China Smash 2026, Beijing, 10/1-11

[zeio]

For competitive sports, medals and titles are most important measurements of achievement, and most objective. How others regard can be quite subjective.

Once again, it doesn't matter as that's not the point of contention here, just like those Tieba users who concurred that Moregard was way more lucky in the Olympics and WTTC, or like the views of former HKG players and coaches on Harimoto.

Harimoto acknowledged Moregard's silver medal in Part-4 of the Butterfly interview after Paris 2024 but he specifically said that F. Lebrun was the complete player and the ultimate form of Moregard's style that lacks a strong BH. Harimoto acknowledged that WCQ and Moregard as the world champion and Olympic silver medalist, respectively at WTT CS Yokohama 2025, and how those 2 focused on keeping the point short and they knew he would have the upper hand if they played out the point.

 

[NextLevel]

Once again, it doesn't matter as that's not the point of contention here, just like those Tieba users who concurred that Moregard was way more lucky in the Olympics and WTTC, or like the views of former HKG players and coaches on Harimoto.

Harimoto acknowledged Moregard's silver medal in Part-4 of the Butterfly interview after Paris 2024 but he specifically said that F. Lebrun was the complete player and the ultimate form of Moregard's style that lacks a strong BH. Harimoto acknowledged that WCQ and Moregard as the world champion and Olympic silver medalist, respectively at WTT CS Yokohama 2025, and how those 2 focused on keeping the point short and they knew he would have the upper hand if they played out the point.

If you call being lucky winning medals by beating players who you have never beaten before or whom you were not favored to beat (WCQ, HC) or beating players who eliminated your rivals and had traditionally insurmountable leads against you (LJH, ,ST) then sure Truls was lucky. In the end, it is best for a player to create his own luck. Had Truls not gotten "TIEBA lucky" and beaten a player whom he has never beaten before, we would not be having this conversation. In the real world, some of us call what Tiebans call luck "coming through in the clutch".

Truls absense of a backhand is very much overstated. If it is that bad, then everyone should be beating him.

 

[Dr Evil]

Truls absense of a backhand is very much overstated. If it is that bad, then everyone should be beating him.

Truls has a great backhand (except for the loop which is getting better but still far from great).

 

[NetProphet]

Congratulations making the finals of a Grand Smash Super Sato ... what an amazing player!

View attachment 43719

Will be interesting.
She has already beaten WM 3-0 at the US this year and won a few finals also.
However I do (as probably most do) expect Manyu to get the job done.
What you reckon, will it be close?

 

[NextLevel]

Well they have given Wang Manyu 24 hours. It would have been harder if it was a same day adjustment. A lot will come down ro her health, I think WMY has excellent form and has been borderline unbeatabke for a while now.

Will be interesting.
She has already beaten WM 3-0 at the US this year and won a few finals also.
However I do (as probably most do) expect Manyu to get the job done.
What you reckon, will it be close?

 

[allencorn]

I wonder if Hashimoto shared any ideas with Sato before the semis. Do members of the team help one another when strategizing against foreign opponents, or is that left up to the coaches?

 

[NetProphet]

Truls has a great backhand (except for the loop which is getting better but still far from great).

I would respectfully disagree here.
It will of course depend on how you define what you mean by use of the word 'great' here but in terms of who you have to compare him against, say the entire rest of the worlds top 30, his backhand is not that great. Unless you have 'great' with greater and greatest above that 😉 in which case Moregards BH is 3rd tier, which I would agree with.

By standards below the top 30 in would say it's brilliant.

For me a great BH is one that you can rely on to win you matches when other plans are not working out. I don't see that Truls can do this. I see a few who can rely on BH power to win crucial points and players who are comfortable and ready to go into BH-BH exchanges but I don't think Truls is one of them. He often prefers to execute his chop block on that side when pinned there in an attempt to recapture momentum for a FH finish.
All just my opinion of course and interested in other assessments on this but imo, if Truls had a BH that opponents feared he really would be close to the complete player.

 

[kindof99]

Will be interesting.
She has already beaten WM 3-0 at the US this year and won a few finals also.
However I do (as probably most do) expect Manyu to get the job done.
What you reckon, will it be close?

WMY used to struggle with chopper non-two wing looper, but she probably knows that it is a bid deal to win this one. Sato is in great shape for the tournament. So it is not easy to predict who will win. I lean to believe that WMY will win because it is a china smash.

 

[kindof99]

From the CXT Vs Sato match, I think the expedite play favored Sato much more. Expedite play is common to chopper, but not that common to two wing looper. I think WMY probably practices a lot playing with someone counting on the side before the match tomorrow. That is one more reason that I believe WMY will win.

 

[joshmak10]

I can’t see the Semi final stream on Youtube here in Canada, anyone else able to see it?

 

[pongfugrasshopper]

I can’t see the Semi final stream on Youtube here in Canada, anyone else able to see it?

It hasn't started yet

 

[joshmak10]

It hasn't started yet

It wasn’t listed as scheduled even

 

[Dr Evil]

I would respectfully disagree here.
It will of course depend on how you define what you mean by use of the word 'great' here but in terms of who you have to compare him against, say the entire rest of the worlds top 30, his backhand is not that great. Unless you have 'great' with greater and greatest above that 😉 in which case Moregards BH is 3rd tier, which I would agree with.

By standards below the top 30 in would say it's brilliant.

For me a great BH is one that you can rely on to win you matches when other plans are not working out. I don't see that Truls can do this. I see a few who can rely on BH power to win crucial points and players who are comfortable and ready to go into BH-BH exchanges but I don't think Truls is one of them. He often prefers to execute his chop block on that side when pinned there in an attempt to recapture momentum for a FH finish.
All just my opinion of course and interested in other assessments on this but imo, if Truls had a BH that opponents feared he really would be close to the complete player.

There's more to backhand than power looping, which is definitely not Truls' game. He's great at punch blocking, chop blocking, extreme spin variation on drives, placement, and deceptiveness. I'd guess there are players who fear and despise his backhand, not because it blows them away, but because it completely disrupts their rhythm. It's an elite set-up shot, and and the punch blocks are great finishers.

 

[zeio]

I will be happy for whichever 3 make the team. But keep in mind the rankings that really matter for the Japanese Olympic hopefuls are the ones on January 3, 2028, which by then the ranking points this year will have expired. Hitomi will have challenges going forward as she is sure to meet in future tournaments top rivals such as Hina and Satsuki, both of whom are excellent against even the best chopper in the world.

But the day belongs to Hitomi (and I hope tomorrow too)! I am so happy for her success!

You just don't get it. Have you competed before in your life? Why did Miwa say she had to keep playing as much as her teammates? Did it not strike a chord?

It comes down to seeding. As I replied to you back in 1/2025 how health should've been the top priority of every player, Hashimoto fell ill from all the overseas travel/got injured/committed to JTTL near the end of 2025 and lost the crucial momentum and precious initiative she had built up to keep her teammates at bay that I projected in 8/2025 when she moved up to the 4th position. That's also when Hayata dropped to the 5th position on the team and made that desperate yet calculated move on Harimoto to keep herself afloat and eventually get back up to the 2nd/3rd position.

Now Sato is in the position that Hashimoto could've been in (and why the latter was mad at WTT for lack of TTR on T2-T4), where she won't meet Harimoto and Hayata until the QF in most events for most of 2027 (that Hashimoto kept running into in the first 2 rounds at 2 out of 3 CS in 2026), which is the round of the Great Filter in terms of seeding for CS and CT events (8 seeds). Now that the points for SF and QF have been boosted slightly less than those for R16 from 2026 onward (64.4% vs 65.5%), those 1400+ points will serve as a comfortable buffer and alleviate much of the pressure on Sato even if she gets unlucky with the draw in GS and SCT (16 seeds) a few times down the road unlike Harimoto and Hayata who won't have that luxury if they fail to replenish their points by reaching their seeded round at the remaining 2 CS events in Montpellier and Frankfurt. If Hayata drops to the top 16 after her points from CS Frankfurt 2025 expire, she'll be in hot water and have a hard time to move back up like Odo in 2026.

Women's Singles
2026 Week #41 - October 5th
https://www.ittf.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/2026_41_SEN_WS.html
Fight for 3rd-5th on the team at CHN GS 2026
Harimoto, 1st
6709
Hayata, 2nd
4810

Odo, 3rd before, 4th after
R16 3310-300+380=3390

Sato, 4th, 3rd
QF 2880-180+580=3280
SF 2880-180+900=3600
F 2880-180+1400=4100
W 2880-180+2000=4700

Hashimoto, 5th, 5th
QF 2554-210+580=2924
SF 2554-210+900=3244
F 2554-210+1400=3744
W 2554-210+2000=4344

張本美和が3位、早田ひなは6位でトップ10キープ　孫穎莎が4週ぶり世界1位返り咲き、大藤沙月は11位浮上｜卓球女子世界ランキング（2026年第41週）
https://spread-sports.jp/archives/399485

2025/1/16
https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/fo...-muscat-2025-11-17-jan-2025.36330/post-503644

There are still 3 more days before the announcement on the future direction beside the new head coaches, but year 2025, at least the very start of it, likely won't matter. This is the first 4-year Olympic cycle in 8 years and there are too many uncertainties to account for. The top priority of every player is to stay healthy for now. The WR is useless until perhaps 2026.

2025/8/23
https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/fo...sh-sweden-august-14-24-2025.35820/post-537425

As long as SYS and WMY are problem-free, they are untouchable. For the time being, Hashimoto's best course of action is to keep herself afloat by staying as close to top 10 (seeding position) for as long as possible to avoid running into her teammates, who would eat her for breakfast.

 

[NextLevel]

So far this match is feelng like the matches this morning, where the loser isn’t playing badly but he just isn't getting any breaks. Hope LYJ can get a score more deserving of his play.

 

[pongfugrasshopper]

You just don't get it. Have you competed before in your life? Why did Miwa say she had to keep playing as much as her teammates? Did it not strike a chord?

It comes down to seeding. As I replied to you back in 1/2025 how health should've been the top priority of every player, Hashimoto fell ill from all the overseas travel/got injured/committed to JTTL near the end of 2025 and lost the crucial momentum and precious initiative she had built up to keep her teammates at bay that I projected in 8/2025 when she moved up to the 4th position. That's also when Hayata dropped to the 5th position on the team and made that desperate yet calculated move on Harimoto to keep herself afloat and eventually get back up to the 2nd/3rd position.

Now Sato is in the position that Hashimoto could've been in (and why the latter was mad at WTT for lack of TTR on T2-T4), where she won't meet Harimoto and Hayata until the QF in most events for most of 2027 (that Hashimoto kept running into in the first 2 rounds at 2 out of 3 CS in 2026), which is the round of the Great Filter in terms of seeding for CS and CT events (8 seeds). Now that the points for SF and QF have been boosted slightly less than those for R16 from 2026 onward (64.4% vs 65.5%), those 1400+ points will serve as a comfortable buffer and alleviate much of the pressure on Sato even if she gets unlucky with the draw in GS and SCT (16 seeds) a few times down the road unlike Harimoto and Hayata who won't have that luxury if they fail to replenish their points by reaching their seeded round at the remaining 2 CS events in Montpellier and Frankfurt. If Hayata drops to the top 16 after her points from CS Frankfurt 2025 expire, she'll be in hot water and have a hard time to move back up like Odo in 2026.

Women's Singles
2026 Week #41 - October 5th
https://www.ittf.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/2026_41_SEN_WS.html
Fight for 3rd-5th on the team at CHN GS 2026
Harimoto, 1st
6709
Hayata, 2nd
4810

Odo, 3rd before, 4th after
R16 3310-300+380=3390

Sato, 4th, 3rd
QF 2880-180+580=3280
SF 2880-180+900=3600
F 2880-180+1400=4100
W 2880-180+2000=4700

Hashimoto, 5th, 5th
QF 2554-210+580=2924
SF 2554-210+900=3244
F 2554-210+1400=3744
W 2554-210+2000=4344

張本美和が3位、早田ひなは6位でトップ10キープ　孫穎莎が4週ぶり世界1位返り咲き、大藤沙月は11位浮上｜卓球女子世界ランキング（2026年第41週）
https://spread-sports.jp/archives/399485

2025/1/16
https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/fo...-muscat-2025-11-17-jan-2025.36330/post-503644


2025/8/23
https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/fo...sh-sweden-august-14-24-2025.35820/post-537425

Yes zeio, I fully understand that Sato put herself in great position both in terms of seeding and NER limit. That is no huge revelation. I've even mentioned it before how important of a milestone it was for Sato to surpass Hashimoto to play Champions events. I'm just making folks aware of the ranking points of 2027 will be considered for the top 2 spots in case they haven't been following the Japanese selection process. I fully expected and expect the race to the Olympics to be extremely competitive.

 

[JackJohnson]

So far this match is feelng like the matches this morning, where the loser isn’t playing badly but he just isn't getting any breaks. Hope LYJ can get a score more deserving of his play.

He heard you 😂

 

[zeio]

MS SF
Calderano (6) 3-4 LYJ (5) (9, 9, -8, -8, -4, 3, -5)
G7 03, 13, 14, 24, 27, 37, 38, 48, 410, 510, 511

MS SF
ZQH (14) 2-4 Matsushima (2) (-6, -9, 10, 7, -7, -5)
G5 61, 66, 76, 711
ZQH: Low battery
G6 52, 56 endline edge for Matsushima, 511

 

[andymagata]

Is someone comparing Hurricane3 vs European/Japanese results in tournaments like this? Would be so interesting to know a trend when it comes to the superiority of Hurricane 3, if such things exist. For example, Hitomi Sato playes better with Zyre?

 

[M51]

Wow, what amazing home crowd support for Zhou Qihao. Not. 😵‍💫

So many empty seats. 👉😑

Truls has a great backhand (except for the loop which is getting better but still far from great).

He can't kick, can barely counterloop, but he compensates with a superb punch and pretty much only the very best of the elite can actually do something against his chop block, which is unbelievably nasty.

Last time Duda played him, he couldn't even read the bounce, he was late to every ball.