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Are there really two Kim Taehyun's? LOL.

CCY is the greater player for sure, but he couldn't beat Ovtcharov in recent years. When CCY was 31 in 2011/2012, the ranking system was different and used both results and the quality of opponent to calculate rating. Pitchford would have fared better under that system than the current one...

Pitchford has been very explicit about the impact Covid has on him and his broader issues with mental health. He is playing worse but has not changed fundamentally as a player. Anyone can point to stats, stats also need to be interpreted and then the question is whether the interpretation...

Dima (r.18) lost to Pitchford when Pitchford was lower ranked (r.64) than he is now. Vincent Picard beat Yang Wang (ITTF Ranking in the top 100) at 3-0. He has taken good players the distance on the ITTF tour. I know some of us only look at WR when we want to assess a player. But when a...

Lots of good wisdom in here, but the conclusion is overstated. A good fast long push is a strong weapon for sure, but executing a good long fast push is also at least as difficult as a decent short push. And a short push doesn't have to be truly short to be effective, it just doesn't have to...

Picard is buried on the France depth chart, so yeah, it's all about the stats. I am sure you can confirm that Rolland is top 100:

That is such a depressing story for a son to bear, I am sure the man was proud of his son, well done, LGY.

We are still waiting for Ma Long to become the Messi of MLTT... after that, I will agree with you lol....

Of course it is a different level. Pitchford was displaying his "past prime" form. Could only beat Picard 3-1...

We had a recent discussion on another thread about MLTT players and how the league is getting old (the argument was that the more dynamic leagues in Europe like Pro A are younger). Well, we just saw Freitas vs Alamiyan. Now it is Pitchford vs. Picard, with Picard already up 1-0.

I don't think anyone has said that, contrary to your position. The issue is the balance between truly allowing an individual to compete and fulfil his potential regardless of the situation vs relegating him to being someone who helps fulfil the potential of others or what the country's...

It's not just tennis, it's also badminton. It's funny how people are claiming that they watch all kinds of sports and they don't see the same things happening, when even a cursory look at Asian sports will show the same exact things pretty much everywhere - here are players coming in on elevators:

I think no one would confuse this tournament with having taken place in any part of the USA. But maybe not...

It's what table tennis fans especially the purists prefer. A focus on the sport. Fan girls are a distraction from the competition. Top players in the past never needed them. The girls breaking into Fan's hotel room are putting the sport at risk and causing early retirement.

You can watch and decide whether the announcement enhances or takes away from the event:

I think the goal was to bring a different vibe to the Smash events to give them an enhanced aesthetic. Probably not for everyone but not adding more ceremony to your bigger events begs the question of what makes them bigger...

It's an American thing according to wiser people than myself - you just need to find out who the Americans WTT are consulting and they will fix it. As to whether sports dim lights or not, it varies, the Bulls did a lot of light dimming for their introductions. Baseball is an outdoor sport so...

I wonder what FZD is up to nowadays. Nah, ZJK blades would still be on the market if ZJK hadn't had some scandals. FZD blades will still be advertised and sold by FZD until well after he really stops playing and that will be a few years since he will still be in Superleague and play in...

Not quite the same but the old ball made things easier sometimes lol...

It really doesn't matter, all that matters is how they make their swing (using their arm and body) and contact with the ball based on the incoming ball spin and the shot they want to play. How closed or open or tilted etc. the racket looks can change based on so many things that it is IMHO not...