WTT Champions Frankfurt 2026, November 3-8

[NextLevel]

Another WTT event without any CNT in Men's SF ! and if CHEN Yi fails against Sabine, same for Women ! ???

 

[M51]

 

[NextLevel]

Wow, this is the ultimate CNT plan - Winter for LA 2028.

 

[NextLevel]

So it went as we both kinda thought it would and not as many assumed beforehand a with Chinese sweeping through.
Chen Yi can still have a say but Winter perhaps not a formality either.
I'll stick with Miwa as the favourite but it's really anyone's from here

Totally wrong first impresssion but I guess SYS not entering did transform the event.

No CNT women in a Champions semi when 4 entered - has this happened before?

Three Japanese women and one German - and all the Chinese women were eliminated by a German or a Japanese...

While of course this is part of the CNT master plan, on a more serious note is it too many events?

And finally, I think for me.the biggest red flag was that Chen Yi did not even ask to inspect Winter's paddle. I wouldn't be surprised if the rubber has been redesigned.... after all it is made in Germany.... customization is not only for DHS players lol....

 

[nicedream]

zeio, retire!

 

[zeio]

WS QF
Winter WR10 4-0 CY WR9 (8) (3, 10, 7, 8)

Cunning CNT. Trying to "intervene in/influence" the selection of other teams through confusion?

JPN: Hayata or double chopper?
GER: HY or Winter?

 

[NextLevel]

Sora Niwa or Koki Matsushima...

Wow, 2-1 3-2 point

They have worked on Franziska... but don't count out Sora Niwa...

 

[JustANoob]

I did not expect this result at all

 

[NextLevel]

I did not expect this result at all

Neither fid I but Sora looks tired. Franziska is a beast and the German analytics team is not to be take for granted either. But the thing about Sora is that the match can flip if he becomes motivated. Patrick has to keep.him there.

 

[JustANoob]

Neither fid I but Sora looks tired. Franziska is a beast and the German analytics team is not to be take for granted either. But the thing about Sora is that the match can flip if he becomes motivated. Patrick has to keep.him there.

If we talking about tired there's sweat flying off Franziska in every slow-mo, dude will need his electrolytes after this.

 

[NextLevel]

If we talking about tired there's sweat flying off Franziska in every slow-mo, dude will need his electrolytes after this.

Franziska is a machine, he doesn't need electrolytes.

 

[zeio]

MS QF
Matsushima WR1 (1) 2-4 Franziska WR18 (9, -11, -8, -7, 10, -10)
G5 107, 1010 TO for Matsushima, 1210
G6 13, 23, 24, 44, 45, 65, 67, 87, 88, 98, 910, 1010, 1012

Poor form and low back pain notwithstanding, there's no denying Matsushima is going through what Harimoto experienced several years ago. He's lucky to have reached WR1 during the "interregnum" of CNT.

 

[NextLevel]

MS QF
Matsushima WR1 (1) 2-4 Franziska WR18 (9, -11, -8, -7, 10, -10)
G5 107, 1010 TO for Matsushima, 1210
G6 13, 23, 24, 44, 45, 65, 67, 87, 88, 98, 910, 1010, 1012

Poor form and low back pain notwithstanding, there's no denying Matsushima is going through what Harimoto experienced several years ago. He's lucky to have reached WR1 during the "interregnum" of CNT.

Very lucky. How many others have been that lucky?

 

[JustANoob]

Franziska is a machine, he doesn't need electrolytes.

Funny thing is Duda gave Franziska more trouble than Sora, but watching Franziska vs Sora, it kind of feels like their styles/strengths are similar. Franziska has definitely done something with his servers, getting a lot of points just from those.

 

[M51]

@NextLevel

 

[Takkyu_wa_inochi]

The prophecy arrives.

The pandora box is open. No more CNT Sunday .

CNT has taken too many hits. They used to have such an aura of invincibility, once a player faced a CNT member they lost before the match started and back in their head already gave up and didn’t believe they had a true chance.

OTOH CNT had a self belief and confidence they would win however tough their opponent is

Now we see they are human and this generation of players can’t withstand the pressure. Didn’t see the match but poor Chen Yi. 0-4 amplified by Sabine’s unusual style and the fact she was the last one standing..

[didn’t see the match]

Only WCQ SYS WMY are a class above still but injuries and fatigue (and declining motivation after many past successes) are taking their toll. Big danger if there is no young blood coming for the CNT…

Unless of course FZD and CM make comebacks 😂

 

[Takkyu_wa_inochi]

grok when was the last time no CNT player both men and women not in semis of a WTT or ITTF event when they were participating ?

It appears this has not happened in any major senior professional table tennis event (WTT Champions, ITTF World Tour/Pro Tour, World Championships, Olympics, etc.) with meaningful Chinese participation in both genders for at least the last 15–20+ years—and likely much longer.


Extensive checks of results from the 2010s–2020s (and targeted looks further back) show:

• Chinese men have been completely shut out of the singles semifinals in several recent WTT Champions events (e.g., Montpellier 2026 and prior years at the same stop, plus other Champions stops). Women, however, almost always reach multiple or all four spots when they enter a normal contingent.
• Chinese women being fully shut out of the semis is extremely rare when they compete in strength. Their depth has made it exceptional for decades.
• No documented case surfaces of both men’s and women’s singles semis having zero Chinese players in a top-tier event where Chinese athletes actually entered and competed in both draws. Olympics, World Championships, and major tour events consistently show at least one (usually several) Chinese players in the last four of at least one gender—and usually both—when China fields competitive teams.

Lower-tier Contender/Feeder events or cases with very limited/absent Chinese entries sometimes produce thinner fields, but those do not match the criteria of participation + full double shut-out at a high level. Pre-WTT/Pro Tour eras (pre-~2000s) are harder to exhaustively scan without full archival databases, but China’s dominance (especially women’s) was already firmly established by the 1990s–2000s, making such a dual absence highly unlikely in major events.


Bottom line: WTT Champions Frankfurt 2026 (with confirmed Chinese entries reaching the later stages in both draws before all were eliminated prior to the semis) stands out as the first clear modern example of this exact scenario. No earlier comparable instance in major senior events is readily documented.

====

AI can solve Nobel prize physics but can’t find the answer here !!!

 

[NextLevel]

Funny thing is Duda gave Franziska more trouble than Sora, but watching Franziska vs Sora, it kind of feels like their styles/strengths are similar. Franziska has definitely done something with his servers, getting a lot of points just from those.

Sura didn't consistently get into his playing stance, he looked more like Koki Niwa than Sora Matushima. Regardless, as many injured opponents have shown, they can still be very dangerous often becauae you dont get quite the same signals from their body movements you would get from an engaged player. At least Germany has players to root for tomorrow. France didn't enjoy that pleasure lol.

 

[FIXPOINT]

WTT Champions Frankfurt 2026 WS QF

WTT Champions Frankfurt 2026 MS QF

 

[Matteones]

As good as it is for us to see them play this often, I think the very best ones should not be forced to play so many tournaments. The tournaments that start on the same day when not the day before another tournament ends are crazy scheduling.