Chinese Table Tennis Stars Call for Reform: Sun Yingsha, Wang Chuqin, and Wang Manyu Lead the Charge for Change

Top Chinese table tennis players, including Sun Yingsha, Wang Chuqin, and Wang Manyu, recently engaged in discussions with the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) and the World Table Tennis (WTT) core team regarding the world rankings and WTT series tournament rules. The players put forth several reasonable suggestions aimed at improving the current system.

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2 February 2025

Led by Liu Guoliang, the chairman of the Chinese Table Tennis Association, the team proposed four key suggestions. Firstly, Liu advocated for the ITTF to research and establish a policy for hiding world rankings, which would allow athletes to take a temporary break from competition without being penalized. This proposal is particularly relevant for Olympic champions and world champions who need time to adjust and plan their next steps after major tournaments.

The second suggestion was to cancel the compulsory participation policy, which Liu believes puts undue psychological and physical pressure on athletes. Instead, the ITTF and WTT could use alternative incentive policies, such as points or prize money, to encourage athletes to participate voluntarily.

冻冻耶_
Sun Feb 02 23:15:08 +0800 2025
#孙颖莎王楚钦王曼昱等集体发声#目前的赛历安排过于密集,希望后续能将不同级别赛事做更合理调整,让运动员有更多身体恢复、心理调适和安排训练的时间,这样更有利于准备下一次比赛。请wtt采纳运动员的合理建议,也请ctta做好孙颖莎的后勤保障!
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The third proposal was to allocate special entry spots for Olympic champions and world champions in the four WTT Grand Slam tournaments and six Champions League events. This would not only demonstrate respect and care for these athletes but also make the events more attractive to fans and organizers.

Lastly, Liu emphasized the need to optimize the WTT calendar, which is currently too dense, to allow for more recovery time, training, and adjustments for athletes. This would also enable national, regional, and club competitions to take place without conflicting with WTT events.

Sun Yingsha, Wang Chuqin, Wang Manyu, and other Chinese team members also shared their thoughts and suggestions with the ITTF and WTT. Sun Yingsha acknowledged the positive impact of WTT on the commercial value of table tennis but expressed concerns about the dense schedule, which leaves athletes with insufficient time for physical recovery and psychological adjustment. She suggested adjusting the schedule to accommodate different levels of tournaments and allowing for more time between matches.

Wang Chuqin proposed increasing the prize money for the WTT Grand Finals, which he believes is currently not commensurate with the event's prestige. He also suggested providing rewards or appearance fees to athletes who qualify for the event, based on their rankings.

芒果TV
Sun Feb 02 19:48:28 +0800 2025
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Wang Manyu supported Wang Chuqin's proposal and suggested that the prize money for the champion should be increased. She also advocated for more seed protection for high-ranking players in the draw, citing the current random draw system as unfair.

The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) has responded to the collective statement made by Chinese table tennis players, including Sun Yingsha, Wang Chuqin, and Wang Manyu. ITTF President Petra Sörling expressed gratitude to the Chinese team and the Chinese Table Tennis Association for their suggestions, emphasizing that athletes are at the core of the sport's development and the construction of its competition system. The ITTF has established a special working group to collect feedback from athletes and review existing regulations.

The working group has been actively collecting feedback from athletes, coaches, member associations, and equipment manufacturers. The group aims to ensure that the decisions made in the future represent the voices of all relevant parties.

The discussions between the Chinese table tennis team and the ITTF and WTT demonstrate a collaborative effort to address the concerns of athletes and improve the sport as a whole. As the table tennis community continues to evolve, it is essential to prioritize the well-being and interests of athletes, while also promoting the growth and development of the sport.

会有一点
Sun Feb 02 23:13:54 +0800 2025
#孙颖莎王楚钦王曼昱等集体发声#我记得樊振东说的是他没有钱交罚款,然后为了不打wtt的比赛退出世界排名,他还提出什么建议了吗?赛程紧张他提了吗?平衡双打混双奖金他提了吗?提高运动员整体的奖金他提了吗?不打比赛罚款,那是最合理的一条了,奥运后连轴转的是大部分,只有几个要退的没打吧
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Sun Yingsha suggests that the WTT should adjust the scheduling of different levels of tournaments to allow athletes more time for physical recovery, mental adjustment, and training. This would enable them to better prepare for subsequent competitions. Additionally, she proposes that the single-elimination format be adopted for earlier rounds of singles matches, similar to the 7-game, 4-win format used in later rounds.

Wang Chuqin recommends that the WTT increase the prize money for the year-end Grand Slam tournament, which he considers the most prestigious and highly anticipated event of the year. He also suggests that athletes who qualify for the tournament should receive rewards or appearance fees based on their rankings, which would motivate them to prepare more diligently for the competition. Wang Manyu concurs with Wang Chuqin's suggestion and further proposes that the prize money allocation should be adjusted to give a larger share to the champion.

Wang Manyu also suggests that the WTT should adopt a more equitable seeding system, similar to that used in the Olympic Games and World Championships, to provide more protection for high-ranking athletes. Currently, only the top four athletes are seeded, while the remaining athletes are randomly drawn, which she believes is unfair and does not provide adequate protection for top-ranked players.

Prior to the collective statement by Sun Yingsha, Wang Chuqin, and Wang Manyu, there were some related controversies. For instance, last year, Chinese table tennis players Fan Zhendong and Chen Meng withdrew from the world rankings, triggering a heated debate. They stated that the WTT's regulations regarding fines for withdrawal were one of the reasons for their withdrawal. This incident sparked discussions about the world rankings and WTT series tournaments.

人民日报
Sun Feb 02 21:10:47 +0800 2025
【#孙颖莎王楚钦王曼昱等集体发声#】#刘国梁对WTT提出4点建议#近日,在世界乒乓球职业大联盟(WTT)新加坡大满贯赛正赛开始前,中国乒乓球队、中国乒协围绕世界排名及WTT系列赛事的赛制,与国际乒联、WTT核心团队进行了交流。中国乒协主席刘国梁提出了四点建议刘国梁首先希望国际乒联能研究制定隐藏世界排名的政策。刘国梁表示,奥运冠军、世界冠军及很多年龄较大且仍活跃在赛场上的运动员是乒乓球项目的宝贵财富,他们为世界乒乓球的持续发展做出了重要贡献,尤其对奥运冠军而言,在奥运会后,他们需要更长时间调整、规划、转型或考虑下一步发展,为了尊重并保护他们,充分体现以运动员为核心的宗旨,国际乒联应研究制定相关规则,对运动员因个人原因提出合理的、特殊情况的隐藏世界排名申请予以考虑和支持,例如允许奥运会等大赛后申请世界排名隐藏12-18个月。刘国梁还建议取消强制参赛的相关政策。他表示,强制参赛给运动员带来了过大的心理和身体压力,国际乒联和WTT应采取行动,取消强制参赛的有关政策,可通过积分、奖金等其他激励政策,鼓励、吸引运动员参赛,给予运动员自主决定的权利。刘国梁还建议WTT最高水平的四站大满贯赛、六站冠军赛应单独给予奥运冠军、世界冠军等功勋运动员参赛名额(外卡或其他形式),一方面能体现国际组织对功勋运动员的尊重和爱护;另一方面,这些运动员的参赛将会是国际组织、赛事主办方和球迷乐见的。最后,刘国梁表示,目前WTT全年赛历安排过于密集,应该为各会员协会的国家和地区比赛、俱乐部比赛、联赛留出专门的办赛时间。刘国梁表示,目前运动员普遍反映赛历安排需做调整优化,以方便大家合理安排全年计划,有节奏地进行参赛、训练、调整,以避免伤病。同时,也给俱乐部比赛、联赛和其他创新形式的乒乓球活动留有发展空间。国际乒联主席佩特拉·索林感谢中国队和中国乒协提出的意见和建议,她强调运动员是项目发展和构建赛事体系的核心,对于大家的诉求将给予高度重视。2024年底,国乒运动员樊振东、陈梦退出世界排名引发轩然大波,谈及退出原因,两位奥运冠军均提到了WTT有关退赛罚款的规定。孙颖莎、王楚钦等国乒队员向WTT建言在世界乒乓球职业大联盟(WTT)新加坡大满贯赛正赛开始前,中国乒乓球队主力球员孙颖莎、王楚钦、王曼昱、梁靖崑等人围绕世界排名、WTT系列赛事的竞赛规则、赛历安排等,与国际乒联、WTT核心团队进行了深入交流,从球员角度提出了建言。孙颖莎肯定了自WTT创立以来,全新赛事体系对提升乒乓球赛事商业价值、球员商业价值的作用。她认为WTT赛事为运动员构建了互相学习、互相交流的舞台,运动员愿意支持并继续参加WTT的比赛。但孙颖莎认为,目前的赛历安排过于密集,希望后续能将不同级别赛事做更合理调整,让运动员有更多身体恢复、心理调适和安排训练的时间,这样更有利于准备下一次比赛。同时孙颖莎表示,目前WTT赛事每天的竞赛安排较宽松,建议单打靠前轮次也使用7局4胜赛制。王楚钦对WTT总决赛提出了建议。他认为总决赛是年终最盛大、最值得期待的赛事,是运动员累积全年成绩后晋级的高端赛事,但奖金水平与其定位不相匹配,应提高奖金,并考虑为获得参赛资格的运动员按排名给予奖励或出场费,以激励运动员更有动力、更加认真地备赛。王楚钦表示,目前WTT赛事的奖金参照过去已有所提高,但仍希望单站比赛的奖金进一步提升。对此,王曼昱表示赞同,她建议冠军所占总奖金的比例也应提高。王曼昱对于抽签也提出了自己的看法。她认为,WTT的所有比赛都应该在抽签中给予更多高排名选手种子保护签位,她以WTT总决赛为例,目前仅前四名的运动员为种子选手,其余人员随机抽签的方式不太合理,没有给高排名球员应有的签位保护,建议可借鉴奥运会、世锦赛所采用的抽签方式。梁靖崑对最新的球拍检测办法提出了建议。他认为,现有的检测程序已经足够判定球拍是否合规,新实施的撕下胶皮检测的方式非常影响运动员后续比赛,且过于复杂、浪费、不太合理。此外,梁靖崑还建议提高WTT比赛中双打和混双项目的奖金,可向单打看齐,以吸引更多运动员参加。国乒男、女队主教练王皓和马琳也发表了各自看法。王皓希望在WTT冠军赛等比赛中增设双打、混双项目,给予运动员在每站中充分参赛的机会。马琳表示,由于中国女选手排名高的人数多,WTT的一些比赛又设置了高排名限制参赛人数的政策,导致不少运动员打进前10后无法参赛,希望能调整有关赛事的报名规则。国际乒联:希望确保接下来作出的决定能够代表相关方的声音国际乒联2日在官网发文称,其为解决球员关切成立的专门工作组积极收集重要利益相关方的反馈意见,包括与中国乒协举行专门会议,并听取马龙、陈梦和樊振东的情况和意见。国际乒联表示,过去几周,工作组与运动员、教练员、成员协会、运动员随行人员代表以及器材制造商都进行了直接沟通,以确保其在提出推荐方案前已听取各方意见。国际乒联于1月3日宣布,执委会会议批准成立专门工作组以负责收集运动员的反馈意见,并审查现有规定。除了此前宣布的国际乒联运动员委员会主席阿昌塔等人,国际乒联随行团队工作组主席让-米歇尔·塞弗和国际乒乓球器材制造商联合会主席海因也加入该工作组。在世界乒乓球职业大联盟(WTT)新加坡大满贯赛期间,工作组专门举办了运动员论坛,旨在提供一个公开对话的平台。国际乒联主席索林、国际乒联第一副主席兼WTT董事会主席刘国梁,以及国际乒联集团首席执行官丹顿出席了论坛。“WTT创立的初衷,是为运动员搭建更为广阔的职业发展通道,然而构建一套成熟完善的赛事体系尚需时日。我们需要运动员的意见和建议,共同推动这项运动不断发展。这是你们的平台,你们可以在此分享观点、表达关切,为塑造乒乓球运动的未来提供帮助。”索林说。“我们的目标是促进运动员以及围绕其构建的赛事体系共同发展,打造一个更加强大、更可持续的生态环境。这不仅关乎当下运动员群体的切身利益,更是着眼于未来一代又一代乒乓球运动员的长远发展。”阿昌塔说。工作组还积极与成员协会对话,收集有关规则层面的直接反馈。除一些成员协会主动提出反馈意见之外,工作组还与中国乒协举行了专门会议,并听取已退出世界排名的马龙、陈梦和樊振东的情况和意见。国际乒联表示,通过广泛征求意见,工作组希望确保接下来作出的决定能够代表相关方的声音。(央视)网页链接人民日报的微博视频
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Fan Zhendong's fans believe that he was the first to speak out, and now that Sun Yingsha and other players have also proposed some reasonable suggestions, including adjusting the tournament schedule, increasing prize money, and giving athletes more autonomy. Fans believe that these suggestions can help athletes and the development of table tennis.

Furthermore, Chinese Table Tennis Association Chairman Liu Guoliang also proposed four suggestions, including researching and establishing a policy for hiding world rankings, canceling the compulsory participation policy, allocating special entry spots for Olympic champions and world champions, and adjusting the WTT calendar. These suggestions have been highly valued by ITTF President Petra Sörling, who stated that athletes are at the core of the sport's development and the construction of its competition system, and the ITTF will give high priority to the demands of athletes.

The ITTF has stated that its goal is to promote the development of athletes and the competition system, creating a stronger and more sustainable ecosystem for the sport. The federation is committed to listening to the concerns and suggestions of athletes, ensuring that their voices are heard and represented in the decision-making process.

By establishing a special working group and engaging with athletes, coaches, and member associations, the ITTF is taking a proactive approach to addressing the concerns of the table tennis community. As the sport continues to evolve, the ITTF's efforts to prioritize athlete feedback and welfare will be crucial in shaping its future success.

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