Foreign forces chip away at China’s dominance at Singapore Smash

SINGAPORE – For the first time in 10 editions of the Grand Smash, table tennis juggernauts China find themselves in an unfamiliar place on March 1, when their players begin the final day of the World Table Tennis (WTT) Singapore Smash still looking for their first title.

Three doubles titles were up for grabs on Feb 27 and 28, but it was Brazil, Japan and France who won their first Grand Smash title at the US$1.55 million (S$1.96 million) tournament at the OCBC Arena.

Since its inception in 2022, the Grand Smash has been dominated by China but now the threat posed by non-Chinese players seems greater than ever.

Brazilians Hugo Calderano and Bruna Takahashi started the ball rolling

by becoming the first Grand Smash winners from the Americas when they ended the Chinese stranglehold on the mixed doubles event on Feb 27.

On Feb 28, Miwa Harimoto and Hina Hayata did the same in the women’s doubles as they beat Japan’s Miyu Nagasaki and South Korea’s Shin Yu-bin 3-0 (11-9, 11-8, 11-7) in front of almost 6,000 fans.

Harimoto, 17, also became the youngest Grand Smash champion, beating China’s Lin Shidong’s record from 2024, when the then 19-year-old won the China Smash men’s singles and mixed doubles titles.

In the evening session, French brothers Alexis and Felix Lebrun, who are ranked third, beat China’s world No. 6 Lin Shidong and Huang Youzheng 3-0 (11-6, 11-6, 11-7) in the men’s doubles final.

After claiming the winners’ cheque of US$10,000 and 2,000 points, the duo look set for a return to the top of the world rankings.

This marked the third consecutive Grand Smash in which China have not won the men’s doubles title.

Men’s singles world No. 2 Calderano told The Sunday Times: “The level all around the world has improved a lot in the past few years.

“It didn’t help China that Ma Long, Fan Zhendong and Xu Xin are not playing for them now.

“Wang Chuqin is really at the top now, but the rest of the world is also competing at a higher level and there are more players who are in contention.”

Harimoto, whose combination with Hayata began at the Paris 2024 Olympics, felt that the win raises the possibility of challenging China for gold in the women’s singles and doubles at the 2028 Olympics.

She said: “With more communication and matches, our chemistry and partnership got better. She is a leftie and I am right-handed, which makes for a good combination, and I hope we can play more together and be successful in the future.”

China had swept all 30 titles in the first six Grand Smashes since the inception of the table tennis major in 2022, but their grip has loosened since South Koreans An Jae-hyun and Lim Jong-hoon became men’s doubles champions at the 2025 US Smash, with China-born Macau player Zhu Yuling also taking the women’s singles crown in Las Vegas.

Another two events went to non-China players at the 2025 Europe Smash as Sweden’s Truls Moregard capped a fairy-tale run to win the men’s singles title in his hometown of Malmo, while Hong Kong’s Wong Chun Ting and Baldwin Chan won the men’s doubles final.

At the ongoing Singapore Smash, the Chinese have faced stiff resistance in not just the doubles but also the singles competitions.

Defending men’s singles champion and world No. 3 Lin lost 4-2 (14-12, 9-11, 11-6, 11-4, 9-11, 12-10) to sixth-ranked Felix in the quarter-finals, with the Frenchman earning a semi-final against world No. 1 Chuqin.

In the women’s singles quarter-finals, the seventh-ranked Wang Yidi was also stunned 4-2 (4-11, 11-5, 9-11, 11-5, 11-4, 11-4) by Germany’s 15th-ranked Sabine Winter, who will meet China’s world No. 2 Wang Manyu in the last four.

The other semi-final is an all-Chinese affair, with world No. 1 and defending champion Sun Yingsha playing the eighth-ranked Chen Yi.

Men’s singles world No. 5 Truls Moregard, who kept his nerve to edge past China’s 30th-ranked Chen Yuanyu 4-3 (13-11, 13-11, 11-4, 4-11, 6-11, 3-11, 11-6) to set up a men’s semi-final against the eighth-ranked Taiwanese Lin Yun-ju, offered some perspective.

While the 24-year-old acknowledged that his elimination of Chuqin and his Olympic silver at Paris 2024 did his confidence a world of wonders, China’s supremacy has helped the rest of the world lift their standards.

He said: “They are very, very good players and we have to play at our best level to have a chance to beat them.

“There are many nations that play good table tennis now because China are so good. If it wasn’t for China, there wouldn’t be many other good nations.”

Felix added: “They are amazing and so hard to beat, but since I started playing, I didn’t fear them. I’m impressed that they are the best and I want to improve to reach that level.

“I’m happy I can sometimes beat the best in the world, like Lin Shidong in the singles and doubles today.”

It is also worth noting that China, who have won 37 out of 42 Olympic table tennis gold medals, did not deploy their most formidable pairings and former champions – Chuqin and Shidong (men’s doubles), Sun and Manyu (women’s doubles) and Chuqin and Sun (mixed doubles) – at the Singapore Smash.

But their rivals have no doubt that the Chinese giants will be roaring at the Olympics and world championships.

Despite her upset win, 33-year-old Winter said: “I’m happy to beat one of the top Chinese players, but I still believe they are the very best and the rest of us are just trying our best to sometimes make it difficult for them.”