So I was there on Wednesday and wanted to share my thoughts in no particular order.
1. Great matches! I was lucky to have picked such a day with three huge upsets and quality matches overall.
2. The crowd was very fair except for the few Chinese that did not tolerate any cheers for opponents and immediately countered them. They were in the minority but still unbelievably loud. Once the Chinese players were done the ones I did spot left.
3. Yes, there are very cheap tickets, but those seats are not great. I paid 40€ for this seat which I actually really liked. I'm going Saturday again for the semi-finals which cost 55€ for the left side of table. Food and drinks are obviously expensive, but not the worst I have seen. 4€ for a 0,5l coke. Still too much if you spend the entire day there.
4. The infinity arena looks great. It's actually really cool how dark the seats get and the table has all the light. Still a few dumb people there that did not turn off the flash. Audience can get blinded by the lights below the player entrance stage when they flash around. Happened to me multiple times.
5. Seats are made of hard-shelled plastic. Not great when you spend six hours on them. The rows are way too narrow. You have zero space. I couldn't even put my jacket over the seat. Way too risky to put a cup anywhere so you are better off buying a bottle you can close.
6. There are screens in the corners of the arena, but they are too small. I had a hard time reading the score if I didn't keep up myself.
7. The air in the arena only got worse towards the end of the evening.
8. The layout of the arena is very good. You don't have to break your neck to view the table. My neck still hurt after so many hours, though.
9. Get rid of those privileged seats between the box and general crowd. I don't know if they pay filthy money or are for people with badges, but they can obstruct the view for the first and second row to the left and right of the table. I will be sitting in the second row on Saturday so I'm gonna be pissed.
10. There was only one (big) toilet for women, men and impaired people. That's not enough for this amount of people (up to 5000). Paper towels were empty real quick and never got refilled.
11. The pathing is horrible when everyone tries to leave. People standing in line for two food and drink stalls, one information stall, three merch stalls when most try to leave while the rest wants to go to the toilet. Basically too many people blocking each other.
12. The fan village is a f*** joke. Inside one small tent are one normal table and three mini tables with NO space behind you. There was also one table outside between that tent and a big screen. The problem is that there also three food and drink stalls plus one tent where you can get autographs around said tent. So basically once again too many people blocking each other. There is actually way more space that could have been used outside but simply wasn't. If you do want to use the break between sessions you should use your time wisely. I tried to get food in a restaurant, but that failed and I ended up having to wait 20 minutes to get one overpriced crêpe and almost missed the start of Dima's match. I did not bother with any of the other stalls (there is one where you can let your spin get measured).
13. As far as I know autograph sessions only get announced the day they are happening. That's bad for planning. I need that Ma Long signature on my blade case 😭
14. 5€ to park your car. One bus stop and train station close to the arena.
15. The streaming camera is actually a telescope camera. It moves down after every point and goes up again before every serve. We could have a lower viewing angle but the camera is also positioned behind the assistant umpire. There were three other cameras, but none on my side. Also no ceiling camera.
16. THE BALL DOES NOT BOUNCE OFF THE FLOOR 😅
17. Man, I wish I could always serve as low as the pros.
18. Not the first time I have seen pros play, but I have to mention you do lose speed on stream/video.
19. Their top spins barely go over the net just like their serves.
20. I don't think I have ever seen so many service errors in a single tournament.
21. Not much to say about the matches. You have seen them. The crowd was very loud for Bernie deservedly so. Definitely the loudest for Dima. Lots of people unfortunately left right afterwards and did not stay for Sabine's match.
22. Umpires' performance needs to reviewed when questionable decisions happen. Chen Meng clearly did not hit the edge. The replay was shown twice and it definitely was side, but the umpire did not reverse her decision. The crowd was not happy and booed her. Shin Yubin just now did not hit the net with her serve. It's the same umpire. Replay proved it.
23. Ma Lin swallowed Chen's defeat and stayed quiet.
24. Wang Hao was not happy when two of his players lost. He had a lot to say to them after their match. He actually left Fan in the box after he told him off. He was still grabbing his things while Wang Hao was already out the door looking at his phone.
25. Wang Hao did smile when Wang Chuqin redeemed the CNT.
26. Sun Yingsha actually had a lot to say to the coach after her victory.
27. Zhou Qihao was there as training partner and cheered for WCQ.
28. Wang Chuqin does not seem to serve over the table, but he is veeery close.
29. Dima only hit two winners with his forehand. His big backhand won him way more points.
30. Lee Sang-su is a madman. Unbelievable performance. His over the table wristy backhand killed Fan. It's actually disgusting how many half long or short balls the players were able to flick.
31. Lots of head shaking from Fan and Sun when they made bad serves and got punished.
32. I do think it's good that there are basically no breaks between matches in a single session, but you get punished for taking a toilet break or buying a drink.
33. I'm glad I didn't buy a ticket for the entire week. That single day was already exhausting.
34. I did happen to meet quite a few people I know like the manager from the Weinheim women's team in the first Bundesliga. Nice surprise that made me happy. The table tennis world is small.
35. I guess that's it. Sorry for the outrageously long post. If you have any questions or want me to take pictures tomorrow feel free to ask.
