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At this rate might as well get faulted for breathing.

They should play 4 games per match and first to 11 sets. Final match can be played up to 5 games if they tie at 10-10. Plus you get that victory match atmosphere that T-league has been trying to create at that point. That way the silly tie-breaking format will finally have a use instead of...

Interested to hear what you mean by best-case-scenario

This is Kihara's third WTT final this year. Edit: Third time's the charm for Kihara!

Kihara plays with such good rhythm and patience, rare for a short pips player. Always felt she had better technique that Ito but somehow never found a breakthrough to the very top.

Hirano blows a 9-3 lead while 2-0 up against Odo. Super late timeout at 9-7, similar to how she lost a major lead against Ito at Singapore Smash 2024. Ridiculous red card call for Hirano at 1-5 in the fifth. Not sure how much faster they expect players to move. But probably wouldn't have made a...

Mizutani and Hirano Sayaka predict lineups for Japan at Mixed Team Cup Sayaka 1. Matsushima/Miwa 2. Odo (Reason: Never played WMY and can possibly take 1 game with serves) 3. Tomozaku 4. Togami/Shinozuka 5. Hayata/Ito Mizutani 1. Matsushima/Miwa 2. Hayata (Potential on the big stage) 3...

maybe calls for retirement aren't such a bad thing after all

One thing I noticed about Ito's match against WYD at WTTC was that she seemed a lot more like her old self. Taking the initiative to open and rally with her backhand, pounce on loose balls and most importantly it looked like she wanted to win. She still did chop blocks and strategic pushes but...

That pretty much sums up top level women's table tennis. I mean did you see the quarterfinal matchups for WTTC 2025? We could possibly throw Shin Yubin and Winter into the mix.

Hayata looked a lot sharper today staying closer to the table blocking and countering. Personally I prefer this Hayata over the one that stays far behind the table fishing and swinging.

to be fair they've made the final for every team event they've participated in since London Olympics 2012. The only exceptions off the top of my head are the Asian Champs 2023 where they drew China in semifinals and also World Team Cup 2023. WTC 2023 is particularly significant since they sent...

Hmm they struggled against North Korea, the SK trio of SYB/KNY/JCH have been getting good wins over JNT and running deeper into tournaments in general. Zeng Jian and Samara are now scalping Ito + Odo. Germany also looks well positioned to give a good challenge. I just think JNT should worry...

Samara beats Odo. With Miwa in floundering form, Hashimoto already being figured out, and the no.3 spot still wide open for anyone to take, will Japan be ok in LA2028?

Kaufmann will shoot up by 9-10 places with her victory over Batra and get close to the top 40 if she beats Han Ying. She'll be just outside the top 30 if she reaches semifinals. May be a long shot but I also feel that Kaufmann is one of those players who can perform well when the occasion rises...

It's not, but iirc the coach at the time dismissed Amelie for her material instead of trying to develop her style. No way she can play like Winter but a decent Fukuhara like forehand would have been possible at least. Instead she was forced to move to Austria just to continue playing. Winter is...

I wonder how Amelie feels watching Sabine succeed with a style that literally got her kicked out of the German team. Granted they play completely differently and Amelie's style lost effectiveness over time, but still makes you wonder.

+Timo being chosen over Franziska

Unfortunately I have to agree with Zeio's assessment that the long term viability of Winter's playstyle is in question. Her game while extremely effective now feels like it lacks dimensions, not just because of Anti, but her attack patterns that don't seem to vary much in terms of placement...

Odo v Zeng Jian rematch again. Ito finally finally gets to take on Yuan Jia Nan again, the woman who kickstarted her downfall, three years later.