TABLE TENNIS PLAYERS from China

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Chinese Table Tennis Players of all time. This list of famous Chinese Table Tennis Players is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Chinese Table Tennis Players.

1. Zhuang Zedong (1940 - 2013)

With an HPI of 57.45, Zhuang Zedong is the most famous Chinese Table Tennis Player.  His biography has been translated into 17 different languages on wikipedia.

Zhuang Zedong (Chuang Tse-tung; August 25, 1940 – February 10, 2013) was a Chinese table tennis player, three-time world men's singles champion and champion at numerous other table tennis events. These accomplishments lead Zhuang as one of the greatest table tennis players of all time. And a well-known political personality during the tumult of the Cultural Revolution. His chance meeting with American table tennis player, Glenn Cowan, during the 31st World Table Tennis Championship, later referred to as ping-pong diplomacy, triggered the first thawing of the ice in Sino-American relations since 1949. Zhuang was once married to the pianist Bao Huiqiao, and his second wife was the Chinese-born Japanese Atsuko Sasaki.

2. Ma Long (b. 1988)

With an HPI of 55.20, Ma Long is the 2nd most famous Chinese Table Tennis Player.  His biography has been translated into 39 different languages.

Ma Long (Chinese: 马龙; pinyin: Mǎ Lóng; born 20 October 1988) is a Chinese professional table tennis player. He is a two-time Olympic champion, three-time World Champion, and three-time World Cup champion in men's singles. Widely regarded as the greatest table tennis player of all time, he is the only male player to complete a career Double Grand Slam as the Olympic gold medalist in men's singles in 2016 and 2020. He is also the only table tennis athlete to win 6 gold medals in summer Olympics — no other table tennis player has more than four. He holds the record for most Olympic gold medals won by a Chinese athlete. Ma held the world number 1 ranking for a total of 64 months (and 34 consecutive months from March 2015), the most by any man in the history of table tennis. He won the World Championship in men's singles consecutively in 2015, 2017 and 2019. His records led the International Table Tennis Federation to nickname him "The Dictator" and "The Dragon" (derived from his name, Lóng, which represents the zodiac year of his birth). From 2014, he is the captain of the Chinese national table tennis men's team.

3. Ma Lin (b. 1980)

With an HPI of 52.44, Ma Lin is the 3rd most famous Chinese Table Tennis Player.  His biography has been translated into 28 different languages.

Ma Lin (Chinese: 马琳; pinyin: Mǎ Lín; born February 19, 1980) is a retired Chinese table tennis player, Olympic champion, and the current Chinese Women's Team Head Coach. Ma learned to play table tennis at age five and became a member of the provincial team in 1990. In 1994, he joined the Chinese national team. Ma is the only male player ever to win Olympic gold in Singles, Doubles and Team. He previously held a professional era record of 5 major titles (4 World Cups and 1 Olympic Gold), having won more World Cups than any other male table tennis player in history. He has since been surpassed by Ma Long, who has won 8 major titles. He has won a total of 18 world championships in his career. Since retiring in December 2013, Ma has been serving as the head coach of the Guangdong provincial table tennis team. He became the head coach of the China National Women's Team in December 2022.

4. Wang Liqin (b. 1978)

With an HPI of 52.03, Wang Liqin is the 4th most famous Chinese Table Tennis Player.  His biography has been translated into 28 different languages.

Wang Liqin (simplified Chinese: 王励勤; traditional Chinese: 王勵勤; pinyin: Wáng Lìqín; born June 18, 1978) is a Chinese table tennis player. He began playing at the age of 6 and was picked for the Chinese men's national squad in 1993 when he was only 15 years old. He holds three majors (3 World Championships). He has been ranked #1 by ITTF for 25 consecutive months, from September 2000 to September 2002, which is the second-longest period for being consecutive #1 of the world as of January 2011. At the end of 2013, Wang Liqin retired from the national team. After years of service in leadership positions at athletic organizations in Shanghai focusing on table tennis and badminton, Wang Liqin has been appointed as the new president of the Chinese Table Tennis Association on April 23, 2025, succeeding Liu Guoliang. Ma Long will serve under him as the new vice-president.

5. Kong Linghui (b. 1975)

With an HPI of 51.14, Kong Linghui is the 5th most famous Chinese Table Tennis Player.  His biography has been translated into 26 different languages.

Kong Linghui (simplified Chinese: 孔令辉; traditional Chinese: 孔令輝; pinyin: Kǒng Lìnghuī; born October 18, 1975) is a retired Chinese table tennis player. He competed in the 1996 Summer Olympics, as well as in the 2000 Summer Olympics and the 2004 Summer Olympics. Kong is a 76th generation descendant of Confucius.

6. Deng Yaping (b. 1973)

With an HPI of 50.31, Deng Yaping is the 6th most famous Chinese Table Tennis Player.  Her biography has been translated into 27 different languages.

Deng Yaping (Chinese: 邓亚萍; pinyin: Dèng Yàpíng; born February 5, 1973) is a Chinese table tennis player, who won eighteen world championships including four Olympic championships between 1989 and 1997. She is regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport.

7. Wang Hao (b. 1983)

With an HPI of 50.16, Wang Hao is the 7th most famous Chinese Table Tennis Player.  His biography has been translated into 28 different languages.

Wang Hao (Chinese: 王皓; pinyin: Wáng Hào; born December 15, 1983) is a retired Chinese table tennis player and multiple-time Olympic medallist. He is the current head coach of the Chinese Men's Table Tennis Team. Wang became the world champion in men's singles in 2009, defeating three-time World Champion Wang Liqin 4–0. Wang was also a three-time World Cup Champion in 2007, 2008 and 2010, as well as a three-time singles silver medalist at the 2004 Summer Olympics, 2008 Summer Olympics, and the 2012 Summer Olympics. He was ranked #1 on the official ITTF world rankings for 27 consecutive months from October 2007 to December 2009. In January 2010, he was surpassed by Ma Long. In April 2011, Wang reclaimed his #1 ranking. He is known to execute the Reverse Penhold Backhand (RPB) with exceptional skill. During his career, he appeared a record twelve times in major world competition finals. In men's singles, he won the Asian Championship, Asian Cup, Asian Games, and Chinese National Games at least once. Wang retired from the national team at the end of 2014. As of 2023, he is the head coach of the Chinese Men's Table Tennis Team.

8. Zhang Yining (b. 1981)

With an HPI of 50.07, Zhang Yining is the 8th most famous Chinese Table Tennis Player.  Her biography has been translated into 29 different languages.

Zhang Yining (Chinese: 张怡宁; pinyin: Zhāng Yíníng; born 5 October 1981) is a Chinese table tennis player who retired in 2009. She is considered one of the greatest female players in the sport's history. In terms of achievements, she is one of the most successful female table tennis players (alongside Ding Ning, Deng Yaping, Wang Nan, Li Xiaoxia) having won the gold medal in each of the Table Tennis World Cup, the Table Tennis World Championships, and the Olympic Games. She is also the first player overall, and the first female, to have completed a Double Grand Slam.

9. Zhang Jike (b. 1988)

With an HPI of 49.96, Zhang Jike is the 9th most famous Chinese Table Tennis Player.  His biography has been translated into 32 different languages.

Zhang Jike (Chinese: 张继科; pinyin: Zhāng Jìkē; born 16 February 1988) is a retired Chinese table tennis player. Zhang became the fourth male player in the history of table tennis to achieve a career Grand Slam when he won gold in men's singles at the Olympic games in London 2012. The first three are Jan-Ove Waldner (in 1992), Liu Guoliang (in 1999), and Kong Linghui (in 2000). Zhang won the Grand Slam in only 445 days. He won, consecutively, first WTTC 2011, then World Cup 2011, and then London Olympics 2012, which made him the fastest player ever to win a Grand Slam. After the first Grand Slam, he won WTTC 2013 and World Cup 2014.

10. Jiang Jialiang (b. 1964)

With an HPI of 48.32, Jiang Jialiang is the 10th most famous Chinese Table Tennis Player.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Jiang Jialiang (Chinese: 江嘉良; born 3 March 1964) is a male former international table tennis player from China. He competed at the 1988 Summer Olympics.