<\/p>\nBrazilians Hugo Calderano and Bruna Takahashi started the ball rolling<\/p>\n
<\/a> by becoming the first Grand Smash winners from the Americas when they ended the Chinese stranglehold on the mixed doubles event on Feb 27.<\/p>\n
On Feb 28, Miwa Harimoto and Hina Hayata did the same in the women\u2019s doubles as they beat Japan\u2019s Miyu Nagasaki and South Korea\u2019s Shin Yu-bin 3-0 (11-9, 11-8, 11-7) in front of almost 6,000 fans. <\/p>\n
Harimoto, 17, also became the youngest Grand Smash champion, beating China\u2019s Lin Shidong\u2019s record from 2024, when the then 19-year-old won the China Smash men\u2019s singles and mixed doubles titles.<\/p>\n
In the evening session, French brothers Alexis and Felix Lebrun, who are ranked third, beat China\u2019s world No. 6 Lin Shidong and Huang Youzheng 3-0 (11-6, 11-6, 11-7) in the men\u2019s doubles final.<\/p>\n
After claiming the winners\u2019 cheque of US$10,000 and 2,000 points, the duo look set for a return to the top of the world rankings. <\/p>\n
This marked the third consecutive Grand Smash in which China have not won the men\u2019s doubles title.<\/p>\n
Men\u2019s singles world No. 2 Calderano told The Sunday Times: \u201cThe level all around the world has improved a lot in the past few years.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt didn\u2019t help China that Ma Long, Fan Zhendong and Xu Xin are not playing for them now.<\/p>\n
\u201cWang Chuqin is really at the top now, but the rest of the world is also competing at a higher level and there are more players who are in contention.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harimoto, whose combination with Hayata began at the Paris 2024 Olympics, felt that the win raises the possibility of challenging China for gold in the women\u2019s singles and doubles at the 2028 Olympics.<\/p>\n
She said: \u201cWith more communication and matches, our chemistry and partnership got better. She is a leftie and I am right-handed, which makes for a good combination, and I hope we can play more together and be successful in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n
China had swept all 30 titles in the first six Grand Smashes since the inception of the table tennis major in 2022, but their grip has loosened since South Koreans An Jae-hyun and Lim Jong-hoon became men\u2019s doubles champions at the 2025 US Smash, with China-born Macau player Zhu Yuling also taking the women\u2019s singles crown in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n
Another two events went to non-China players at the 2025 Europe Smash as Sweden\u2019s Truls Moregard capped a fairy-tale run to win the men\u2019s singles title in his hometown of Malmo, while Hong Kong\u2019s Wong Chun Ting and Baldwin Chan won the men\u2019s doubles final.<\/p>\n
At the ongoing Singapore Smash, the Chinese have faced stiff resistance in not just the doubles but also the singles competitions.<\/p>\n
Defending men\u2019s singles champion and world No. 3 Lin lost 4-2 (14-12, 9-11, 11-6, 11-4, 9-11, 12-10) to sixth-ranked Felix in the quarter-finals, with the Frenchman earning a semi-final against world No. 1 Chuqin.<\/p>\n
In the women\u2019s singles quarter-finals, the seventh-ranked Wang Yidi was also stunned 4-2 (4-11, 11-5, 9-11, 11-5, 11-4, 11-4) by Germany\u2019s 15th-ranked Sabine Winter, who will meet China\u2019s world No. 2 Wang Manyu in the last four.<\/p>\n
The other semi-final is an all-Chinese affair, with world No. 1 and defending champion Sun Yingsha playing the eighth-ranked Chen Yi.<\/p>\n
Men\u2019s singles world No. 5 Truls Moregard, who kept his nerve to edge past China\u2019s 30th-ranked Chen Yuanyu 4-3 (13-11, 13-11, 11-4, 4-11, 6-11, 3-11, 11-6) to set up a men\u2019s semi-final against the eighth-ranked Taiwanese Lin Yun-ju, offered some perspective.<\/p>\n
While the 24-year-old acknowledged that his elimination of Chuqin and his Olympic silver at Paris 2024 did his confidence a world of wonders, China\u2019s supremacy has helped the rest of the world lift their standards.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cThey are very, very good players and we have to play at our best level to have a chance to beat them.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are many nations that play good table tennis now because China are so good. If it wasn\u2019t for China, there wouldn\u2019t be many other good nations.\u201d<\/p>\n
Felix added: \u201cThey are amazing and so hard to beat, but since I started playing, I didn\u2019t fear them. I\u2019m impressed that they are the best and I want to improve to reach that level.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m happy I can sometimes beat the best in the world, like Lin Shidong in the singles and doubles today.\u201d<\/p>\n
It is also worth noting that China, who have won 37 out of 42 Olympic table tennis gold medals, did not deploy their most formidable pairings and former champions \u2013 Chuqin and Shidong (men\u2019s doubles), Sun and Manyu (women\u2019s doubles) and Chuqin and Sun (mixed doubles) \u2013 at the Singapore Smash.<\/p>\n
But their rivals have no doubt that the Chinese giants will be roaring at the Olympics and world championships.<\/p>\n
Despite her upset win, 33-year-old Winter said: \u201cI\u2019m happy to beat one of the top Chinese players, but I still believe they are the very best and the rest of us are just trying our best to sometimes make it difficult for them.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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