How does a semi-pro make money playing TT?

[Der_Echte]

sponsored players can get free equipment
higher level ones, can get income from TT brands.
Some could even get royality from product sales.

but I think those semi pros, at best, is just free equipment to use (which will save them a lot of money).
I know a male junior that gets 50 sheets of rubbers a year - 25 pairs basically.
Its just barely enough because he glues up 2 to 3 bats at a time and if more is needed, he will have to buy them.
But his coach said, that 50 already saved his budget but a huge margin.

25 pairs of rubber (and a free Nexy Blade and uniform tops which we lettered) is what our 5 founding members of Korea foreign TTC got right before I left the country... and none of us were anywhere near international level... 2 of our squad was prolly 2300ish level USATT.

 

[Gozo Aruna]

As for lawyers and accountants who participate in wtt......no matter how low your level you can participate if you pay the fee.

You mean one can play at WTT event with any ranking points?

Heres something to think about: Slap one side with the most disruptive weirdest pimple rubber and play at the lowest level of WTT say Feeder event and get some LOL moments with those semi-pros. There! Ten minutes of international fame right there!

 

[Scarfed Garchomp]

You mean one can play at WTT event with any ranking points?

Heres something to think about: Slap one side with the most disruptive weirdest pimple rubber and play at the lowest level of WTT say Feeder event and get some LOL moments with those semi-pros. There! Ten minutes of international fame right there!

The LOL moments will be when I can't even touch the ball and trip over my own feet 😂

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

You mean one can play at WTT event with any ranking points?

Heres something to think about: Slap one side with the most disruptive weirdest pimple rubber and play at the lowest level of WTT say Feeder event and get some LOL moments with those semi-pros. There! Ten minutes of international fame right there!

Some WTT events require ranking points - ie star contender.

for feeder, 0 points you can get in.
It just needs your national federation to enter you (you can't enter yourself)

Some countries are relaxed about it, some - you can't enter even if you are rich, as some places the prerequistic is to be in the national team for example.

USA had a guy called Wally Green years ago. He was based in China and played half a dozen World Tours (what the tour was called back then). Wally was not part of Team USA or good enough to even challenge the national team players.

He was an amateur playing on the world circuit because he had the wallet to make it happen.
and he loved every moment of it

‘The Sport of Love’: Ping-Pong, the Great Equalizer (Published 2022)

Wally Green has played everywhere from Brooklyn to Pyongyang, becoming a beloved American ambassador for table tennis — and international understanding — in the process.

www.nytimes.com

I still remember there was one time he was playing on the main table.
You can see he was enjoying every moment. I recall he was like Dennis Rodman - keep changing his hair colors

 

[Gozo Aruna]

You mean one can play at WTT event with any ranking points?

Heres something to think about: Slap one side with the most disruptive weirdest pimple rubber and play at the lowest level of WTT say Feeder event and get some LOL moments with those semi-pros. There! Ten minutes of international fame right there!

Imagine such a scenario; at a WTT Feeder event, during the preliminary rounds: a pro players forced to look like a amateur player by a basement / garage player with a dad-bod physique who just stand without any leg movement just blocking all the awesome topspin by the pro-players. Such a LOL game-play wll surely be Youtube-worthy and will immediately garner 1M views.

 

[Der_Echte]

Imagine such a scenario; at a WTT Feeder event, during the preliminary rounds: a pro players forced to look like a amateur player by a basement / garage player with a dad-bod physique who just stand without any leg movement just blocking all the awesome topspin by the pro-players. Such a LOL game-play wll surely be Youtube-worthy and will immediately garner 1M views.

Gozo, if you were in TT over a decade ago, you would know the famous "PUSHBLOCKER" user on the TT forums... he was a bid dude, moved maybe one step either way, blocked everything with his slippery LPs and 1% of time use a FH.

He made a vid in his garage with him doing some practice with WERNER SCHLAGER. Turns out PB knew Schlager from the same town in Austria.

Will have to see if that vid still on youtube.

 

[Der_Echte]

Here... it is.

 

[Sticky]

@Tony's Table Tennis

Can you share thoughts on how the Chinese system works? Everyone of their players have the CHINA below their names. Is the state funding them in all events? So curious.

 

[Rinforzando]

I highly doubt he can be a practicing dentist and a National Player at the same time; he has to pick a lane. We all know which lane he picked.

Well, he is a dentist, he has finished his studies and he also plays for a team in the first league of Poland. I believe his dentist office is most of the time closed for now because he is active in table tennis, but it is a nice backup plan for when he retires of in case he has a big injuries and need to stop his career early. There is some interview of him you can find on the internet, if I remember correctly he hasn't the traditional pro path. He was good when he was very young, then more or less stopped table tennis during his teenage years to focus on studies and came back after.

https://www.kineske-gume.rama.hr/Panagiotis%20Gionis.pdf

edit: added interview

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

@Tony's Table Tennis

Can you share thoughts on how the Chinese system works? Everyone of their players have the CHINA below their names. Is the state funding them in all events? So curious.

On the WTT/ITTF Circuit, it would be state funded.

China (and North Korea) are the only "National Team" based system in the world. Meaning, you are employed by the NT, until you retire from it.
Chinese system starts early when kids go to sport school and make they way up to provincial team and then national junior team (CNT B team) then A team. There are around 20 odd players per A and per B team per gender.
Since Provincial team, one would start early a salary.

When in CNT B or A team, the NT will cover your expense to take part in internationals.
B is obviously the Youth series, with A is your seniors series.

So, you can take it as these CNT players are "centrally" contracted to the national team, and are "released" to play in Chinese Super Leagues. They are not allowed to play any where else, unless the CTTA gives approval.

This is different to other countries, say Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Germany, where players are each of they own, and can play in any domestic competition and just "report to international duty". The national team is pretty much only "1 or 2 weeks" from departure, or with national training camps during the year.

CNT is a proper full working hours, 52 weeks a year. the other countries - is only when you report for duty, the rest of the time, you are with your clubs. The rest of the countries is basically similar to your soccer/football national teams, they only gather for internationals.