Jia Nan Yuan
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France
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France
Yuan Jia Nan is a female French table tennis player who was born on May 11, 1985, in Zhengzhou, China but became a French citizen through naturalization in 2011. She is one of the top-ranked table tennis players in France after becoming a French champion in various events over the years. She was also a top seed with her compatriot Emmanuel Lebesson in the mixed doubles event and had been rising through the ITTF ranking system following more victories in major tournaments.
Yuan Jia Nan is a right-handed table tennis player who uses the shakehand grip. We will take a closer look at her playing style, early childhood, the major awards she has won in her career, and what makes her tick.
Quick Facts
Biography
Yuan Jia Nan is among the growing number of professional table tennis players that left their country of birth and became naturalized citizens of other countries to build their careers.
Early years
Jia Nan Yuan was born in the People’s Rebublic of China and had her mother as her first coach after her move to France when she was 18 years old. She became a naturalized French citizen in 2011 and she won the French Singles Championships the following year and the women’s doubles in 2013 with teammate Aurore Dessaint.
For a long time, she could not represent her new country in international games because she had relocated as an adult. She was only able to start participating in international tournaments in 2018.
Yuan Jia Nan’s dream as a child was to compete in the World Table Tennis Championships and the Olympic Games.
Career
Now we'll take a closer look at the major Jia Nan Yuan's wins.
World Championships
Jia Nan Yuan played for Saint-Berthevin, the French ProA club, before transferring to Poitiers TTACC 86 club, where she still plays.
She was the winner of the French Table Tennis Singles Championship for a whopping six times in 2012, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2021.
In 2015, Jia Nan Yuan won a bronze medal in the women’s double event and won silver medals in the women’s doubles in 2016, 2018 and 2019.
Jia Nan Yuan was ranked number four in the French rankings in 2019, but after she won two gold medals in the women’s singles and doubles at the French National Championship in 2021, she was seeded number one in the French rankings. She defeated Prithika Pavade in the finals to win her sixth title at the French Table Tennis Singles Championships.
Together with Emmanuel Lebesson, Jia Nan Yuan won a bronze medal in the mixed doubles at the WTT Grand Smashes series in Singapore in 2022.
European Championships
Nan Yuan won two bronze medals in the women’s doubles with Stéphanie Loeuillette and in the mixed doubles category with Emmanuel Lebesson at the 2020 European Championships. She also became a bronze medalist in the team event at the 2021 European Championships.
Emmanuel Lebesson who had won the European Singles Championships in 2016 teamed up with Nan Yuan in the mixed doubles and defeated Bernadette Szocs and Ovidiu Lonescu of Romania 3-1.
Olympic games
In 2021, Nan Yuan took part in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, that had been postponed because of the coronavirus. She and Emmanuel Lebesson reached the semifinals but eventually came fourth in the mixed doubles category at the 2020 Olympic Games held in Tokyo. She also competed in the women’s singles and lost to Jeon Jihee of South Korea in the 1/16 finals.
Yuan Jia Nan teamed up with Emmanuel Lebesson again for the mixed doubles event at the 2021 World Cup in Houston but they lost to Lily Zhang of America and Lin Gaoyuan of China in the quarterfinals. That is the same year that Nan Yuan won two gold medals at the France national championship in the women’s singles and women’s doubles categories.
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ITTF world tour
In 2019, Nan Yuan and Loeuillett Stephanie won in the women’s doubles at the ITTF Challenge Spanish Open and made it to the quarterfinals in the women’s doubles at the 2020 ITTF World Tour Platinum Qatar Open.
In 2022, Nan Yuan was defeated 1-3 by Wang Yidi of China in the quarterfinals of the women’s singles at the WTT Singapore Smash 2022.
Playing style
Yuan Jia Nan table tennis playing style is characterized by throwing the ball sharply and an impressively high serve. She leverages the weight of the ball to produce a serve with a strong spin allowing her to have greater control of the game.
Yuan Jia Nan also employs flat punches frequently that enable her to finish the game strongly. She uses the Butterfly Timo Boll Spirit that is preferred by many professional table tennis players because it offers a good balance of control and speed.
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Jia Nan Yuan Equipment
Videos
Final Thoughts
Jia Nan Yuan has been crowned the French Champion in women’s singles and doubles so many times that she has cemented her status as a world table tennis icon. Looking back at her childhood dream of playing in the Olympics and the World Table Tennis Championships, we think it is safe to say that Jin Nan Yuan has accomplished that and much more since she is now a regular participant and winner at those tournaments.