Professional matches should be televised as fights

[canonFH]

Every competitor should have a theme music, some sort of custom merch, a "manager" for trash talk (for which they totally should reserve a segment) etc.

ITTF could also introduce a championship belt.

I bet it would attract a lot more viewers. Imagine t shirts with "The Dragon" or "The Cloudwalker" written on the back.

I know it will never happen but Ma Long talking trash to some rising junior star from China in peak Xianxia style will make my day!

"You Dare?! The Door of Heaven are open but you refuse to enter, the Door of Hell are closed but you insist on barging in!! I, your father, shall show you the immensities of heaven and earth!"

 

[Gozo Zyreruna]

Yes! Yes! Yes!
Pre-entrance routine: I agree.

 

[Loop Lob Smash]

Yes! Yes! Yes!
Pre-entrance routine: I agree.

Hard to imagine her stare-down being very effective though

Which tt player would have the most intimidating stare-down do you think?

 

[blahness]

Cringe lol

 

[Gozo Zyreruna]

Hard to imagine her stare-down being very effective though

Which tt player would have the most intimidating stare-down do you think?

not sure about you foreigners' taste, it's alll about Kawaii and Kirei here...

Stare down in TT? Sounds kinda weird.

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

would the same work for Tennis or Badminton?
if not, then maybe it won't work for table tennis

I think people want table tennis to be seem more like a gentleman's game than oppose to the total opposite.
however the background of "player content" is maybe a good idea before matches.
ie, playing an intro video with some of what OP talks about

 

[Gozo Zyreruna]

Instead; I would love if before each match we have the announcer say something like this: Hailing from China, Ma Long using a DHS W968 blade with H3 42.5 degree hardness on FH and H3 Hurricane 37 degree hardness on BH. Something like this.

 

[NetProphet]

would the same work for Tennis or Badminton?
if not, then maybe it won't work for table tennis

I think people want table tennis to be seem more like a gentleman's game than oppose to the total opposite.
however the background of "player content" is maybe a good idea before matches.
ie, playing an intro video with some of what OP talks about

Yeah, that crap only works in sports where the aim is to physically hurt the opponent more than he hurts you. When it's simply trying to put a tiny plastic ball somewhere where the opponent can't reach it the entire match would probably feel like an anticlimax after a Mayweather like intro!
Disrespectful fighters are a holes anyway, take the sport out of the sport and you're just left with two animals beating the crap out of each other.
Better make boxing more like TT, walk in quietly, a bit of respect and humility and look less like a douchebag 😂

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

Instead; I would love if before each match we have the announcer say something like this: Hailing from China, Ma Long using a DHS W968 blade with H3 42.5 degree hardness on FH and H3 Hurricane 37 degree hardness on BH. Something like this.

I think it is not a bad idea
but then again, its very technical and how many people would really understand it? maybe minority.

even better is, showing us video on how he boost the rubbers

 

[Silver Server]

would the same work for Tennis or Badminton?
if not, then maybe it won't work for table tennis

I think people want table tennis to be seem more like a gentleman's game than oppose to the total opposite.
however the background of "player content" is maybe a good idea before matches.
ie, playing an intro video with some of what OP talks about

I think maybe a faceoff before the match, and after match interviews. TT seems widely unpopular to me. Maybe not unpopular, but the majority don’t take it as a serious sport. Just a hobby game played in your spare time.

A lot of times I watch matches and don’t know any background about the players. So I think the interviews would give more insight to them and their playing style, and how different regions have different styles etc.

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

I think maybe a faceoff before the match, and after match interviews. TT seems widely unpopular to me. Maybe not unpopular, but the majority don’t take it as a serious sport. Just a hobby game played in your spare time.

A lot of times I watch matches and don’t know any background about the players. So I think the interviews would give more insight to them and their playing style, and how different regions have different styles etc.

it needs to be a video recording.

can't really be interfering with the player pre match like that.
and post match, they probably will be exhausted to have a good interview.

but, I agree, some video to show who the player is, is not a bad thing

post match interviews does happen for the winners.
we may not see them on live broadcast, but it happens on site. Most times, I think the interview isn't great.

i think more important is for video producers, ie, like WTT to include player intro snippets videos into the live feeds.
I have seen it before, so maybe something in that line could help introducing the players

just a thought (I know my WTT mate is reading) haha

 

[Tyce]

I don't like the fighting kind of intro, but what they do in darts sounds OK. Just an intro with your own song, maybe add nicknames but that's it

 

[Loop Lob Smash]

I don't like the fighting kind of intro, but what they do in darts sounds OK. Just an intro with your own song, maybe add nicknames but that's it

Agreed, the less gimmicky the better. My comments above were purely in jest.

 

[netdriver]

quadri aruna crashing in with WWE-style music blaring behind him with the emcee introducing him as the one and only "hobby player slayer"

 

[driversbeat]

They need to

1. Ask better questions. Most players clearly don't want to disclose their tactics (for good reason) and end up giving the same canned responses. Get someone who knows how to frame questions in a way that will draw out more interesting replies.

2. Get rid of the live interpreter format. Or at least get a native speaker to ask questions. Their interpreters range from ok to downright terrible, and it might be because most of them are lowly/unpaid (at least I saw listings for volunteer interpreters at SS2022). Watch how players interact with their own media vs WTT (e.g. Nagasaki making a joke about her legs) and the difference is clear. You can't engage players if you get them to stand awkwardly for one minute while the interpreter speaks and make them decipher badly translated questions in the next.

 

[canonFH]

would the same work for Tennis or Badminton?
if not, then maybe it won't work for table tennis

I think people want table tennis to be seem more like a gentleman's game than oppose to the total opposite.
however the background of "player content" is maybe a good idea before matches.
ie, playing an intro video with some of what OP talks about

To me, table tennis almost feels like a contact sport because the two players are so close to each other, unlike tennis or badminton.

I agree that people do want it to be more of a gentleman's game hence the apology gestures for nets and everything, but there is something about passion that riles people up, like Zhang Jike tearing his shirt or destroying barriers. I simply want more of those moments in the game.

At least sledging should be allowed imo.

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

To me, table tennis almost feels like a contact sport because the two players are so close to each other, unlike tennis or badminton.

I agree that people do want it to be more of a gentleman's game hence the apology gestures for nets and everything, but there is something about passion that riles people up, like Zhang Jike tearing his shirt or destroying barriers. I simply want more of those moments in the game.

At least sledging should be allowed imo.

but then again, how many players are like zhang jike, less than 10%? or less than 1%?

are you going to have 2 x Lin Yunju trying to stare down at each other before a match?
you should see some of his interviewers to know what I am talking about

I would never want to be an interviewer asking LYJ questions.
I recall, he played Ma Long and interviewer ask what did he think of Ma Long performance today, and how good he really is.
Lin replied, well, he is a grand slam winner, so he is very good.

one of the longest replies Lin gave to date if I recall.

and you right, table tennis is more of a gentleman's game.
if close to each other is contact sport, then how about chess
or even squash?

 

[canonFH]

but then again, how many players are like zhang jike, less than 10%? or less than 1%?

are you going to have 2 x Lin Yunju trying to stare down at each other before a match?
you should see some of his interviewers to know what I am talking about

I would never want to be an interviewer asking LYJ questions.
I recall, he played Ma Long and interviewer ask what did he think of Ma Long performance today, and how good he really is.
Lin replied, well, he is a grand slam winner, so he is very good.

one of the longest replies Lin gave to date if I recall.

and you right, table tennis is more of a gentleman's game.
if close to each other is contact sport, then how about chess
or even squash?

Not everyone is going to be Zhang Jike, but things need to change from this stifling, business-like fashion in which table tennis matches are conducted right now for more viewers to be able to enjoy the sport. As of right now, there is simply no room for players to express themselves. We don't see their personality at all. And we basically have only one decent commentator.

You bring up a great example of Chess. It has exploded in popularity since the grandmasters started streaming. Because you see their personality. Chess pros trash-talk each other all the time, and those are some of the most viewed vidoes. Before that, you could often find people sleeping during classical chess competitions.

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

Not everyone is going to be Zhang Jike, but things need to change from this stifling, business-like fashion in which table tennis matches are conducted right now for more viewers to be able to enjoy the sport. As of right now, there is simply no room for players to express themselves. We don't see their personality at all. And we basically have only one decent commentator.

You bring up a great example of Chess. It has exploded in popularity since the grandmasters started streaming. Because you see their personality. Chess pros trash-talk each other all the time, and those are some of the most viewed vidoes. Before that, you could often find people sleeping during classical chess competitions.

well, you can start domestically and try it out
i see your badge is India
get the India leagues to try it out and then ITTF can copy, like what they did with XD world cup

 

[canonFH]

well, you can start domestically and try it out
i see your badge is India
get the India leagues to try it out and then ITTF can copy, like what they did with XD world cup

I wish. Sadly, I am but a measly club level player with neither the riches nor influence to make something like this happen.