Who is Sun Yingsha, and how did she become the world’s top-ranked women’s table tennis player? With multiple Olympic medals, two World Championship singles titles and over a dozen international tour victories to her name, Sun now leads the ITTF women’s singles rankings as world No.1.
At just 25, she has already built one of the most complete résumés in modern table tennis. Olympic gold, back-to-back world titles and a Women’s World Cup crown have positioned her at the centre of the sport’s current era.
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Now competing at the Singapore Smash, one of the flagship events on the World Table Tennis calendar, Sun enters not as a challenger but as the standard others prepare for – a reflection of how far she has come from her early days in Hebei province.
From Hebei to the breakthrough
Born in 2000 in Shijiazhuang, Hebei province, Sun entered China’s state sports system at a young age. She progressed steadily, joining the national second team as a teenager before earning promotion to the senior squad.
Her first major statement came in 2019 at the Asian Championships in Yogyakarta, where she defeated China’s Liu Shiwen in straight games to claim the women’s singles title. The win confirmed she was ready for the highest level. That same season, she lifted multiple ITTF World Tour titles, including the Japan Open, where she again overcame Liu Shiwen in the final.
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By the end of 2019, she was firmly established in China’s core lineup.
Olympic success and world dominance
Sun made her Olympic debut at the Tokyo Games 2020 and reached the women’s singles final, earning silver before helping China secure team gold. It was a composed introduction to the sport’s biggest stage.
Four years later in Paris, she expanded her medal haul, winning mixed-doubles gold alongside Wang Chuqin and adding another team gold. She also claimed silver again in women’s singles, confirming her consistency across two Olympic cycles.
Her dominance has extended to the World Championships. She won her first world singles title in 2023 in Durban, defeating Chen Meng in the final, and successfully defended it in 2025 in Doha after a seven-game battle against Wang Manyu. In between, she captured the Women’s World Cup in Macao.
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Earlier this year, she added the Asian Cup to her collection, defeating Wang Manyu in a tense seven-game final in Haikou. The victory marked her first singles Asian Cup title and reinforced her position at the top of the rankings.
Style, rivalries and the present moment
Sun’s game is marked by aggressive shotmaking, balanced attack options and an ability to control rallies under pressure. She is effective at taking initiative early in exchanges and can vary the pace to force opponents into uncomfortable positions.
Her record in tight deciding games has become a defining feature of her career, particularly in major finals against rivals such as Wang Manyu and Chen Meng. China’s internal competition ensures constant pressure, sharpening both her tactical awareness and mental resilience.
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Now competing at the Singapore Smash, one of the flagship events on the World Table Tennis circuit, Sun arrives as world No.1 and one of the tournament’s leading contenders. At 25, she remains firmly in her athletic prime, with another Olympic cycle ahead.
From Hebei to the top of the ITTF rankings, Sun Yingsha’s journey reflects sustained excellence. She is no longer emerging. She is already at the centre of the sport.
