WTT Champions Doha 2026...
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AJ Scott
Jan 6, 2026, 6:30:30 PMJan 6
to NYTableTennis
Happy New Year to all! The first event of the year kicks off late, late
tonight after midnight at 2:30 am and goes on through Sunday:
https://www.worldtabletennis.com/eventInfo?selectedTab=Matches&innerselectedTab=Scheduled&eventId=3231
[schedule for Day 1 & 2]. When looking at the schedule, pls. remember
that Doha is 8 hrs. ahead of us. All the action will be on one table
and all the matches will be livestreamed at the WTT YouTube channel at
https://www.youtube.com/@WTTGlobal/streams.
Player list:
https://www.worldtabletennis.com/eventInfo?selectedTab=Player%20List&eventId=3231&innerselectedTab=Scheduled.
The 1st thing you notice is the both the world's no. 1 man & woman, Wang
Chuqin & Sun Yingsha, have pulled out--I assume due to injury. So, the
top 5 men's seeds are Lin Shidong, Hugo Calderano, Harimoto Tomokazu,
Truls Moregardh and Felix Lebrun. The top 5 women's seeds are Wang
Manyu, Kuai Man, Chen Xingtong, Wang Yidi and Harimoto Miwa.
Penholders... Only on the men's side this week--Felix Lebrun and Dang
Qiu...
Pips-out/anti-spin players... Only on the women's side this week--Itoh
Mima (short pips/bh), Sabine Winter (anti-spin/bh), Yang Xiaoxin (long
pips/bh--last chopblocker to make the top-10), Han Ying (chopper--last
female chopper to make the top-10), Yuan Jianan (short pips/fh), and Liu
Yangzi (short pips/bh).
Americans... Lily Zhang & Kanak Jha, the US no. 1 woman & man and
Adriana Diaz of Puerto Rico. Lily plays her 1st match vs. Chen Xingtong
at around 5:30 am Thursday morning and Kanak plays his 1st match vs.
Truls Moregardh, who lost to Kanak last time they played (in the WTT),
at 10:40 am Thursday and then, right after that match, Adriana Diaz
takes the table vs. Doo Hoi Kem who I think lost to Adri last time they
played (scheduled for 11:15 am Thursday).
A few predictions for 2026... I think Hugo Calderano will finally make
history and take over the world's no. 1 position. Then I think Sabine
Winter, the European no. 1, will make the top-10 for the 1st time in her
career. I also think Flavien Coton, an upcoming French junior, will
make the top-20 this year. And Kanak Jha, currently ranked 21st in the
world, will make the top-20 again. That's an easy prediction to make,
because he's so close, he might do it this week. Also, I think
Matsushima Sora of Japan will pass Harimoto Tomokazu to become the
Japanese no. 1.
Last one--I think Anna Hursey, the "Welsh Dragon", will make the top-20
for the 1st time in her career. I've been watching her matches lately
and she is the fastest she's ever been--she's relentless--which is how a
short girl like her has to play in today's game. Coach John Murphy has
done an excellent job with her. They just need to keep going.
Oh, one more--I see Tomislav Pucar making the top-20 this year as well.
Given how tall he is, I had written him off before, but he's playing
like he belongs in the top-20. Why? The coaching... The Croatians
have some of the best coaches out there and they make their players
consistantly play above their level, in my opinion.
As for the upcoming tournament schedule, this event isn't the only WTT
event of the week. There's a "Feeder" event taking place in India,
the WTT Feeder Vadodara 2026, starting after midnight tonight at 12:30
am:
https://www.worldtabletennis.com/eventInfo?selectedTab=Player%20List&eventId=3353&innerselectedTab=Scheduled.
Then next Tuesday, then Tour continues in Doha with the WTT Star
Contender Doha 2026 from the 13th thru the 19th, then there's the WTT
Contender Muscat running from the 19th thru the 24th and then there are
2 Feeder events, WTT Feeder Doha and WTT Feeder Lille, both starting on
the 27th. More to follow...
tonight after midnight at 2:30 am and goes on through Sunday:
https://www.worldtabletennis.com/eventInfo?selectedTab=Matches&innerselectedTab=Scheduled&eventId=3231
[schedule for Day 1 & 2]. When looking at the schedule, pls. remember
that Doha is 8 hrs. ahead of us. All the action will be on one table
and all the matches will be livestreamed at the WTT YouTube channel at
https://www.youtube.com/@WTTGlobal/streams.
Player list:
https://www.worldtabletennis.com/eventInfo?selectedTab=Player%20List&eventId=3231&innerselectedTab=Scheduled.
The 1st thing you notice is the both the world's no. 1 man & woman, Wang
Chuqin & Sun Yingsha, have pulled out--I assume due to injury. So, the
top 5 men's seeds are Lin Shidong, Hugo Calderano, Harimoto Tomokazu,
Truls Moregardh and Felix Lebrun. The top 5 women's seeds are Wang
Manyu, Kuai Man, Chen Xingtong, Wang Yidi and Harimoto Miwa.
Penholders... Only on the men's side this week--Felix Lebrun and Dang
Qiu...
Pips-out/anti-spin players... Only on the women's side this week--Itoh
Mima (short pips/bh), Sabine Winter (anti-spin/bh), Yang Xiaoxin (long
pips/bh--last chopblocker to make the top-10), Han Ying (chopper--last
female chopper to make the top-10), Yuan Jianan (short pips/fh), and Liu
Yangzi (short pips/bh).
Americans... Lily Zhang & Kanak Jha, the US no. 1 woman & man and
Adriana Diaz of Puerto Rico. Lily plays her 1st match vs. Chen Xingtong
at around 5:30 am Thursday morning and Kanak plays his 1st match vs.
Truls Moregardh, who lost to Kanak last time they played (in the WTT),
at 10:40 am Thursday and then, right after that match, Adriana Diaz
takes the table vs. Doo Hoi Kem who I think lost to Adri last time they
played (scheduled for 11:15 am Thursday).
A few predictions for 2026... I think Hugo Calderano will finally make
history and take over the world's no. 1 position. Then I think Sabine
Winter, the European no. 1, will make the top-10 for the 1st time in her
career. I also think Flavien Coton, an upcoming French junior, will
make the top-20 this year. And Kanak Jha, currently ranked 21st in the
world, will make the top-20 again. That's an easy prediction to make,
because he's so close, he might do it this week. Also, I think
Matsushima Sora of Japan will pass Harimoto Tomokazu to become the
Japanese no. 1.
Last one--I think Anna Hursey, the "Welsh Dragon", will make the top-20
for the 1st time in her career. I've been watching her matches lately
and she is the fastest she's ever been--she's relentless--which is how a
short girl like her has to play in today's game. Coach John Murphy has
done an excellent job with her. They just need to keep going.
Oh, one more--I see Tomislav Pucar making the top-20 this year as well.
Given how tall he is, I had written him off before, but he's playing
like he belongs in the top-20. Why? The coaching... The Croatians
have some of the best coaches out there and they make their players
consistantly play above their level, in my opinion.
As for the upcoming tournament schedule, this event isn't the only WTT
event of the week. There's a "Feeder" event taking place in India,
the WTT Feeder Vadodara 2026, starting after midnight tonight at 12:30
am:
https://www.worldtabletennis.com/eventInfo?selectedTab=Player%20List&eventId=3353&innerselectedTab=Scheduled.
Then next Tuesday, then Tour continues in Doha with the WTT Star
Contender Doha 2026 from the 13th thru the 19th, then there's the WTT
Contender Muscat running from the 19th thru the 24th and then there are
2 Feeder events, WTT Feeder Doha and WTT Feeder Lille, both starting on
the 27th. More to follow...
AJ Scott
Jan 7, 2026, 7:56:06 PMJan 7
to NYTableTennis
I've just gotten around to watching the action from early this morning
and already two surprises--Werner Schlager is now on the coach's bench
for Omar Assar, the Egyptian no. 1. And Yang Xiaoxin's new coach is
someone we all know, Damien Provost of France (almost sounds like
"da-me-YAWN pro-VO"). Years ago, Yang won her 1st 2 Tour titles with
him in her corner.
and already two surprises--Werner Schlager is now on the coach's bench
for Omar Assar, the Egyptian no. 1. And Yang Xiaoxin's new coach is
someone we all know, Damien Provost of France (almost sounds like
"da-me-YAWN pro-VO"). Years ago, Yang won her 1st 2 Tour titles with
him in her corner.
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