Liu Weishan
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China
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China
Liu Weishan is one of the latest in a long line of Chinese table tennis superstars to grace the world stage. Unlike most others in her position who had a parent or relative in the ping pong world to introduce them, Liu had none of that. Instead, she picked up an interest in the sport by watching other kids her age play. Her parents were open to sending her to a table tennis school but didn't want her to play at a professional level. However, Liu's successes in her junior years and a good word from her coach convinced them otherwise. Here's a brief overview of her journey to the top of the table tennis world, including some of her achievements.
Quick Facts
Biography
Liu Weishan was born on October 4, 1999, in the People's Republic of China. However, with no one in the family with a table tennis background, she took an interest from watching some of her agemates play the game. This isn't surprising, given how popular ping pong is in China.
Her parents were supportive enough to send her to a table tennis school in Tianjin, China, where she quickly got a handle on the game and started excelling beyond her peers. Naturally, this led to more opportunities to play competitively, and she would achieve some success at China's regional games.
It took some convincing for her parents to let her play the game professionally. Nevertheless, she made it onto China's national reserve team as early as 2015 when she was around 16 years old.
2016 and 2017 saw her add to her accolades at the youth level. In 2017 she also participated in the ITTF Junior Circuit, where she won the Golden Hong Kong Junior and Cadet Open.
By 2019 she was participating on the senior ITTF Circuit, and at the World Tour Czech Open, she beat Germany's Nina Mittelham, ranked in the world top 50 despite being unseeded.
Liu Weishan's career has only improved since then, with the Chinese talisman making it to the world's top 20 by May 2022.
Career
Playing Style
Liu Weishan is right-handed and holds her paddle with a shakehand grip. For those who prefer the penhold grip, you should check out our best ping pong paddle for penhold list for equipment that matches your style. Nevertheless, Liu's match against Fan Siqi at the WTT Contender Doha in 2023 showed her aggressive playing style, where she serves with the edge of her paddle.
When she is on the receiving end of a serve, she will go on the counter with her backhand and try to drag the opponent from side to side. However, if she can go further on the offensive, she will switch to her more powerful forehand.
Opponents with a similar playing style to Liu Weishan can be hard to deal with, and it's imperative that you get hours and hours of practice if you're to beat them. This may necessitate having a ping pong table at home, and according to reviews, the JOOLA Professional MDF Indoor Table is great due to its playback mode for solo training.
If you're not sure solo practice will help but have no playing partner at home, check out our list of best ping pong robots, where you can adjust the settings to match your skill level and progress to pro gradually.
Honors and Achievements
Liu Weishan's achievements include:
- 2016 China Youth Championship – team gold
- 2016 China Youth Championship – singles silver
- 2016 Cape Town World Junior Championship – team silver
- 2017 Asian Youth Championship – team gold
- 2017 Asian Youth Championship – doubles silver
- 2017 Asian Youth Championship – singles bronze
- 2021 WTT Contender Novo Mesto – singles gold
- 2021 WTT Contender Novo Mesto – doubles gold
- 2021 WTT Contender Lasko – singles silver
- 2021 WTT Contender Lasko – team silver
- 2022 WTT Feeders Doha – singles silver
- 2022 WTT Feeders Doha – doubles gold
- 2022 WTT Feeders Doha – team silver
Ranking
In 2016 when Liu Weishan burst onto the world scene, she was ranked 153rd in the world by August. She would drop off significantly in 2019, even being ranked 810th globally. However, she would then start her climb up again, achieving a career-high 17th place ranking in May and June 2022.
Videos
Final Thoughts
Overall Liu Weishan's ping pong journey has been a whirlwind. From her parents having doubts about her professional career to winning plenty of senior medals in a few years. One thing is for sure. Liu has the talent to make it big on the world table tennis scene.