Legends

China's First World Champion

Born

1937–1968

Grip

Right-handed penhold

Playing style

Close-to-table penhold fast attack

• Men's singles champion, 1959 World Championships (25th edition)
• Mainstay of China's men's team title at the 1961 World Championships (26th edition)
• China's first world champion

Three Straight World Championships Men's Singles Titles and a Witness to Ping-Pong Diplomacy

Born

1940

Grip

Right-handed penhold

Playing style

Two-winged penhold fast attack

• Three straight men's singles titles at the 26th/27th/28th World Championships
• Mainstay of China's men's team titles at the 26th/27th/28th World Championships
• A witness to the 1971 ping-pong diplomacy

From "handsome bomber" to the administrator of Chinese table tennis

Born

1942

Grip

Right-handed penhold

Playing style

Penhold fast attack with aggressive forehand play from the backhand corner

• Mainstay of the men's team titles at the 26th/27th/28th World Championships
• Multiple-time World Championships men's singles finalist
• Later head coach of the Chinese men's team and President of the Asian Table Tennis Union

The First Chinese President of the ITTF

Born

1938

Grip

Right-handed penhold

Playing style

Penhold fast attack

• Mainstay of China's men's team title at the 26th World Championships
• ITTF president, 1995–1999
• The first Chinese president of the ITTF

The Architect Who Took Chinese Men's Table Tennis from the Trough Back to the Top

Born

1961

Grip

Left-handed shakehand

Playing style

Two-winged inverted-rubber loop combined with fast attack

• Member of the men's team champions at the 36th World Championships
• Former head coach of the Chinese men's team and head coach of the Chinese national table tennis team
• Led the team through its revival in the mid-to-late 1990s

The Last Golden Age of Penhold Fast Attack

Born

1964

Grip

Right-handed penhold

Playing style

Penhold fast attack

• Men's singles champion at the 38th World Championships (1985)
• Men's singles champion at the 39th World Championships (1987)
• Men's singles champion at the 1984 World Cup

The man who carried the flag through the Chinese men's team's lowest period

Born

1968

Grip

Shakehand

Playing style

Loop combined with fast attack

• 1989 World Cup men's singles champion
• 1992 World Cup men's singles champion
• Member of the 1995 World Championships men's team champion squad

A Doubles Master and Three Straight World Championships Mixed Doubles Crowns

Born

1967

Grip

Shakehand

Playing style

Fast attack combined with loop

• Men's doubles champion, 1992 Barcelona Olympics (with Lü Lin)
• Three straight mixed doubles titles at the World Championships (1991/1993/1995, with Liu Wei)
• Member of China's men's team world title, 1995 World Championships

The golden doubles partner who stood beside Wang Tao

Born

1969

Grip

Shakehand

Playing style

Loop combined with fast attack

• 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games men's doubles champion (with Wang Tao)
• 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games men's doubles runner-up
• Multiple strong results in World Championships men's doubles and men's team events

China's first men's Grand Slam winner

Born

1976

Grip

Right-handed penhold

Playing style

Penhold fast attack + penhold backhand topspin

• China's first men's "Grand Slam" (1996 Olympics / 1996 World Cup / 1999 World Championships)
• 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games men's singles and men's doubles double champion
• Later President of the Chinese Table Tennis Association and Chairman of the WTT Board

The youngest men's World No. 1 — a record that stood for twenty years

Born

1975

Grip

Right-handed shakehand

Playing style

Two-sided inverted loop combined with fast attack

• 1995 World Championships men's singles champion
• 1995 World Cup men's singles champion
• 2000 Sydney Olympic Games men's singles champion (Grand Slam)

Four-time World Cup champion and Beijing Olympic men's singles champion

Born

1980

Grip

Right-handed penhold

Playing style

Penhold backhand topspin + forehand loop from the backhand corner

• 2008 Beijing Olympic Games men's singles and men's team champion
• Four-time World Cup men's singles champion (2000/2003/2004/2006)
• 2004 Athens Olympic Games men's doubles champion (with Chen Qi)

Three-Time World Championships Men's Singles Champion · Current CTTA President

Born

1978

Grip

Right-handed shakehand

Playing style

Two-winged inverted-rubber loop · power player

• Three-time men's singles champion, World Championships (2001/2005/2007)
• Men's doubles champion, 2000 Sydney Olympics (with Yan Sen)
• Men's team champion and men's singles bronze, 2008 Beijing Olympics

The Master of the Penhold Reverse Backhand and Three Straight Olympic Men's Singles Silvers

Born

1983

Grip

Right-handed penhold

Playing style

Penhold reverse backhand (a systematised backhand game)

• Men's singles champion, 2009 Yokohama World Championships
• Three-time men's singles World Cup champion (2007/2008/2010)
• Olympic men's singles silver three times running (2004/2008/2012)

The Fastest Grand Slam in History (445 Days)

Born

1988

Grip

Right-handed shakehand

Playing style

Two-winged inverted-rubber loop · explosive

• Men's singles and men's team champion, 2012 London Olympics
• Men's singles champion, 2011/2013 World Championships
• Grand Slam completed in 445 days, the fastest ever

Double Grand Slam winner · the most decorated Olympic athlete in Chinese history

Born

1988

Grip

Right-handed shakehand

Playing style

Two-sided inverted loop combined with fast attack

• Men's "double Grand Slam" (2016/2020 Olympic singles + World Championships + World Cup)
• Three consecutive World Championships men's singles titles (2015/2017/2019)
• 6 Olympic gold medals, the most of any Chinese athlete

"The People's Artist" and the Best Mid- and Long-Distance Touch in the Game

Born

1990

Grip

Left-handed penhold

Playing style

Two-winged penhold loop · mid- and long-distance game

• Men's singles champion, 2013 World Cup
• Mixed doubles champion, 2015 World Championships (with Yang Ha-eun of South Korea)
• Men's team champion, 2016 Rio and 2020 Tokyo Olympics

Paris Olympic Men's Singles Champion · Four-Time World Cup Winner

Born

1997

Grip

Right-handed shakehand

Playing style

Two-winged inverted-rubber loop · power and consistency

• Men's singles champion at the Paris 2024 Olympics (Grand Slam)
• World Championships men's singles champion (Houston 2021 / Durban 2023)
• Four-time World Cup men's singles champion (2016/2018/2019/2020)

The First Left-Handed Men's Singles World Champion · Current Chinese Men's Captain

Born

2000

Grip

Left-handed shakehand

Playing style

Two-winged inverted-rubber loop combined with fast attack

• Men's singles champion, 2025 Doha World Championships (China's first left-handed winner)
• Mixed doubles and men's team champion, 2024 Paris Olympics
• Men's singles champion, 2026 Macao World Cup; Chinese men's team captain from 2026

The youngest men's World No. 1 in history

Born

2005

Grip

Right-handed shakehand

Playing style

Two-sided inverted loop · dominant backhand

• Became the youngest men's World No. 1 in history in February 2025
• 2026 Nagoya Asian Games triple crown: men's singles / men's doubles / mixed doubles
• 2025 year-end mixed doubles World No. 1 (with Kuai Man)

China's first-ever women's world champion

Born

1935

Grip

Right-handed penhold

Playing style

Penhold fast attack combined with push-block

• 1961 26th World Championships women's singles champion
• China's first-ever women's world champion
• Later devoted decades to table tennis research and promotion

The Key Scorer Who Brought the Corbillon Cup Back

Born

c. 1953

Grip

Right-handed penhold

Playing style

A 'trick-shot artist' known for spin and placement variation

• Key member of the women's team champions at the 33rd World Championships (1977), scoring two points in the final
• Women's singles champion at the 35th World Championships (1979)
• A 'trick-shot artist' famed for a variation-based game

Two-Time World Championships Women's Singles Champion · Winning the Final with Lobs

Born

1962

Grip

Right-handed penhold

Playing style

Penhold fast attack combined with loop

• Women's singles champion at the 37th World Championships (1983)
• Women's singles champion at the 38th World Championships (1985)
• Multiple World Championships women's team and doubles titles

Two-time Olympic women's doubles champion beside Deng Yaping

Born

1968

Grip

Right-handed shakehand

Playing style

Two-sided inverted loop

• 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games women's doubles champion (with Deng Yaping)
• 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games women's doubles champion (with Deng Yaping)
• Long ranked among the world's best in women's singles

Eight Straight Years at World No. 1 · Four Olympic Golds

Born

1973

Grip

Right-handed shakehand

Playing style

Close-to-table fast attack · rapid transition

• Two women's singles and two women's doubles gold medals across Barcelona 1992 and Atlanta 1996 (four in total)
• Eight consecutive years as world No. 1 in women's singles
• Multiple World Championships women's singles and team titles

The women's doubles World No. 1 who paired up with Wang Nan for years

Born

1976

Grip

Right-handed shakehand

Playing style

Two-sided inverted loop

• 2000 Sydney Olympic Games women's doubles champion (with Wang Nan)
• Long-standing women's doubles World No. 1 alongside Wang Nan
• Member of multiple World Championships women's team title-winning squads

24 World Titles · Three Straight World Championships Women's Singles Crowns

Born

1978

Grip

Left-handed shakehand

Playing style

Two-winged inverted-rubber loop combined with fast attack

• Three straight women's singles titles at the World Championships (1999/2001/2003)
• Women's singles and doubles champion, 2000 Sydney Olympics
• 24 world titles over her career

The Only Women's Double Grand Slam · "The Big Devil"

Born

1981

Grip

Right-handed shakehand

Playing style

Two-winged inverted-rubber loop · control player

• The only women's double Grand Slam winner
• Women's singles champion, 2004 Athens and 2008 Beijing Olympics
• Women's singles champion, 2005 Shanghai and 2009 Yokohama World Championships

World Cup Women's Singles Champion and a Fixture in China's World Title Lineups

Born

1983

Grip

Right-handed shakehand

Playing style

Two-winged inverted-rubber loop

• World Cup women's singles champion
• Multiple World Championships women's team champion
• Long ranked near the top of the world in women's singles

The Gifted Left-Hander Who Topped the World Championships Women's Singles at 19

Born

1988

Grip

Left-handed shakehand

Playing style

Two-winged inverted-rubber loop combined with fast attack

• Women's singles champion at the 2007 Zagreb World Championships
• Women's team champion at the Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Olympics
• Women's doubles bronze at the Athens 2004 Olympics

Grand Slam winner and Rio women's team champion

Born

1988

Grip

Right-handed shakehand

Playing style

Two-sided inverted loop · power game

• 2012 London Olympic Games women's singles and women's team champion
• 2013 Paris World Championships women's singles champion
• 2008 World Cup women's singles champion (completing the Grand Slam)

Grand Slam Winner · Rio Olympic Women's Singles Champion

Born

1990

Grip

Left-handed shakehand

Playing style

Two-winged inverted-rubber loop · squat chop serve

• Women's singles and women's team champion at the Rio 2016 Olympics
• Women's singles champion at the 2011 Rotterdam World Championships
• Women's singles champion at the 2011 World Cup (completing a Grand Slam)

Five-time World Cup champion · 2019 World Championships women's singles champion

Born

1991

Grip

Right-handed shakehand

Playing style

Two-sided inverted rubbers · close-table speed game

• Women's World Cup singles titles in 2009/2012/2013/2015/2019, the most in history
• 2019 Budapest World Championships women's singles champion
• 2016 Rio Olympic Games women's team champion

Two-Time Olympic Women's Singles Champion · A Successful Defense

Born

1994

Grip

Right-handed shakehand

Playing style

Two-winged inverted-rubber loop · balanced all-round

• Women's singles champion at Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 (consecutive)
• Women's team champion at Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024
• Women's singles champion at the 2020 World Cup, plus multiple World Championships women's team titles

The Steady Contributor in Team Events

Born

1997

Grip

Right-handed shakehand

Playing style

Two-winged inverted-rubber loop · power player

• Women's team champion, 2025 Asian Championships and 2026 London World Championships
• Mixed Team World Cup champion, 2024/2025
• A long-term fixture in the top five of women's singles

The Clutch Player in Team Events

Born

1997

Grip

Right-handed shakehand

Playing style

Two-winged inverted-rubber loop combined with fast attack

• Women's team champion at the 2022 Chengdu, 2024 Busan and 2026 London World Championships
• Women's team champion at the 2025 Asian Championships
• Long ranked inside the world's top five in women's singles

2021 World Championships Women's Singles Champion · Current World No. 2

Born

1999

Grip

Right-handed shakehand

Playing style

Two-winged inverted-rubber loop · balanced attack and defence

• Women's singles champion, 2021 Houston World Championships
• Women's team champion, 2020 Tokyo and 2024 Paris Olympics, and 2026 London World Championships
• Women's doubles champion, 2025 Doha World Championships (with Kuai Man)

Years at World No. 1 · Three Straight World Cup Titles

Born

2000

Grip

Right-handed shakehand

Playing style

Fast attack combined with loop · close-to-table speed

• Women's singles champion, 2023 Durban and 2025 Doha World Championships
• Mixed doubles champion (China's first Olympic mixed doubles gold) and women's team champion, 2024 Paris Olympics
• Three straight Women's World Cup singles titles (2024/2025/2026); year-end world No. 1 four years running

World No. 1 in both women's doubles and mixed doubles — the left-handed new core

Born

2004

Grip

Left-handed shakehand

Playing style

Two-sided inverted loop · doubles specialist

• 2025 Doha World Championships women's doubles champion (with Wang Manyu)
• 2025 year-end World No. 1 in both women's doubles (with Wang Manyu) and mixed doubles (with Lin Shidong)
• 2026 Nagoya Asian Games mixed doubles champion, women's singles ranking rose to No. 3

The First Men's Grand Slam · "The Evergreen"

Born

1965

Grip

Right-handed shakehand

Playing style

Two-winged inverted-rubber loop · control and variation

• Men's singles champion, 1992 Barcelona Olympics
• Men's singles champion, 1989 and 1997 World Championships
• The first men's Grand Slam winner; men's singles runner-up at the 2000 Sydney Olympics

The "world's best backhand" and the other half of Sweden's golden generation

Born

1966

Grip

Right-handed shakehand

Playing style

Two-sided inverted loop · backhand-oriented

• 1991 Chiba World Championships men's singles champion
• 1991 World Cup men's singles champion
• Led Sweden to four World Championships men's team titles

Two-time World Cup men's singles champion · the evergreen of European loop play

Born

1969

Grip

Right-handed shakehand

Playing style

Two-sided inverted loop · rally-oriented

• World Cup men's singles champion in 1993 and 1997
• World Cup men's singles third place in 1994, 1998, 1999 and 2002
• Competed for Yugoslavia / Croatia at multiple Olympic Games

2003 World Championships Men's Singles Champion

Born

1972

Grip

Right-handed shakehand

Playing style

Two-winged inverted-rubber loop combined with fast attack

• Men's singles champion, 2003 Paris World Championships
• Men's singles runner-up, 1999 World Cup
• The most successful player in Austrian table tennis history

Three-Time World Cup Champion · "Europe's Last Elegance"

Born

1976

Grip

Right-handed shakehand

Playing style

Two-winged inverted-rubber loop · elegant

• Men's singles World Cup champion in 1999, 2001 and 2009
• Men's singles runner-up, 1997 World Championships
• Record holder for most men's singles World Cup titles by a European player

Two-Time World Cup Champion · The Face of European Table Tennis for Two Decades

Born

1981

Grip

Left-handed shakehand

Playing style

Two-winged inverted-rubber loop · speed and spin in equal measure

• Men's singles World Cup champion in 2002 and 2005
• First reached world No. 1 in 2003
• Seven Olympic appearances; the flag-bearer of European table tennis for nearly two decades

2017 World Cup champion · two-time Olympic men's singles bronze medalist

Born

1988

Grip

Right-handed shakehand

Playing style

Two-sided inverted loop · power game

• 2017 World Cup men's singles champion
• Men's singles bronze medal at the 2012 London and 2020 Tokyo Olympics
• Multiple European Championships men's singles titles

The man who won Japan's first-ever Olympic table tennis gold

Born

1989

Grip

Left-handed shakehand

Playing style

Two-sided inverted loop · mid-to-far-distance game

• 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games mixed doubles champion (with Mima Ito)
• 2016 Rio Olympic Games men's singles bronze medal and men's team silver medal
• Winner of Japan's first-ever Olympic gold medal in table tennis

Korea's left-handed core · Paris mixed doubles bronze medalist

Born

1997

Grip

Left-handed shakehand

Playing style

Two-sided inverted loop · doubles specialist

• 2024 Paris Olympic Games mixed doubles bronze medal (with Shin Yu-bin)
• 2025 year-end men's doubles World No. 2 (with Ahn Jae-hyun)
• 2025 WTT Finals mixed doubles champion in Hong Kong

The hexagonal blade · twice a world-level runner-up and European Grand Smash champion

Born

2002

Grip

Right-handed shakehand

Playing style

Two-sided inverted loop · touch and variation

• 2024 Paris Olympic Games men's singles silver and men's team silver
• 2021 Houston World Championships men's singles runner-up
• 2025 European Grand Smash men's singles champion (the first European to win a WTT Grand Smash) and 2026 Macao Champions men's singles champion

The Flagbearer of Japanese Men's Table Tennis · Youngest-Ever Finals Winner

Born

2003

Grip

Right-handed shakehand

Playing style

Two-winged inverted-rubber loop · close-to-table speed player

• Men's singles champion at the 2018 World Tour Grand Finals (aged 15, the youngest ever)
• Men's singles champion at the 2025 WTT Yokohama Champions
• Men's singles champion at the 2022 Asian Cup; men's singles runner-up at the 2025 Hong Kong Finals

A Rare European Penhold Prodigy · Now World No. 2

Born

2006

Grip

Right-handed penhold

Playing style

Penhold reverse backhand · close-to-table fast attack

• Men's singles bronze and men's team bronze at the Paris 2024 Olympics
• Men's singles champion at the 2026 Europe Grand Smash (France's first WTT Grand Smash men's singles title)
• World No. 2 in men's singles as of August 2026

Japan's new core who won the All-Japan men's singles title at 17

Born

2007

Grip

Right-handed shakehand

Playing style

Two-sided inverted loop · all-round game

• 2025 All-Japan Championships men's singles champion (won the title in his first-ever final, at 17)
• 2026 WTT United States Grand Smash men's singles champion, Macao World Cup men's singles runner-up
• World No. 3 in men's singles as of August 2026

The Trailblazer of Korean Women's Table Tennis's Golden Age

Born

1964

Grip

Shakehand

Playing style

Loop combined with fast attack

• Women's doubles champion, 1988 Seoul Olympics (with Hyun Jung-hwa)
• Women's doubles champion, 1987 New Delhi World Championships (with Hyun Jung-hwa)
• Women's singles runner-up, 1983 Tokyo World Championships

A World Championships Grand Slam · The Peak of Korean Women's Table Tennis

Born

1969

Grip

Right-handed penhold

Playing style

Penhold short-pips fast attack · single-sided forehand covering the whole table

• Women's singles champion at the 1993 Gothenburg World Championships (a World Championships grand slam)
• Women's doubles champion at the 1988 Seoul Olympics (with Yang Young-ja)
• Led the unified Korean team to the women's team title at the 1991 World Championships

One of the Few Europeans to Medal in World Championships Women's Singles in 50 Years

Born

1977

Grip

Right-handed shakehand

Playing style

Two-winged inverted-rubber loop · traditional European loop

• Bronze medal, women's singles, 2003 Paris World Championships
• Career-high world ranking of No. 2 (2002)
• Three-time European Championships women's doubles champion (2002/2003/2005); inducted into the European Table Tennis Hall of Fame in 2015

The Veteran Chopper Still Beating Chinese Stars After Two Achilles Tears

Born

1983

Grip

Right-handed shakehand

Playing style

Chopping · combining attack and defense

• Women's team silver at the Rio 2016 Olympics (Germany)
• Women's singles runner-up at the 2016 ITTF Finals (the first German to reach the finals)
• Women's singles champion at the 2025 Europe Top 16 Cup; 2026 Champions League women's team champion with her club

'Ai-chan' to Chinese Fans

Born

1988

Grip

Right-handed shakehand

Playing style

Two-winged inverted rubber · close-to-table fast attack

• Women's team silver at the London 2012 Olympics
• Women's team bronze at the Rio 2016 Olympics
• Four Olympic appearances (2004/2008/2012/2016)

The Backbone of Japan's Three Olympic-Medal Women's Teams

Born

1993

Grip

Left-handed shakehand

Playing style

Two-winged inverted-rubber loop · steady player

• Mixed doubles champion at the 2017 Düsseldorf World Championships (with Maharu Yoshimura)
• Women's team silver at London 2012, bronze at Rio 2016 and silver at Tokyo 2020
• Multiple All Japan Championships women's singles titles

Olympic Silver Medalist with Germany's Women's Team

Born

1994

Grip

Left-handed shakehand

Playing style

Two-winged inverted-rubber loop · serve is her strength

• Women's team silver medal, 2016 Rio Olympics (Germany)
• Multiple European Championships medalist
• Mainstay of the German women's team for the past decade

Winning Japan's First Olympic Table Tennis Gold

Born

2000

Grip

Right-handed shakehand

Playing style

Backhand short pips · close-to-table fast-attack variation player

• Mixed doubles champion at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics (with Jun Mizutani), women's singles bronze and women's team silver
• Women's team bronze at the Rio 2016 Olympics (aged 15)
• Repeated wins over China's top players on the international stage

Paris Olympic Women's Singles Bronze Medalist

Born

2000

Grip

Left-handed shakehand

Playing style

Two-winged inverted-rubber loop · power player

• Women's singles bronze and women's team silver at the Paris 2024 Olympics
• Women's singles champion at the 2025 All Japan Championships
• Women's doubles champion at the 2026 WTT Singapore Grand Smash (with Miwa Harimoto)

The Next-Generation Core Who Won Four All-Japan Titles at 16

Born

2008

Grip

Right-handed shakehand

Playing style

Two-winged inverted-rubber loop · all-round

• Women's team silver at the Paris 2024 Olympics
• All Japan Championships senior women's singles, doubles and mixed doubles champion in 2026
• Women's doubles bronze at the 2025 World Championships (with Miyu Kihara); women's singles champion at the 2026 WTT Chongqing Champions