US Open Finals Prepares to Rock Las Vegas

(USATTUSA Table Tennis CEO Gordon Kaye announced today that the finals of the 2015 US Open will be held at OMNIA Nightclub at Caesars Palace, in Las Vegas, on Saturday, July 11th. Doors will open at 6:15pm, with the Women's Singles finals held at 6:45pm followed by the Men's Singles finals at 7:45pm.

 

"With over 1,000 athletes representing 33 countries competing in this year's Open, we thought it was more than fitting that the Finals be held in one of the premier locations in Las Vegas," commented Kaye. "OMNIA is going to be an amazing setting to see some of the best table tennis players in the world go head-to-head in a venue the likes this sport has never seen in the United States." - Read More

 

More Open: Update - Pool Party Free for any 21+ Open ParticipantsRead More

2015 Missouri Show-Me-State Games Open Recap

(Bill Lewis, Ozarks Table Tennis Club) The 2015 Missouri Show-Me State Games Open had a total of 177 matches played on 12 tables. Ball sponsor for the tourney Butterfly. This tourney was held June 6, 2015 at the O'Reilly-Tefft gymnasium in Springfield, MO. A final tally revealed 44 players who came from the states of: Arkansas, Kansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas. Seven players were rated over 2000. Two players sauntered up from Arkansas, five players wheeled in from Kansas, three rode in from Oklahoma, one player came from Mississippi, 29 attended from Missouri, three ping-pongers arrived from Tennessee and one traveled from Texas.

 

The # 1 seed in both Open Round Robin and Open Singles was 2315 rated Junwei Xu who came to us from nearby Lindenwood University in St. Charles, MO. Xu handily won the day's premier event, Open Round Robin, with a spotless... Read More 

11 Questions With... Larry Bavly

Q: Why do you play?

A: I enjoy the combination of using power, coordination, and thinking.

Q: Which is your favorite tournament? 

A: Any team style tournament. Cheering and supporting are present at all times for myself and my opponent.

Q: Who is your primary Nemesis?

A: Rich DeWitt. His style places a premium on footwork and fitness which I haven't had lately. I know what I need to do but can't do it most of the time.

Q: What is your favorite game tactic to score?

A: When I play a lesser skilled opponent and I overhear his coach instruct "make him move" I place the ball corner to corner, never hit a winner, and sustain the rally until my opponent is run ragged and can't keep up. The look on the... Read More

Top 10 Reasons to Play Table Tennis
(Gregg Letts for About.comJust about everyone has played ping pong (or table tennis, as it is commonly known) at sometime or another, it's one of the most popular sports in the world. But what are some of the reasons that table tennis is played by so many people? And what exactly does table tennis have to offer you?

1. Health and Fitness
Table tennis is good for your health - it's great for getting up a sweat and getting the heart rate up. Played at the higher levels, it's one of the fastest sports around. But you don't have to be a pro to get a good workout. Just a couple of hours a week hitting that little white ball around can do wonders for your fitness - Read More

More New and Noteworthy: Redesign My Brain - Table TennisWatch Here
2015 US Open Participant Quadri Aruna Profiled by BBC News

(ITTFElevated to the unprecedented heights on the Men's World Ranking of no.30 last November, following his quite outstanding efforts at the Liebherr 2014 Men's World Cup in the German city of D�sseldorf, Nigeria's Quadri Aruna, became his continent's highest ever rated player. He set new standards for Africa.


The result was that at the ITTF Star Awards Evening early this year he won not only the Player of the Year Award, also he secured the Point of the Year Award; his exchange with Zhang Jike at the quarter-final stage of the ... Read More

 

More International News: Meet the Philippines National Team - Watch Here

 

More International News: Nittaku ITTF Monthly Pongcast - MayWatch Here

New Lease on Life in Somoa, Olympic Solidarity Course Has Effect

(ITTFComprising the two main islands of Upolu and Savai'i, being situated just south of the Equator; Samoa was the destination for Richard McAfee on Friday 15th May. He journeyed to the South Pacific to conduct the first part of a three part Developing a National Sports Structure Course.


Supported by Olympic Solidarity and organized under the auspices of the ITTF Development Programme, the much travelled American was present for some four weeks, concluding his initial stint on Friday 12th June.

He is scheduled to return for a similar period of time in August and also in late November. 


"Recently the Samoa Sports and Olympic Committee made the... Read More

Interview with Jorge Alberto Mi�o Puga, Ecuador's Top Player

(Rahul Acharya) I recently caught up with Ecuadors's Jorge Alberto Mi�o Puga. Below is a summary of the conversation:

Q: For how long have you been playing table tennis?
A: long time. I started playing when I was 8 years old.

Q: I know in South America f�tbol is big. How did you end up playing table tennis?
A:I started with f�tbol, but after I played both f�tbol and table tennis, at the end I picked table tennis. But I love f�tbol too.

Q: Physically, is it easier to play f�tbol or table tennis? - Read More 

Red or Black Rubber? Worth a Thought

(Arthur Li for Table Tennis DB) Many people have asked me, "What's the difference between red and black rubbers?" A common answer is "nothing", but that's not exactly the case. There are both physical and strategic differences in choosing the color of your rubber.

 

Did you know that black rubbers are often slightly tackier than red rubbers of the same model? The difference isn't significant, but if you want that slight extra tackiness then you should pick the black one. This is due to the pigment that is used in black rubbers. If you look at the top Chinese players, they all use a black tacky rubber on the forehand. But don't sweat it too much, this should only be a small factor in... Read More

 

More Tips: How the Wrist can Creat Spin (Richard Prause) - Watch Video

Triangle Table Tennis to Hold Middle & High School Leagues
(Triangle Table Tennis) Triangle Table Tennis (Morrisville, NC) is excited to announce that it will be offering two school leagues for the 2015-1016 school year.

The Triangle High School Table Tennis League will be open to school teams with players in grades 9-12, while the Triangle Middle School Table Tennis League will be open to school teams with players in grades 6-8.

We are excited to provide high school and middle school students with an opportunity to play a new co-ed team sport that allows for the safe mixing of genders and grade levels, as well as give them the chance to play a sport that offers many... Read More

More Clubs: USATT CEO Gordon Kaye Visits Genesee Valley TT ClubSee Here
Seattle Installing Ping Pong Tables in City Parks to Deter Crime
(CBS SeattleThe city of Seattle is looking to rid crime in its parks by bringing it to the table - the ping pong table. 

Seattle city and community leaders have brought free ping pong to several of Seattle's parks in an effort to boost family friendly activities and push out drugs, crime, theft and prostitution, KING-TV reports.

"We have a lot of areas in parks where people are using it as an open air drug market," said Adrienne Caver-Hall, of the Seattle Parks Department, who is leading the city's push to clean up the city's parks with family activities. In addition to installing... Read More

More TT in the US.: USATT Girl's Under 18 RankingsView Here
San Franciso 49ers Players Battle it out in the Locker Room
(San Jose Mercury NewsIn this video taken by the Sacramento Bee, Kaepernick is playing ping pong with his new teammate, running back Jarryd Hayne in the 49ers locker room after an OTA session. It appears like more than just a friendly game for Kap, who goes for the kills whenever he can.

Hayne wins in the end, but I'm sure Kaepernick probably asked for... Watch Here

Top 10 Craziest Table Tennis Shots of 2014
(Table Tennis Daily) We're just over half way through 2015, but here's a look back at some of the best table tennis shots from last year! - Watch Video

Have you seen any early nominees for the best shots of 2015?
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