discuss such things.

This thread is for: United States (US) Smash 2026, Los Angeles, California, USA 26 Jun - 5 Jul 2026.

Please keep it relevant.

 

[NextLevel]

watching Sidorenko struggle I noticed that he took quite a few "pills" in the brakes, I assume painkillers for his groin problems.

It brings up a question i wondered for quite a while now: "What kind of drugs are allowed at this level of TT and are the players somehow tested for doping " ??????

Read into Kanak Jha's suspension. There is a full testing protocol including random tests for all top athletes in tennis ans table tennis that are eligible to compete at the Olympics.

 

[NextLevel]

For people who want to discuss whether Sidorenko should be allowed to play, the thread is here:

https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/forum/topics/russian-players-should-not-be-on-tour-during-the-war.39636/

If I am in a good mood and I see relevant posts here, I will move them there. If I am not in a good mood, I will give you a day or two to cool off and either move or delete the posts. Thanks.

 

[NextLevel]

Wow WCQ has so many points that even though he had major deductions from not defending US Smash, he's still 4000 points ahead of WR#2 which by now has become more like a revolving door 😬

One can only win so many smashes before his ranking becomes too full lol...

 

[NextLevel]

I do believe Sora has material of a really strong rank #1 player, being the only weak part of his himself, but the more experience and maturity he gets, it would be inevitable

And Sidorenko, finally a good run from him, I really like his playstyle and hope this gets him a good boost on himself for future tournaments, well played.

Other than *maybe* the example of Fan Zhendong, who wasn't even allowed to play the Olympics when he was around the same age as Matsushima, I remain confused when people talk about the mental game of players like Matsushima as something worth discussing. You just continue to work with it because the talent is there. Everyone at that age has mental issues in one way or another. Even Ma Long.

 

[NextLevel]

Guys what is Sora equipment?

Sora Matsushima (JPN) | Sponsoring | Butterfly Global Site: Table Tennis Equipment

Sora Matsushima (JPN) | Introduction of Butterfly players, teams, clubs and coaches who play in the top of the world. Table tennis equipment brand Butterfly by Tamasu Co., Ltd. since 1950.

www.butterfly-global.com

 

[piligrim]

Coming soon Butterfly Sora Matsushima ALC

 

[Janard]

One can only win so many smashes before his ranking becomes too full lol...

Not to mention he is skipping Europe Smash loll

 

[Kopp]

Why was this message sent to me? I never posted anything like that.

Notifications
Your post in the thread United States (US) Smash 2026, Los Angeles, California, USA 26 Jun - 5 Jul 2026 was moved to Russian Players should not be on tour during the War.. Reason: Politics off topic

 

[Kopp]

Coming soon Butterfly Sora Matsushima ALC

I bet there will be one 😂

 

[job59]

watching Sidorenko struggle I noticed that he took quite a few "pills" in the brakes, I assume painkillers for his groin problems.

It brings up a question i wondered for quite a while now: "What kind of drugs are allowed at this level of TT and are the players somehow tested for doping " ??????

That question came up to me, watching Lind beating WCQ. Have you realized his attitude between the sets and at timeouts? He almost was unable to drink. 4 sets at 150 % is probably not healthy.

 

[pingpongnerd]

The crowd during the mens singles final was a disgrace. They were hate watching Sora and clapped for his mistakes

 

[job59]

OFF TOPIC
As I don't know where to ask - why do we have the "wrong" colors for VH und BH in our profiles? 🤪

 

[Peter93]

I bet there will be one 😂

I mean they're making this, it's the least butterfly could do considering some of the blades they've made in the past.

 

[kindof99]

For people who want to discuss whether Sidorenko should be allowed to play, the thread is here:

https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/forum/topics/russian-players-should-not-be-on-tour-during-the-war.39636/

If I am in a good mood and I see relevant posts here, I will move them there. If I am not in a good mood, I will give you a day or two to cool off and either move or delete the posts. Thanks.

You are talking like a moody bossy moderator, sir.

 

[kindof99]

The crowd during the mens singles final was a disgrace. They were hate watching Sora and clapped for his mistakes

WCQ's fans that do not like Sora (or anyone beat WCQ before?)

 

[kindof99]

I bet there will be one 😂

Based on Sora's performance, it will not be surprised there will be a whole series of Soras

 

[kindof99]

Other than *maybe* the example of Fan Zhendong, who wasn't even allowed to play the Olympics when he was around the same age as Matsushima, I remain confused when people talk about the mental game of players like Matsushima as something worth discussing. You just continue to work with it because the talent is there. Everyone at that age has mental issues in one way or another. Even Ma Long.

Sora had bigger "mental" than players like FZD or ML. His problem is more like that of young Truls. FZD and ML are the kind that will blame themselves not playing well, while others might throw his paddle at their opponent or somewhere.

 

[NextLevel]

Sora had bigger "mental" than players like FZD or ML. His problem is more like that of young Truls. FZD and ML are the kind that will blame themselves not playing well, while others might throw his paddle at their opponent or somewhere.

People infer a lot of things from body language that are not clearly true. Also, Ma Long did not have the audience watching him at his age that Sora does now. My main point is that younger players are immature by definition. The result is the most important thing, not the coping mechanism - we focus on the coping mechanism as a manner in which to improve the result or the performance under pressure.

The funny thing is that the mental issues of Sora have gone under the radar now not because he has solved them the way most people want him to, but because he is winning. What we need to see is a 0-2 to 3-2 or 0-3 to 4-3 comeback. But we might never see that or need to see that. He probably believes he is too good to do well when he struggles. And that is normal when you are not used to struggling to win.