Choi Hyojoo
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South Korea
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South Korea
Choi Hyojoo, who was formerly known as Yao Yao, was born on 4 April 1998 in Jiangsu, China. In 2013, the left-handed female player changed her name after she became a South Korean citizen through naturalization. Choi was part of the South Korean team at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
She prefers the shakehand grip, also known as the Western grip because of its popularity among Western table tennis players although there are several Asian players who have adopted this grip.
She has defeated stronger opponents such as Feng Tianwei of Singapore, Sato Hitomi of Japan and Chen Szu-Yu of Taiwan. We have analyzed her playing style, technique and her journey to become among the top table tennis players in the world.
Quick Facts
Biography
Choi made her debut in sports in Qingdao, Shandong after joining a table tennis school. She finished 8th behind Shao Jieni, Chen Meng, Zhu Yuling and Gu Yuting at the National Cadet Tournament held in 2009.
Hyojoo moved to South Korea after coach Choi Young-il spotted her; he worked for Samsung Life Insurance. She relocated to South Korea and acquired citizenship through naturalization with the help of the coach’s older brother who offered to foster her. She was to follow in the footsteps of Jeong Sangeun, the China-born table tennis player who became a naturalized South Korean citizen in 2005. Jeong was the World Junior champion in 2007 and a silver medalist in the men’s singles at the 2017 Asian Table Tennis Championships after losing 0-3 to Fan Zhendong in the final.
Choi Hyojoo adopted the name after her naturalized citizenship in 2013.
Career
Two years after becoming a South Korean citizen, Hyojoo made it to the list of 100 top players according to ITTF world ranking. 2015 is also the year that she represented her new country in world tour tournaments.
At the GAC Group 2015 ITTF World Tour Croatia Open Challenge Series, Hyojoo became the champion of the women’s singles after beating Shan Xiaona of Germany 4-1. She also clinched the U21 women’s singles title after beating Hitomi Sato of Japan 3-2, the same opponent who defeated Choi 3-1 in the semifinal of the U21 women’s singles at the 2015 ITTF World Tour China Open.
She won the U21 women’s singles after overcoming Eerland Britt of Netherlands 3-2 in the semifinal and Miu Hirano of Japan 3-2 in the final at the 2015 ITTF World Tour Bulgaria Open.
Choi finished in second place after losing 2-3 to Lin Ye of Singapore in the U21 women’s singles at the 2015 ITTF World Tour Czech Open. She reached the quarterfinal of the U21 women’s singles at the 2015 ITTF World Tour Korea Open but was eliminated in a 1-3 loss to Yui Hamamoto of Japan.
At the 2016 ITTF World Tour Swedish Open that took place in Stockholm, Hyojoo beat Sakura Mori of Japan 12-10, 12-14, 14-12, 11-7 to become the champion of U21 women’s singles.
Choi Hyojoo was eliminated in the round of 16 after her 2-3 defeat at the hands of Miyu Maeda at the 2016 ITTF World Tour German Open U21 women’s singles. She also competed in the women’s singles at the same tournament and beat Matelova Hana of Czech Republic 4-1 in the round of 32. Despite these losses, Choi would win one medal in the women’s singles and four more awards in the U21 category at the 2016 World Tour competitions.
She won the U21 women’s singles title at the 2016 ITTF World Tour Swedish Open after defeating Saki Shibata 3-1 in the semifinal and Sakura Mori 3-1 in the final.
In the U21 women’s category, Hyojoo reached the quarterfinal at the 2016 ITTF World Tour Laox Japan Open and advanced to the semifinals at the 2016 ITTF World Tour Slovenia Open. She became a finalist in the U21 women’s singles at the 2016 ITTF World Tour Korea Open and reached the semifinals in the women’s singles at the 2016 ITTF World Tour Hybiome Austrian Open and was defeated by Yui Hamamoto.
Choi won a bronze medal in the U21 women’s singles at the 2017 ITTF World Tour Korea Open after her 2-3 semifinal loss to Saki Shibata. Hitomi Sato and Honoka Hashimoto beat Choi and Jung Yumi 3-1 in the women’s doubles at the 2017 ITTF World Tour Japan Open
At the 2018 World Tour Qatar Open, Choi advanced to the semifinal after defeating Hitomi Sato 3-0 in the quarterfinal of the U21 women’s singles but she lost 2-3 to Zhang Rui who was the eventual winner.
Choi was eliminated in the first round of the women’s singles after losing to Miu Hirano of Japan at the 2018 Australian Open.
At the 2018 Asian Games, Choi won a bronze medal in the team category with Suh Hyowon, Jeon Jihee, Yang Haeun and Kim Jiho.
Jang Woo-jin and Choi reached the quarterfinal in the mixed doubles at the 2019 ITTF World Tour Platinum Qatar Open after defeating Doo Hoi Kem and Wong Chun Ting of Hong Kong. She also competed against Chen Xingtong of China and lost in the first round of the women’s singles.
Yang Haeun paired up with Choi Hyojoo to win a silver medal in the women’s doubles at the 2019 ITTF World Tour Korea Open after beating Jeon Jihee and Lee Zion in the semifinal stage. Choi made her debut in the World Championships that year competing in the mixed doubles but only made it to the 1/8 finals.
At the 2019 ITTF World Tour Australian Open, she competed in the women’s doubles with Lee Eunhye and advanced to the semifinal after defeating Xiao Maria and Szocs Bernadette 3-2 in the quarterfinal.
Choi finished third and won a bronze medal at the 2019 ITTF Team World Cup in the women’s team category with Yang Haeun, Suh Hyowon, Shin Yubin and Jeon Jihee.
She reached the quarterfinal of the women’s doubles with Shin Yubin at the 2020 ITTF World Tour Platinum German Open.
In 2021, she and Sangsu Lee played in the quarterfinal of the mixed doubles event and won a bronze medal at the WTT Star Contender Doha. She also advanced to the quarterfinal of the team event at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and won a silver medal in the women’s team at the 2021 Asian Championships.
Choi Hyojoo won a silver medal in mixed doubles and women’s doubles at the 2022 WTT Feeder European Summer series and advanced to the quarterfinals of the doubles event at the Singapore Smash 2022.
Choi finished in second place in the women’s singles, reached the semifinal in the women’s doubles with Lee Zion and the quarterfinal in the mixed doubles with Lee Sangsu at the WTT Contender Muscat 2022.
Playing Style
She has a dominant left hand and uses the shakehand grip in her games.
Achievements
Choi won a gold medal and silver medal in the 2015 and 2019 ITTF Tours. She was a silver medalist at the 2021 Asian Championships, the 2022 WTT Feeder European Summer Series and WTT Contender Muscat 2022.
Ranking
Choi Hyojoo ranked 36 in February 2016 and it is her highest ITTF rating as of May 2023.
Olympics
Choi competed at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics as a team representative of South Korea and progressed to the quarterfinal.
Videos
Final Thoughts
What does Hyojoo have in common with Jeon Jihee? Both are professional South Korean table tennis players of Chinese descent. Since becoming a naturalized citizen, Choi has represented her country in women’s singles, doubles, mixed doubles and team events.
She reached the quarterfinal in the women’s singles at the WTT Contender Doha 2023. Still, she could not advance further after losing 2-3 to Manika Batra of India, who has a higher ITTF ranking at position 35 in the world.
Choi Hyojoo won a bronze medal in the women’s doubles with Lee Zion after becoming a semifinalist at the WTT Star Contender Goa 2023. She also reached the quarterfinal in mixed doubles with Lee Sangsu.