In table tennis, even the tiniest equipment tweak can throw everything off. Things like rubber thickness, blade construction, table surface, and even the arena’s humidity all shape how the game plays out. At the pro level, players rely on split-second timing, sharp instincts, and a fine-tuned sense of touch. When the feel changes, the whole balance collapses.
I started looking into seamless balls after noticing how many top players struggled at the 2024 Asian Championships and the 2025 World Cup. Their timing looked off, shots felt disconnected, and many just couldn’t find their groove. The deeper I looked, the more it felt like a rabbit hole. I’m still connecting the dots, but here’s what I’ve learned so far.
Wang Chuqin’s 2025 World Cup just wrapped. In the semifinals, he lost to Hugo Calderano, 10-12 in the deciding seventh game. When the last ball dropped, Wang squatted down and wiped the sweat off his face with his arm. Then he smiled. Regret thickened the air like humidity before a storm. The crowd felt it. For Wang, alone at the center, it had to be a thousand times heavier. But still, he smiled.
May 16th, 2025: Have dropped the post about the seamless ball: How Seamless Balls Broke the Game’s Rhythm. You know why I treated today like a deadline. The hardest part was digging through lab tests and essays in different languages. Thanks to Kenneth for sharing and helping me lock in a few points. I’ll trim and proofread the post this weekend.
May 6th. 2025: Just wrapped up a filming project in Philly and finally back in the city. Yesterday, I had a great chat with a TT amateur from Singapore who shared a bunch of insights about equipment, including the seamless ball. The whole convo kicked off with the Paris racket incident, ofc. 🔫 I haven’t forgotten about writing something on the seamless ball, but for some reason, the draft keeps growing longer and longer. No idea why, lol.
If you’ve watched Wang Chuqin play, you already know it’s wild. Fast loops, nasty spin, and full of fire. A big part of that is his finely tuned weapon: the racket. And just like his playstyle, Wang’s racket setup has gone through some serious changes over the years.
This post is all about what makes a pro racket, how Wang’s gear has evolved, and a few stories along the way, some cool and some kinda painful. Let’s get into it.
📌 Updated on March 16th: Congrats to Wang on his singles win at WTT Champions Chongqing! Not just because of the sweep, but also his improvement in fh-bh transitions and mentality. Anyway, I might not have time to watch all the matches or post anything new this week, but when inspiration hit, I added some thoughts at the end of this article.
Coaching in table tennis involves way more than shouting, “Move your feet!” from the sidelines. It’s the backbone behind every champion. Especially in China, where everything runs like a well-oiled war machine with strategy, resources, you name it. And yet… somehow, Wang Chuqin pulled off the impossible: made history as ranked #1 in the world in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles at the same time, while never having the full coaching support his peers enjoy.
How does that even happen?
To unravel this mystery, we need to take a closer look at how the Chinese National Table Tennis Team operates, why coaching is so crucial, and how Wang Chuqin slipped through the cracks.
Olympic Table Tennis Men’s Teams Gold 2008-2024 “The Echelon-based team development has been a cornerstone of CNT’s long-term dominance.”(more…)
— An Exclusive Interview with Wang Chuqin by Table Tennis World (Special Issue, Feb 2025)
On New Year’s Day 2025, Wang Chuqin secured victory in the China Table Tennis Super League (CTTSL) finals. The 2024 season finale was unique, stretching across the new year, making this win both the last of 2024 and the first of 2025. After a brief pause in celebration, Wang threw his head back and roared.
“That moment brought back so many memories,” Wang said. Those “memories” encompassed a whirlwind of experiences and emotions from 2024. After the outburst, Wang’s thoughts returned to the match.“ After his outburst, Wang’s thoughts shifted back to the game. “I was overwhelmed. I had been longing for this victory for so long. I don’t think my reaction was over the top. It was just a release of everything I’d been holding in. I’m really glad I could let it out, and I hope this release, this mindset, and my current competitive form carry into 2025.”
The year 2024 was anything but ordinary, marked most notably by the Paris Olympics. Wang went through “couldn’t be more detailed” closed training, relentless early-morning drills that were “always centered around mixed doubles,“ the matches that “kept getting harder,” fought through exhausting battles and won matches “purely on grit.” Over the year, he tasted glory, experienced helplessness, pulled himself out of slumps, and made adjustments. Reflecting on it all, he felt that “compared to my former self, I’ve grown significantly in every aspect“ as he entered 2025.
What changed? Wang answered firmly: “Acceptance. Accepting criticism and unfavorable comments. Even with my flaws and shortcomings, I will still step onto the court and fight as my best self.”
When asked to recall his best, worst, and most memorable moments of 2024, Wang Chuqin, known for his vivid storytelling, replied: “The worst was when Coach Xiao showed me my paddle had completely broken after someone stepped on it. I felt helpless and completely devastated. The best moment was the WTT Finals in Fukuoka. Ever since the Olympics, Coach Wang Hao had been reassuring me, believing in me, but I kept losing matches. Finally, in the Fukuoka finals, I stood my ground. It felt like I could finally repay all the trust he had in me.”
In a recent interview with the Chinese Olympic Channel, Wang Chuqin opens up about his post-Paris Olympic struggles (again!), his goals for LA 2028, the emotions table tennis brings, and a heartfelt letter from his mother that still inspires him today. Watch the full interview with English subtitles and the transcript here.
热烈祝贺我们的 One True King 夺得福冈WTT总决赛冠军！🎉（是的，我知道已经过去两个月了。）经历了奥运后数月的低迷期，以及年中沙特大满贯后的六个月冠军荒，王楚钦终于王者归来。久违了。
我和Jayden聊过很多关于王楚钦的低迷期。起初并没有意识到乒乓球比赛的赛程有多么残酷，仅仅以对游泳、田径等其他运动项目的理解，我们认为长达一年的低迷期都是常态。老实说，我原本预想他要到2025年中期才会回归，可能是在美国大满贯 US Smash 吧（当然，绝对没有私心，但我会去现场！😆 ）可他比预期更早地回来了。跌倒了，奋战了，他反弹回来了。
Huge congrats to our One True King for taking the WTT Finals title in Fukuoka! (Yeah, I know it’s been two months.) After a post-Olympic rough patch and a six-month singles title drought since the Saudi Smash in May, Wang Chuqin is finally back on top. It’s been a while, it’s been a ride.
Jayden and I have talked a lot about Wang’s struggle phase. Coming from other sports backgrounds like swimming and track, we initially underestimated just how brutal the table tennis schedule was and assumed that a slump lasting six months to a year was pretty standard. Honestly, I expected his comeback to happen sometime in mid-2025, maybe at the US Smash (totally unbiased, of course, cuz I’ll be there! 😆). But here we are, way ahead of schedule. He fell, he fought, and he bounced back.
Why “bounce?” Wang’s been bouncing between nonstop tournaments for four months straight. But it’s not just the travel—his game thrives on a rhythm of rapid reflexes and split-second adjustments, like a ping-pong ball ricocheting between rackets. Even when his touch wasn’t at its best, that rhythm kept him in the fight.
Table tennis is often called “chess at light speed” because it’s all about reading the game and making instant strategic shifts. Last October, I raved about Wang’s adaptability when he dealt with those weird seamless balls at the Asian Championships. This time in Fukuoka, he took it up a notch.
Round of 16 vs. Patrick Franziska: Grit Over Perfection
It was clear from the first match that Wang Chuqin wasn’t in peak form. His footwork looked a little shaky; his forehand receive wasn’t landing right, and his shots lacked their usual precision. But he still found ways to win.
Take his Round of 16 match against Patrick Franziska, for example. The second game was a bit of a mess, with both players trading awkward errors and the scoreline swinging back and forth. Even so, Wang stayed proactive, trying with different serves until he nailed the short sidespin serve that flipped a 6-7 deficit into a 7-7 tie. That threw Franziska off, leaving him stuck between flipping, fast pushing, and counter-looping. Then came the nail-biting final rallies at 10-10 and 11-10, where Wang showed both patience and killer instinct to close it out. His game wasn’t flawless, but his tactical discipline saved the day.
Quarterfinal vs. Truls Moregard: The Serve Attack Strategy
After surviving Franziska, Wang faced Truls Moregard in a highly anticipated quarterfinal, their first rematch since the Olympics. He dropped the 2nd game, leveling the score at 1-1, then switched gears. He ditched the cautious drop shots, which weren’t landing well that day, and went full send on aggressive third-ball attacks, adding more backhand flips and long heavy-spin pushes on receive.
In that game alone, Wang served eight times, mainly targeting Moregard’s mid and forehand zones with short shots, and scored seven points just off those serves. Four of them came from immediate third-ball attacks—counterattacks after the serve (turning 0-2 into 1-2, 3-3 into 4-3, 6-4 into 7-4, 9-5 into 10-5). One was snagged with a quick follow-up after the first return (1-2 to 2-2), and two more points came from Moregard’s struggles on receive (4-3 to 5-3 and 7-4 to 8-4). Moregard kept adjusting his stance, but Wang’s relentless attack-after-service strategy left him no time to recover. Meanwhile, Wang’s counterattacks on Moregard’s nine serves, mostly short serves with flat or side topspin, netted him another four points.
In his post-match interview, Wang summed it up simply: “It’s not a revenge… I was just focused on giving my all in every single point, trying to find that ‘in-the-zone’ feeling I’ve had in previous matches.” Mission accomplished.
Before I wrap up Wang Chuqin and Weiqiao Club’s CTTSL victory, I had to share Wang’s post-match thoughts on his performance, his journey back to enjoying the sport after wanting to step away, and more. Check out all the interviews on my YouTube channel and the transcript here!
Transcripts (Post-Semifinal Interview)
Interviewer: How would you sum up today’s match (your win against Fan Zhendong)?
Wang Chuqin: This was a rematch with Fan Zhendong after just a few days, and I tried to learn from the lessons of my previous loss. I prepared thoroughly for this match. From the moment I knew we’d be up against Shanghai, I could already imagine how tough it would be. After all, playing against someone like Bro Dong, one of the world’s best players, I wanted to bring my best to the table.
Interviewer: How was the atmosphere on the court today?
Wang Chuqin:
Since 2023, the atmosphere at table tennis events, both domestic and international, has been incredibly lively. We’ve been receiving increasing support from fans, who are also becoming more knowledgeable about the sport, and the overall vibe just keeps improving. Today, for instance, I didn’t feel any disturbances at all. It’s clear that people are gaining a deeper understanding of the sport and the kind of support and encouragement we players truly appreciate.
Interviewer: It’s the last day of 2024. Can you sum up this year in a few keywords? And what are your hopes for 2025?
Wang Chuqin: Such a tough question! Hmm… I’d say setbacks, joy, pain, and turning points. As for 2025? Let’s get through tomorrow (Jan 1st, 2025) first.
2024 has probably been different for me compared to others. I went through a lot, gained a lot, and lost some things. But now, as the year wraps up, I feel like I’m back on track, and I truly appreciate being in this current state. I hope that 2025 will continue on this positive note and allow me to deliver even better performances for myself and the Chinese table tennis team.
Transcripts (Post-Final Interview)
Interviewer: Your thoughts on winning the first title of 2025—the CTTSL Championship?
Wang Chuqin: Going into the match against Lin Shidong, I told myself to stay humble and approach it with a fighting mindset. Of course, my desire to compete and win was quite strong. I’m thrilled to have secured this championship for Weiqiao, and I hope the relaxed yet confident mindset I brought to the court, along with the improved competitive form compared to earlier this year, will carry over into 2025.
Interviewer: Your emotional shout and celebration after the match—what was going through your mind?
Wang Chuqin: This was essentially my last match of the 2024 season, and the moment I won, so many memories from the past flashed through my mind. Being immersed in such a deeply desired victory was incredibly emotional. I don’t think my celebration was over the top, it was simply a release of my emotions. It felt amazing to win this match, to shout, and to let it all out. I hope this emotional release, along with my current positive form and mindset, will carry forward.
Interviewer: Fans were chanting, “Wang Chuqin, you’re the best!” What would you like to say to them?
Wang Chuqin: I can truly feel the support and cheers from everyone during this CTTSL, and perhaps not just this CTTSL but in past matches as well. As I’ve said before, I hope to give back to them through strong performances, match after match. I believe that delivering my best on the court and securing victories is the best way to show my gratitude to them, and to myself.
Interviewer: Gratitude to Weiqiao
Wang Chuqin: This is my third year with Weiqiao if I remember correctly. I’ve always been deeply grateful for the care and support they’ve given me. Playing in the CTTSL with Weiqiao feels different from my past experiences, it gives me a sense of warmth, like being part of a family. I’ve always hoped to win a championship for Weiqiao, but it hasn’t happened until now.
With Lin Yun-Ju joining us this year, and teammates Huang Youzheng, Zhou Qihao, Yu Ziyang, and Liang Jingkun, we’ve formed an incredibly strong team. Along with the care from Weiqiao’s staff and the guidance from Coach Yin Xiao, I feel the cohesion and fighting spirit of this team is unmatched by any other club. Winning this championship for Weiqiao this year makes me truly happy.
