Who are the GOATs of women’s table tennis?
- Chloe Ireland
- 2 days ago
- 8 min read
Who do you consider to be the greatest table tennis player of all time?
This is the question I posed to a gaggle of kids at my local club. I watched the cogs turn behind their eyes as they scrambled for names. It did occur to me that many of them might not have sat through a full, professional table tennis match before and had to restrain myself from wheeling in the projector to complete their education.
In the end, there were a couple of "Ma Longs", a few "Waldners", a "Truls", one "Fan Zhendong" and "Dan from Table Tennis Daily". The people have spoken.
There were a couple of young girls at the session who were really struggling to come up with names. I asked them if they knew who the current women's number 1 is. They did not.
I asked the boys if they knew... they did not.
I asked the coaches if they knew... one... one coach goes home with 10 points for Sun Yingsha.
I can hardly blame them. When I was a cadet, I don't think I would have done any better, but this highlights a larger problem in the coverage of women's sport. Charity Women In Sport UK has coined it "The Dream Gap"
Today, 30% fewer girls than boys dream of becoming a top sportsperson. My theory is that girls don't dream of becoming elite because we don't talk about female players as if they are elite. When the subject of the Greatest Of All Time comes up, women aren't even up for discussion.
That stops today! Below is my list of the top ten female players, in no particular order, whom I consider to be the Greatest of All Time. Some of them are listed for their medal success, others are listed because of their journeys, and what they accomplished in the sport as a whole.
1) Ding Ning (China)
Starting off with the "Queen of Hearts" herself. So named due to her elegant playing style combined with a tenacious fighting spirit that won over fans in China and all over the world. The women's game is usually categorised by lightning-fast exchanges close to the table- what I find interesting about Ding Ning is the space and respect she gives to each ball. She's usually further back than her opponent, allowing for smooth and seamless transitions to each wing.
Her success was marred by controversy when she lost the Gold Medal match at the 2012 Olympics. Most athletes would have been thrilled to stand on the podium, but Ding Ning felt cheated after she was faulted multiple times on her service by the umpire. At the time, she accused the umpire of ruining her Olympic dream. Whether the umpires' call was correct is still one of the most hotly debated topics in the modern game, especially as Ding Ning's iconic reverse tomahawk serve had become a trademark of her style.
What could have been a career-ending blow only pushed Ding Ning to further heights. 4 years later, she won gold in Rio, making her a "Grand Slam" champion, meaning she had gold medals at the World Cup, World Championships and Olympic Games.
2) Sun Yingsha (China)
She's yet to win her "Grand Slam" trio, but at 25 years old, Sun Yingsha (Sha Sha) is the most dominant force in the women's game and... I'm calling it now... I believe she will become the most successful women's table tennis player of all time. Her game is categorised by flawless consistency and relentless attacking power. When she pivots to her forehand, it's all her opponents can do but brace for impact.
While she isn't as rich in medals as some of the other names on this list, she is currently one of the most endorsed players on the planet, with brand and advertising deals from toothpaste to matcha coffee to Apple products. Her commercial success is unprecedented, and she recently overtook men's number 1 Wang Chuqin for the number of Weibo followers, the primary Chinese social media. Sha Sha has a huge and dedicated fan base on a level that other players couldn't even dream of. She's also ridiculously likeable in interviews and has a wicked sense of style. Just look at this photo shoot from Marie Claire. Sha Sha is not just serving table tennis balls, she's serving LOOKS!
3) Angelica Rozeanu (Romania)
Romania is considered a force to be reckoned with in modern women's table tennis, and part of that, I think, can be linked back to the success of Angelica Rozeanu. Rozeanu won the Romanian Cup in 1933 at just 12 years old. From 1936 to 1957, she held onto that title... that's 21 years in a row!
Angelica was 18 years old in 1939 at the beginning of World War II. At the time, Jews were banned from entering sports halls or similar in Romania. This meant that for 5 years, years where she should have been in her prime as a sportswoman, she wasn't able to train.
However, in 1950, 5 years after the end of the war, Angelica Rozeanu won her first World Championship. This started a run that would see her win the championship six years in succession, a run that to this day has never been beaten.
Table tennis has changed a lot since the era of Angelica Rozeanu, but her brick wall defensive style, tenacity and dedication to the sport deserve to be celebrated and remembered. I love the quote below from her when she describes why she chose table tennis over other sports.
“I preferred table tennis or perhaps, if you like, table tennis preferred me.”
4) Deng Yaping (China)
Back to China now from our brief detour! Deng Yaping has been a divisive figure in her career away from the table, but her skill as a table tennis player is indisputable. At age 13, she won her first National Championship. However, when she tried to join the national team, she was consistently denied a spot due to her height. She stood only 1.5 meters (4 feet 11 inches tall). She was finally granted a place in 1988, and by the time she retired, aged only 24 years old, she had won more titles than any other player in the sport, male or female.
4x Olympic Gold Medal winner and World Champion a staggering 18 times. From 1990 to 1997, she retained the title of world No. 1 ranked female for 8 years, which is longer than Ma Long's longest run and Waldner's combined! In terms of a stocked trophy cabinet, Deng Yaping is the GOAT.
5) Mária Mednyánszky (Hungary)
It's often forgotten that Hungary was one of the dominant forces in early table tennis. Alongside Czechoslovakia and England, Hungary dominated the rankings until 1952, when Japan's Tomie Okawa (remember that name!) would change the game forever, leading to decades of Asian preeminence.
Mária Mednyánszky is the godmother of women's table tennis. She was the first ever women's World Champion in London 1926. Whoever wins the title in London this year will be walking directly in her footsteps. Madnyánszky only started playing table tennis in her mid-20s, reportedly first in a bank cafeteria. Within a year, she was good enough to become a World Champion. Over the course of her career, she collected a total of 28 world championship medals, 18 of which were gold.
Again, the sport is very different now in comparison to 1926, but Mária Mednyánszky is a GOAT not just because she was a brilliant table tennis player at the time, but because her dominance across all categories in the sport helped to establish an equal standard and proved women’s table tennis as a serious competitive endeavour.
6) Zhang Yining (China)
Sun Yingsha is nicknamed the "Little Devil" due to her idol, Zhang Yining, the "Big Devil". In China, Big Devil (大魔王 / dà mó wáng) is a moniker given to sports personalities who are so unbeatable that they are considered almost inhuman.
The influence of Zhang Yining on modern women's table tennis cannot be overstated. Especially in China, she was the gold standard of quality, and her aggressive forehand-heavy style can be seen replicated in many of the top players she inspired, including our current women's No.1.
Zhang Yining was the first female player, and first player overall, to achieve a Double Grand Slam. That means 2 Olympic golds, 2 World Cups and 2 World Championships.
A fun story that has become a tale of table tennis legend is that she won an Olympic quarterfinal in Beijing with a $10 blade. Her own blade was disqualified due to uneven glueing, and she didn't have a spare. She had to quickly find a supermarket bat and stick on her rubbers (back then it wasn't illegal to glue up directly before a match). If it's true, Zhang Yining is living proof that success is not down to kit, it's all in the quality of the player.
7) Otilia Bădescu (Romania)
From the stars of China to the titans of Europe, my next pic is Romanian player Otilia Bădescu. In her blisteringly successful career, Bădescu won 3 bronze medals at the World Championships and 16 medals at the European Championships (5 gold, 4 silver and 7 bronze). This makes her the most decorated European female who could challenge asian players on the international stage.
In 1991, Otilia Bădescu became the first European player to be signed to an Asian club! She played for 5 years for Juroku Bank, a club from the city of Gifu in Japan.
After retirement, the 4x Olympian came to the UK, where she became a sports teacher at a college in Bristol. She also coached the table tennis team on the Island of Guernsey and briefly collaborated with the English National team.
8) Tomie Okawa (Japan)
Did you remember the name? Tomie Okawa is the woman who changed the trajectory of table tennis forever. She was the first Asian player to win the Women's World Championships in 1956, ending the reign of European dominance. From 1953 to 1961 Okawa won five medals in singles, doubles, and team events in the World Table Tennis Championships.
What's even more important for the future of table tennis is the introduction of the sponge racket. First pioneered by Hiroji Satoh, having a layer of sponge between the rubber and wooden surface of the bat was used by the Japanese team from 1952. This stirred accusations of cheating at the time, but has since led to the development of table tennis as we see and play it today!
9) Natalia Partyka (Poland)
While a list of Para table tennis legends certainly deserves a list in its own right, it would be amis of me not to mention the incredible Natalia Partyka as one of the GOATs of women's TT.
Natalia Partyka began competing at the Paralympics at age 11 (in 2000), making her the youngest ever Paralympian in table tennis history. She's won four consecutive Paralympic singles gold medals in women's class 10, a feat unmatched in para table tennis. Her dominance in the category has been sustained over many years since her debut. That's a rare combination of early start, longevity and consistent top-level performance.
Partyka also competes among able-bodied athletes and competed in the Olympic Games in Beijing 2008 and London 2012. Her skill and adaptability to different styles make her a formidable opponent in any arena.
10) Tamara Boroš (Croatia)
You might recognise Boroš from the coaching corner of Team Germany as they won their 10th European Team Championship victory this year. It's not hard to imagine, with the incredible career that she's had, how invaluable Tamara Boroš has become to the German women's team.
In 2003 Boroš won the World Championships Singles bronze, one of only two non-Asian players to have won a women's singles medal at World Championships over the last 50 years (from 1977 to 2026). She also reached number 2 on the world ranking list, the highest for any European woman in the last 30 years.
An aggressive playing style, phenomenal backhand and unrivalled tenacity. Boroš was rightfully inducted into the European Table Tennis Hall of Fame in 2015.
So, if you ever find yourself in a conversation talking about who the Greatest Of All Time is, try throwing some of the phenomenal women above into the mix!
Think someone's missing? Let me know in the comments!
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