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WTT Star Contender Finals
Copper Box, Olympic Park Sunday, 26th October 2025
Copper Box, Olympic Park Sunday, 26th October 2025
I spent a thrilling day at the WTT Star Contender Semifinals and Finals at the Copper Box arena in Olympic Park. I watch a lot of top-level table tennis here on my computer screen, courtesy of WTT and YouTube, but actually seeing these elite players in the flesh was a wonderful experience – in fact the last time I had witnessed such a spectacle was also in London, at the Excel Arena in 2012, watching the Olympics with my Chinese friend Jingyu Sun (now Dr.)
There were no Chinese men and the second tier Chinese women had long been blown away, except that they had contested the WD final. The whole Star Contender was held together as an elite competition by the strong Japanese entry. Montpellier was coming up immediately and then Frankfurt. The whole WTT jamboree is a bloated circuit, a relentless automatic-entry treadmill that is too demanding on the top players. So I was surprised to see Japan’s Tomokazu Harimoto (22/WR3) and sister Miwa (17/WR7), among many others, still performing at their brilliant best. Interestingly, the top three Chinese man and their top two women also went AWOL at Montpellier - and their top seed CXT, has just evaporated 0-3 in round one! It looks as though the CNT are learning their lesson from Fan Zhendong’s burnout – the best player in the world (Olympic gold-medallist) has withdrawn from the circuit and no longer has a world ranking; he played in the Chinese Super League, but is now thoroughly enjoying his stay in Europe (there are many posts about his activities) and plying his trade in the German Bundesliga.
So how has our game changed since 2012? Right from the start Taipei’s Cheng I-Ching (WR17) was ultra sharp, threatening to blow Hina Hayata (Japan/WR12) away with the speed of her hitting. But gradually Hina came into her own and reminded us all of the catalogue of her past glories (she is only 25, but has had an arm injury), matching fire with fire in ferocious counter-hitting rallies on both wings, and with an extra degree of topspin too. The sheer speed of the rallies was something new, breathtaking.
This pattern continued with Taipei’s Lin Yun-Ju (WR 11) hitting ultra-fast straight out of the blocks but eventually absorbed and contained by Tomo. Both players gave a spectacular display of hitting, especially from mid-distance, with Tomo edging home 3-1 – in sheer quality this could easily have been the final.
Miwa was on next in an all-Japanese semifinal, taking on Honoka Hashimoto (WR10), a modern long-pimple defender of consummate skill – beautiful BH defence and fine FH hitting. Miwa’s technique is superb but perhaps at 17 she has a little way to go before developing her absolute top power. That said, this was a fantastic match, even though it went to expedite at 10-7 in the third – not two pushers chiselling away but one gifted topspinner giving an object lesson in how to lift the heavier 40mm plastic ball against high class defence. I can’t remember ever seeing such a compelling expedite encounter! Miwa is putting on more FH power, as you could see in some explosive hits when taking her chances on serve in expedite. Of course at the moment there is lots of speculation around the Butterfly-sponsored players as to whether they have switched from D09C or D05 to the new wonder weapon Z (Zyre) 03. Maybe Miwa did have a bit of extra zip, which she desperately needed against Honoka. Tomo seems to be just using it on his BH now. Maybe Dang Qiu has gone over. We can only guess.
There was a new face in the last semifinal, 19-year-old explosive Polish talent Milosz Redzimski (WR35) facing a big challenge in the flashing penholder hitting of Germany’s Dang Qiu (28/WR 12, European champion and World team silver medallist in 2022), who was blitzing both wings all day. This was another great match, with Milosz propelling his own howitzers. It went the distance, with Dang prevailing 11-5 in the decider.
My overall impression was one of breakneck speed, with unbelievable hitting and counter-hitting. While we have never replicated the amazing spin which we had back in the speed glue era with the 38mm celluloid balls, the latest blade and rubber technology has overcome the increased weight of the 40mm plastic, at least in terms of rally speed. Donic did a fine job of sponsoring the event, even providing a set of tables for social play, but where were Butterfly when the finals were largely contested by their sponsored players?
There was plenty of crowd support for the Taiwanese duo of Lin and Cheng, taking on Hong Kong’s Wong Chun Ting and Doo Hoi Kem in the XD Final. Penholder Wong dominated the early stages, with Cheng not able to shut him down or to return all his blistering attacks, but she grew into the match and in the latter stages it was Doo who failed to keep pace with the super-rapid counter-hitting rallies. Lin provides the unusual but modern spectacle of a left hander moving across to favour his BH over his FH, but this BH of his over the table is one of the most formidable weapons in the game and it proved decisive in a handsome 3-1 victory. They came over as shy personalities in the interview – in general these did not go down well, with little interest and poor acoustics. It’s best if the players can speak English, like Dang did in the evening. I think our sport suffers heavily here, compared with tennis and football, in which English rapidly becomes an adopted language.
After all that drama, the two finals in the evening did not disappoint. I wouldn’t have backed Miwa to beat Hina, not after such a gruelling battle against Honoka earlier in the day. But from somewhere Miwa found reserves to beat the odds in an enthralling, high octane duel, fighting back superbly from two games down and then taking the last four points from 7-9 down in the deciding seventh game. This was Miwa’s third Star Contender title, a precocious achievement at age 17. I think that here in London she put on a show, fully justifying her WR7.
This was not matched by older brother Tomo (WR3), who lost to an inspired Dang Qiu (WR 12). Tomo looked lost for speed as Dang’s gunshots kept whizzing past the corners! He battled back from adversity (0-3) with his trademark extrovert intensity, working himself up into a frenzy. If you look at the scores (4-2: 11, 10, 12, -9, -7, 10), you can count Tomo as unlucky in losing four deuce games, but on the other hand Dang excelled at all these vital moments. The contrast between the siblings is remarkable, Miwa calm and composed, computing her tactics, Tomo almost manic in his point-winning celebrations and the constant flow of words to his corner. You need immense mental energy and intense concentration, and I can’t help thinking that Tomo dissipates some of this through his insecurity.
Congratulations to Dang on this electric display, a showstopper, and to his coach, Dustin Gesinghaus, who normally presides over the German U19 team. But the warmest greeting goes to JNT for bringing many of their best players to perform at or near their peak level.
