Miyuu Kihara
-2 
Japan
-2
Japan
Miyuu Kihara is arguably a ping-pong prodigy, having been a mainstay in the ITTF rankings well before she was 18. She became the youngest player to win an international open tournament among her achievements. This was at the 2019 Croatia Open when she was just 14 years and 278 days. But what playstyle does she use to dominate her opponents, and what has she achieved so far in her career? Keep reading to find out.
Quick Facts
Biography
Miyuu Kihara was born on 3rd August 2004 and became a ping pong fan since her father was previously a table tennis player and instructor. He runs an ALL-STAR table tennis class, so it’s no surprise that two of Miyuru’s siblings also play the sport.
Nevertheless, Miyuu started playing the sport at just four years, and by 2011 she won the Bambi section national championship for grade two schoolers and lower. By 2014 she had been selected as part of the East Asian Hopes Tournament for grade six students and lower.
This allowed her to debut at the Chinese Taipei Junior and Cadet Open in 2014, where she made it all through to the quarterfinals in the cadet singles event. After that, she had a period of continued success, winning gold in the ITTF World Tour Grand finals in 2019 in the doubles event alongside teammate Nagasaki Miyu.
At the time, she was the youngest to do it at just 14 years and 278 days. Since then, she has gone on to achieve a lot more in her ping-pong-playing career. Currently, she’s only 18 years old, implying that we have a decade or more to continue seeing her play.
Personal Life
There isn’t much information on Miyuu’s personal Life as she prefers to keep it private.
Social Media
You can follow Miyuu on her Instagram @kiharamiyuu0803, but she rarely posts anything on the app.
Career
Miyuu Kihara started her career in the Junior division and has several accolades showing how good she is. For instance, in 2016, she came second in the Asian Junior and Cadet Championships in the singles event. In the same tournament, she was part of the squad that came in as the runner-up for the team event.
In 2017 she placed third at the World Junior Table Tennis Championships and in the Asian Junior and Cadet Championships for the women’s doubles. 2018 saw her participate in another Asian Junior and Cadet Championship, where she came in third in the singles and third in the team event.
Also, in 2018, she participated in the World Junior Table Tennis Championship, coming in a close second for the doubles event and second in the team event. When she returned the following year, she got first place in the doubles and mixed doubles.
She also has several accolades and medals in her senior career. She placed second in the ITTF Challenge, Slovenia Open, in 2018 with her doubles partner Miyu Nagasaki. The following year she returned and took first place in Slovenia, Austrian, and Croatia opens. She also placed first at the ITTF World Tour Grand Finals.
However, the pair had to play second fiddle to champions Jeon Ji-Hee and Yang Ha-Eun at the German Open in 2019.
The pair recently won the WTT contender Doha and WTT Star Contender Doha. In the singles events, she has placed first twice. One at the ITTF Challenge Croatia Open and the other more recently at the 2022 WTT Star Contender Doha tournament.
Playing Style
Miyuu is right-handed and prefers to hold her paddle in a shakehand grip like many of her peers.
She also likes to serve with a bit of underspin, but she might go for a topspin in a long rally. Overall, this type of play requires a lot of movement, which means shoes are just as crucial as the paddle. If you’re looking for high-quality shoes to improve your movement and overall game, you can skim our best table tennis shoes list for suggestions.
An Olympic standard table is also essential if you want to up your game with reviewers recommending the best outdoor ping pong tables. In addition to being up to Olympic standards, they fold for storage and come with a high-quality playing surface.
Achievements
Here are Miyuu’s achievements in her senior career.
ITTF Tours
- ITTF Challenge Slovenia Open – Doubles Silver
- ITTF Challenge, Croatia Open 2019 – Singles Gold, Doubles Gold
- ITTF Challenge, Slovenia Open 2019 – Doubles Gold
- ITTF World tour, Austrian Open 2019 – Doubles Gold
- ITTF World tour, Grand Finals 2019 – Doubles Gold
- ITTF World tour, German Open 2019 – Doubles Silver
- ITTF Challenge, Croatia Open 2019 – Singles Gold
- WTT Contender Contender Doha 2022 – Doubles Gold
- WTT Star Contender Doha 2022 – Doubles Gold, Singles Gold.
Junior Records
- Asian Junior and Cadet Championships 2016 – 2nd place singles, 2nd place teams
- Asian Junior and Cadet Championships 2017 – 2nd place teams, 3rd place doubles
- World Junior Table Tennis Championships 2017 – 3rd place doubles
- World Junior Table Tennis Championships 2018 – 2nd place doubles, 2nd place teams
- Asian Junior and Cadet Championships 2018 – 3rd place
- World Junior Table Tennis Championships 2019 – 1st place mixed doubles, 1’st place doubles
- Asian Junior and Cadet Championships 2019 – 3rd mixed doubles, 1st place doubles
Miyuu Kihar’s Ranking
Miyuu’s rank has been gradually rising since the beginning of her career in 2014. In 2023, Miyuu is ranked 17th in the world and is sandwiched between China’s Zhang Rui and Cheng I-Ching.
Net Worth and Income
Given her placement in the ITTF top 20 as of 2023, Miyuu is doing well for herself in the income department. However, her exact income and net worth remain unknown.
Miyuu Kihara Equipment
Videos
Final Thoughts
Overall, Miyuu Kihara is a bright up-and-coming star and will probably improve her game even more the longer she keeps playing. At such a young age, you can expect the Japanese talisman to keep playing in the spot for at least another five years.