In a sentence

Her game is almost impossible to replicate, and that very “difference” forced Chinese women’s table tennis to prepare separate game plans just for her.

Playing style

  • Short pips on the backhand, producing a sinking ball and an odd rhythm that breaks an opponent’s timing
  • A wide variety of serves, with a deceptive motion and large spin differences
  • Combines close-to-table fast attack with flat hitting, good at stealing points before an opponent is set

Career and key moments

In 2016, at 15, she won women’s team bronze at the Rio Olympics with Japan. At the Tokyo 2020 Olympics she paired with Jun Mizutani to win the mixed doubles, giving Japan its first Olympic table tennis gold, and also took women’s singles bronze and women’s team silver. She has won international titles while beating several Chinese mainstays in a row, and was Chinese women’s table tennis’s most important targeted rival over a cycle. At the 2025 Doha World Championships she beat Wang Yidi 4–1 at the quarterfinal stage or earlier to reach the semifinals. Against players such as Wang Manyu, however, her record has long been on the losing side.

What she left the game

She proved that an “off-mainstream” game can still survive at the top level — provided that one trick is trained until opponents cannot adapt. She is an unmissable link in the rise of Japanese table tennis.

In a sentence: When you lack raw dominance, making an opponent uncomfortable is the best dominance you can get.