Truls Moregard
Sweden
Sweden
Truls Moregard is a Swedish national and one of the few European table tennis players in recent years to make it to the top. He has a unique playing style, and though he has lost games to greats like Ma Long and Fan Zhendong, one can’t help but expect great things from him. There aren’t many other ping pong players in Europe that can hold a candle to him. He’s also known for throwing his paddle once or twice at the end of a game. If you’re a fan of this young table tennis player, his style, and gameplay, here’s everything we know about him.
Quick Facts
Biography
Truls Moregard is a Swedish national from Hovmantorp. He was born in 2002, and while very little information is available about his younger years and start in table tennis, we know that he broke into the scene in 2016. By then, he would have been 14, and he took home the Youth TOP 10 crown.
Career
Having officially started his career in 2016, winning the YOUTH TOP 10 was his first major achievement, and he would look to build on from there. He followed up by taking the Junior Vice World Championship in the years 2017 and 2018. These wins got him a place in the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics, where he would place fourth in the team game.
2018 also marked the start of his senior career, with Truls participating in the World Cup and 2019 European Table Tennis Championships. He became the Swedish champion in 2019, a title he would later reclaim in 2021 after beating Anton Källberg. As for his individual successes, examples include being a two-time European Youth Champion, two-time Youth Vice World Champion, and World Champion runner-up, and more recently, he was Europe’s Top-16 runner-up after beating Germany’s Timo Boll in the semi-final.
More recently, Truls has been a prominent feature in the International Table Tennis Federation’s top ten rankings. In fact, he managed to achieve a career-high 3rd placement in October 2022 after having spent most of the year switching between 5th and 6th.
As he's only in his early twenties, there are still some areas of his game that could be improved, and he has the talent to be one of the world’s greats. However, there is a huge wall in his way in the form of Asian opposition. After all, the ITTF World rankings often consist of Chinese players, with Fan Zhendong and Ma Long among the two who’ve been hogging the top position for the last few years.
Truls has had a chance to play with Zhendong, the highest-rated player. However, in the Fan Zhendong vs Truls Moregard 2021 matchup, Zhendong would take home the glory. Given that Fan is four years his senior, Truls may have a chance at a revenge match sometime in his career.
We also got to see a Truls Moregard vs Ma Long matchup in the 2022 ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships in Chengdu. While the two may have seemed evenly matched at the beginning, Ma Long would win the game in straight sets.
Playing Style
Truls uses the European/shakehand grip to hold his paddle, characterized by a high index finger that helps support the player’s forehand stroke. If you’re interested in using a similar grip, our guide on how to hold a ping pong paddle may prove useful. For those who’ll pick the penhold grip instead of the shakehand, it’s imperative that you pick the best ping pong paddle for the penhold grip if you want great results.
In the game, you’ll see Moregard trying to stick close to the table unless he’s forced back. You’ll also see lots of backhand and backhand chops blocks. Nevertheless, given that he is still young, there may be time for him to add different dimensions to his playing style.
Net Worth and Income
Truls Moregard has an estimated net worth of $1.5 million due to his long-standing involvement in international matches and his sponsorships and endorsement deals from Stiga and other brands. Of course, the fact that he made it into the top three players internationally may also result in higher wages and better brand deals over time.
Social Media
Unlike some of his Asian counterparts in the world’s top ten, Truls Moregard has a significant social media presence. You can find him on Instagram as @moregardhtruls. He’s also on Facebook and Twitter, although his Twitter is fairly inactive.
Personal Life
At just starting adulthood, Truls is more focused on building his career as a table tennis player and is, therefore, single.
Truls Moregard Equipment
Videos
Final Thoughts
In a sport that’s mostly dominated by Asians and especially the Chinese, Truls Modegard puts Europe on the map. He has competed well against the best of the best and is still in the early years of his career. With the shakehand grip, he prefers to stay close to the table and has won many of his games with backhand and backhand chop blocks. He’s also one of the few world top ten players that are big on social media. Ultimately, since he’s so young, we can expect to see so much more throughout his career.