Table tennis, also known as ping-pong, is a racket sport that is similar to tennis but played on a rectangular table with a net in the middle.
The players use paddles to hit a lightweight ball back and forth across the net. One or two players on each side of the table can play the game.
Table tennis has been an Olympic sport since 1988, and has a global popularity, especially in Asia.
Although less popular globally than field tennis, some table tennis players have attained international fame, becoming renowned as some of the best players in the history of the sport.
Here are the top 10 greatest table tennis players of all time:
10. Ma Lin
Ma Lin is a retired Chinese table tennis player widely considered one of the greatest of all time.
He started playing ping-pong at the age of 5 and soon showed his remarkable talent.
By 1990, he had joined the Sichuan provincial team, and four years later made the Chinese national team.
He participated in many international competitions and won several titles and awards.
He is the only male player to have won Olympic gold medals in singles, doubles, and team events.
He also holds the record for winning the most World Cups for any single male player in table tennis history, with four World Cups and an Olympic gold medal.
He retired from playing in 2013 but remained active in the sport as the head coach of the Guangdong provincial team.
Ma Lin is a true legend who raised the bar for others to reach.
9. Ichiro Ogimura
Ichiro Ogimura, a legendary Japanese table tennis player, began playing the sport in 1948 and practiced diligently at the school level.
He was a key player in the Ping Pong Diplomacy events in the 1970s, which helped to ease the tensions between China and Japan.
He also played for the unified Korean team at the 1991 World Table Tennis Championships.
Throughout his career, he won impressive three English Open titles, and 12 World Championship titles, including two men’s singles and an unprecedented five consecutive team titles.
After retiring from competition, Ogimura remained involved in table tennis through roles with the Japanese Olympic Committee and Japan Table Tennis Association.
He was inducted into the ITTF Hall of Fame in 1997 and is widely regarded as one of the greatest table tennis players ever.
8. Deng Yaping
Deng Yaping, widely considered one of the greatest female table tennis players ever, began playing ping-pong at the age of 5, and won her first national championship at the age of 13.
She joined the Chinese national team in 1988 and won gold medals in both singles and doubles events at the 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games.
Yaping further solidified her legendary status by winning singles and doubles titles at the 1995 and 1997 World Championships.
She has won an astonishing 18 world championships, including four Olympic gold medals, and was ranked as the world’s No. 1 female table tennis player for an unmatched 8 consecutive years.
In recognition of her dominance and impact on the sport, Yaping was voted Chinese Female Athlete of the Century and was rightly inducted into the ITTF Hall of Fame in 2003, cementing her place among the greatest to ever play the game.
7. Xu Xin
Xu Xin is a Chinese table tennis player, currently ranked as the world No. 2 player in men’s singles by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF).
He is known for his traditional Chinese style of playing, which involves using a penhold grip and a shakehand paddle.
He is one of the few players in China who can use both techniques.
He has played for the Shanghai Zhongxing club and the Chinese national team.
Throughout his career, he has won 17 world singles titles, three men’s doubles titles, two mixed doubles titles, and five team titles at the World Table Tennis Championships.
Xu Xin achieved the peak ranking of No. 1 in the world in 2013, a testament to his status among the elite.
He also won the men’s team gold medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, along with his teammates Ma Long and Zhang Jike.
6. Zhang Jike
Zhang Jike is one of the few famous table tennis players who won all the major titles in table tennis history, including the Olympic Games, the World Table Tennis Championships (WTTC), and the World Cup.
He achieved a career Grand Slam in table tennis, which means he won all three titles in his career.
He was the fourth male player to do so, and he did it in only 445 days, making him the fastest player to win a Grand Slam.
Jike won his first WTTC and World Cup in 2011, and his first Olympic gold medal in singles in 2012 in London.
He then won another WTTC in 2013 and another World Cup in 2014. He is currently preparing for the next Olympics, which will be held in Paris in 2024.
5. Guo Yue
Guo Yue emerged as one of China’s most talented female players in the 2000s.
The left-handed shakehand stylist won numerous titles early in her career, including the prestigious 2007 Women’s World Championship in singles.
She also played in mixed doubles and women’s doubles events. She won bronze medals in women’s doubles at the 2004 Athens Olympics and the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
She also won mixed doubles titles at the 2005 and 2007 World Table Tennis Championships (WTTC).
Additionally, Guo Yue claimed gold in mixed doubles at the 2007 World Championships and was part of China’s winning women’s team at the 2008 World Table Tennis Championships.
She also won the Asian Cup in 2006 and 2007. She gradually lost interest in table tennis due to her poor behavior and attitude.
She left the Chinese national team after the 2012 London Olympics and joined the Liaoning provincial team.
Guo Yue stepped away from competitive table tennis in 2015 to focus on her studies at Tsinghua University, one of the most prestigious universities in China.
While her playing career was relatively brief, Guo Yue demonstrated her class on the world stage and helped carry China’s table tennis tradition of excellence.
4. Wang Liqin
Wang Liqin joined the Chinese men’s national team in 1993 when he was only 15 years old.
He was ranked as the world’s No. 1 table tennis player for 25 consecutive months (2004–06 period), which is the second-longest period in history.
Some of his many accomplishments include winning his first World Table Tennis Championship (WTTC) in singles in 2001 in Osaka, Japan.
He also won the gold medal in men’s doubles at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, and the bronze medal in singles at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, and the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China.
After winning numerous titles for China, he retired from the sport in 2013 and has since served as a coach for Shanghai’s club team in the Chinese Super League.
3. Liu Guoliang
Liu Guoliang truly stands out as one of the all-time greats in table tennis history.
He won all the major titles in world tournaments, including the World Table Tennis Championships (WTTC), the World Cup, and the Olympic Games.
Liu achieved a Grand Slam of table tennis, which means he won all three titles in his career.
He was the second male player to do so, after his compatriot Kong Linghui.
At the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, he won two gold medals in men’s singles and men’s doubles.
He also won the men’s singles title at the 1996 WTTC in Manchester, the World Singles Championship in 1999 in Eindhoven, and the World Doubles Championships in 1997 in Manchester and 1999 in Eindhoven.
He retired from playing in 2001 and became the head coach of the Chinese men’s national team.
Under Liu Guoliang’s guidance, China continued its dominance on the world stage, securing nearly every major men’s singles title between 2001 and 2018.
He was elected as the president of the Chinese Table Tennis Association in late 2018, where he remains today.
He is widely regarded as one of the greatest table tennis players and coaches of all time.
2. Ma Long
Ma Long is a Chinese table tennis player and the current Olympic and World champion in men’s singles.
He is ranked as the world’s No. 3 player by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF).
He holds the record for being the world’s No. 1 player for 64 consecutive months, which is the longest period in history.
Since 2014, he has been the captain of the Chinese men’s national team.
He has won five straight ITTF World Tour tournaments in a row and 28 ITTF World Tour titles in total, which is also a record.
He became the fifth player to complete a career Grand Slam of table tennis, which means he won the Olympic Games, the World Table Tennis Championships (WTTC), and the World Cup in his career.
He is the first male player in the world to win every single title in the table tennis game.
Ma Long is widely regarded as the best Chinese table tennis player at the moment and one of the greatest table tennis players ever.
1. Jan-Ove Waldner
Jan-Ove Waldner, a Swedish table tennis player, is widely regarded as the best table tennis player of all time. He is the most successful non-Chinese player in the history of the sport and has been nicknamed the “Mozart of Table Tennis” by his fans and peers.
He is also known as Lǎo Wǎ (Old Waldner) and Cháng Qīng Shù (Evergreen Tree) in China, where he is highly respected and admired.
He started playing ping-pong in 1988 when he was only 16 and went on to win numerous Swedish Championships, European Championships, and World Table Tennis Championships (WTTC), and the gold medal in men’s singles at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
In the same year, he received the prestigious Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal, the most esteemed award for Swedish athletes.
He played his last competitive game in 2016 and announced his retirement from the sport.
Table tennis is a constantly evolving sport, but the legends featured in this list will always be remembered.
From Ma Long, the current Olympic and World champion, to Jan-Ove Waldner, the most successful non-Chinese player, and other greats like Liu Guoliang, Deng Yaping, and Zhang Jike, the list of greatest table tennis players of all time is a testament to the skill, dedication, and achievements of these remarkable athletes.
Whether it’s Ma Long’s unprecedented records, Waldner’s longevity and impact, or the dominance of players from China and other nations, the legacy of these players will continue to inspire and awe fans of the sport for generations to come.