# Tomokazu Harimoto

Tomokazu Harimoto (張本 智和, Harimoto Tomokazu, born 27 June 2003) is a Japanese professional table tennis player who is currently world rank number 3 in ITTF. Born to Chinese parents, he became a naturalized Japanese citizen in 2014. He won the world junior singles and team title at the 2016 World Junior Table Tennis Championships for Japan.
In August 2017, he became the youngest ever winner of an ITTF World Tour men's singles title, winning the Czech Open title at the age of 14 years and 61 days. In December 2018, he became the youngest player to win the ITTF World Tour Grand Finals at the age of 15 years and 172 days.

## Personal life

Harimoto was born as Zhang Zhihe in Sendai in Miyagi Prefecture. His father Yuu Harimoto (born Zhang Yu) and mother Zhang Ling are both former professional table tennis players from Sichuan, China. Zhang Ling, at the peak of her career, represented the Chinese National Table Tennis Team at the 43rd World Table Tennis Championships in Tianjin. His parents moved from China to Japan in 1998. Tomokazu's younger sister Miwa Harimoto is also a table tennis player.
Harimoto began playing table tennis at the age of two. To compete in the All Japan Championships, he needed Japanese nationality. Consequently, his father and sister chose to become Japanese citizens as well. While in the fourth grade, he was naturalized as a Japanese citizen in 2014 and legally changed his surname to Harimoto.
In April 2022, Harimoto announced he will be attending Waseda University School of Human Sciences after graduating from Nihon University Senior High School.

## Career
### Junior career

Harimoto first won the All-Japan Table Tennis Championships Juniors title in 2010 as a first grader. He would continue to win the tournament for all 6 years of his elementary school years. In 2015, he was chosen to represent Japan at the World Junior Table Tennis Championships in France, becoming the youngest Japanese player to be chosen. However, due to the November 2015 Paris attacks, Harimoto was not able to participate in the tournament.
Aged 12 years and 355 days, Harimoto defeated seasoned professionals Ho Kwan Kit, Hugo Calderano, and teammate Kohei Sambe to win the 2016 U-21 Japan Open title. With the win, he became the youngest winner ITTF World Tour under-21 men's singles title. Later that year, Harimoto won gold medals in the boys' singles and teams events at the World Junior Table Tennis Championships in Cape Town, South Africa. This win was historic, as Harimoto became the youngest winner of the World Junior Championships aged 13 years and 163 days. Harimoto achieved an Under-21 ranking of No. 10 in the world in December 2016.

### 2017

Harimoto began the year in February at the recently revamped India Open. He reached the finals with victories over Álvaro Robles, Sakai Asuka, Robert Gardos, and local favorite Sharath Kamal, before losing to defending champion Dimitrij Ovtcharov in straight sets.

### 2018

In June 2018, Harimoto shocked the world by winning first place in the ITTF World Tour Japan Open, after beating Olympic champions Ma Long in the semifinal and Zhang Jike in the final. He was just short of 15 years old when he won the title. Later in the year, Harimoto continued to win the ITTF World Tour Grand Finals in Incheon, South Korea, where he defeated Lin Gaoyuan 4-1 in the final and became the youngest-ever winner of the event. His outstanding performance in 2018 also helped him reach No.3 in the ITTF world ranking, his career best.

### 2020

Harimoto won third place at the 2020 World Cup. Harimoto led 3–1 against Ma Long in the semi-finals, but lost 4–3 after Ma Long called time-out in the fifth game and switched to a high-toss serve that Harimoto had trouble reading.

### 2021

In March, Harimoto played in WTT Doha. He was upset in the semi-finals by Dimitrij Ovtcharov in the WTT Contender event, but won the champion for the WTT Star Contender event.
In June, teammate Jun Mizutani said that Harimoto's mental game was steadily improving in 2021 and better than the previous year. Mizutani also positively noted that Harimoto was reverting to his more aggressive style of play in 2021.
Harimoto was upset by Darko Jorgic in the round of 16 of the men's singles event at the Tokyo Olympics. Originally slated to be the ace player in the team event, Harimoto ended up playing in doubles in Japan's 3–1 victory against Sweden in the quarter-finals. In the semi-finals, Harimoto won both his matches as the ace player against Germany, but Germany still won 3–2.

## Records

* June 2016: Youngest ever winner of an ITTF World Tour under-21 men's singles title (12 years, 355 days).
* December 2016: Youngest ever winner of the boys' singles title at the World Junior Championships (13 years, 163 days).
* August 2017: Youngest ever winner of an ITTF World Tour men's singles title (14 years, 61 days).
* January 2018: Youngest ever winner of the men's singles title at the Japanese National Championships (14 years, 207 days).
* December 2018: Youngest ever winner of an ITTF World Tour Grand Finals men's singles title (15 years, 172 days).

## Awards

* ITTF Star Awards: Breakthrough Star (2017)

## Major tournament performance timeline

Key :
| W | W | F | SF | QF | #R |
(W) won; (F) finalist; (SF) semi-finalist, rank added if bronze medal match played; (QF) quarter-finalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (S) singles event; (MD) men's doubles event; (XD) mixed doubles event; (T) team event.
| Tournament | | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
| World Championships | S | QF | | 4R | | 2R | | QF | |
| World Championships | MD | | | 3R | | 3R | | 1R | |
| World Championships | XD | | | | | F | | F | |
| World Championships | T | | QF | | | | SF | | QF |
| Olympic Games | S | | | | | 4R | | | QF |
| Olympic Games | XD | | | | | | | | 1R |
| Olympic Games | T | | | | | SF3 | | | SF4 |
| World Cup | S | | QF | F | SF3 | | | | SF |
| World Cup | T | | F | SF | | | | 3rd |
| ITTF Finals / WTT Finals | S | QF | W | QF | 1R | F | F | QF | F |
| ITTF Finals / WTT Finals | MD | QF | | | | | | | QF |
| Year-end ranking | Year-end ranking | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
| Year-end ranking | Year-end ranking | 17 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 11 | 3 |
Senior career highlights, as of 11 January 2025

## ITTF/WTT career finals
### Singles: 21 (12 titles, 9 runners-up)

| Result | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Score |
| Runner-up | 2017 | ITTF World Tour, India Open | Dimitrij Ovtcharov | 0–4 |
| Winner | 2017 | ITTF World Tour, Czech Open | Timo Boll | 4–2 |
| Winner | 2018 | ITTF World Tour, Japan Open | Zhang Jike | 4–3 |
| Winner | 2018 | ITTF World Tour Grand Finals | Lin Gaoyuan | 4–1 |
| Runner-up | 2019 | ITTF World Tour, Hong Kong Open | Lin Gaoyuan | 2–4 |
| Winner | 2019 | ITTF World Tour, Bulgaria Open | Zhao Zihao | 4–2 |
| Runner-up | 2019 | World Cup | Fan Zhendong | 2–4 |
| Winner | 2020 | ITTF World Tour, Hungarian Open | Yukiya Uda | 4–1 |
| Winner | 2021 | WTT Star Contender Doha | Ruwen Filus | 4–2 |
| Runner-up | 2021 | WTT Cup Finals | Fan Zhendong | 1–4 |
| Winner | 2022 | WTT Champions European Summer Series | Lin Gaoyuan | 4–3 |
| Runner-up | 2022 | WTT Cup Finals | Wang Chuqin | 2–4 |
| Winner | 2022 | Asian Cup | Lim Jong-hoon | 4–1 |
| Runner-up | 2024 | WTT Contender Doha | Timo Boll | 3–4 |
| Winner | 2024 | WTT Contender Tunis | Yukiya Uda | 4–3 |
| Winner | 2024 | WTT Star Contender Bangkok | Lin Gaoyuan | 4–0 |
| Winner | 2024 | Asian Championships | Lin Shidong | 3–1 |
| Runner-up | 2024 | WTT Champions Montpellier | Félix Lebrun | 1–4 |
| Runner-up | 2024 | WTT Finals | Wang Chuqin | 0–4 |
| Winner | 2025 | WTT Star Contender Doha | Jonathan Groth | 4–0 |
| Runner-up | 2025 | WTT Contender Muscat | Chen Yuanyu | 2–4 |

### Men's doubles: 7 (4 titles, 3 runners-up)

| Result | Year | Tournament | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| Runner-up | 2017 | ITTF World Tour Platinum, China Open | Yuto Kizukuri | Jin Ueda / Maharu Yoshimura | 1–3 |
| Runner-up | 2017 | ITTF World Tour Platinum, German Open | Yuto Kizukuri | Jung Young-sik / Lee Sang-su | 2–3 |
| Winner | 2022 | WTT Contender Tunis | Yuto Kizukuri | Zhao Zihao / Xue Fei | 3–2 |
| Winner | 2024 | WTT Contender Tunis | Sora Matsushima | Huang Yan-cheng / Feng Yi-hsin | 3–0 |
| Winner | 2024 | WTT Star Contender Bangkok | Sora Matsushima | Kao Cheng-jui / Chuang Chih-yuan | 3–2 |
| Runner-up | 2025 | WTT Star Contender Doha | Sora Matsushima | Xiang Peng / Xu Yingbin | 2–3 |
| Winner | 2025 | WTT Contender Muscat | Sora Matsushima | Hung Jing-kai / Chang Yu-an | 3–0 |

### Mixed doubles: 15 (8 titles, 7 runners-up)

| Result | Year | Tournament | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| Runner-up | 2019 | ITTF World Tour Platinum, Japan Open | Hina Hayata | Xu Xin / Zhu Yuling | 0–3 |
| Winner | 2019 | ITTF World Tour Platinum, Austrian Open | Hina Hayata | Lin Gaoyuan / Zhu Yuling | 3–1 |
| Runner-up | 2021 | World Championships | Hina Hayata | Wang Chuqin / Sun Yingsha | 0–3 |
| Winner | 2022 | WTT Contender Zagreb | Hina Hayata | Wong Chun Ting / Doo Hoi Kem | 3–0 |
| Runner-up | 2022 | WTT Star Contender European Summer Series | Hina Hayata | Wang Chuqin / Wang Manyu | 2–3 |
| Winner | 2022 | WTT Contender Tunis | Miwa Harimoto | Feng Yi-hsin / Chen Szu-yu | 3–2 |
| Runner-up | 2023 | Singapore Smash | Hina Hayata | Wang Chuqin / Sun Yingsha | 1–3 |
| Runner-up | 2023 | World Championships | Hina Hayata | Wang Chuqin / Sun Yingsha | 0–3 |
| Runner-up | 2023 | WTT Star Contender Lanzhou | Hina Hayata | Lin Shidong / Kuai Man | 2–3 |
| Winner | 2023 | WTT Contender Antalya | Hina Hayata | Félix Lebrun / Prithika Pavade | 3–1 |
| Runner-up | 2024 | WTT Contender Rio de Janeiro | Hina Hayata | Lim Jong-hoon / Shin Yu-bin | 0–3 |
| Winner | 2024 | WTT Contender Zagreb | Hina Hayata | Lim Jong-hoon / Shin Yu-bin | 3–2 |
| Winner | 2024 | WTT Star Contender Ljubljana | Hina Hayata | Lim Jong-hoon / Shin Yu-bin | 3–2 |
| Winner | 2024 | WTT Contender Tunis | Hina Hayata | Kristian Karlsson / Christina Källberg | 3–2 |
| Winner | 2024 | WTT Star Contender Bangkok | Hina Hayata | Wong Chun Ting / Doo Hoi Kem | 3–1 |

## Record against top-10 players

Harimoto's singles match record against those who had been ranked in the top 10 (as of 11 January 2025):
| Player | Highest ranking | Record | Win% | Last match |
| Vladimir Samsonov | 1 | 5–0 | 100% | Won (4–1) at 2019 ITTF World Tour Platinum German Open |
| Timo Boll | 1 | 2–3 | 40% | Lost (3–4) at 2024 WTT Contender Doha |
| Ma Long | 1 | 2–4 | 33% | Lost (3–4) at 2020 World Cup |
| Zhang Jike | 1 | 2–0 | 100% | Won (4–3) at 2018 ITTF World Tour Japan Open |
| Xu Xin | 1 | 0–8 | 0% | Lost (3–4) at 2019 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals |
| Dimitrij Ovtcharov | 1 | 7–4 | 64% | Won (3–0) at 2024 WTT Star Contender Ljubljana |
| Fan Zhendong | 1 | 2–8 | 20% | Lost (3–4) at 2024 Summer Olympics |
| Wang Chuqin | 1 | 2–10 | 17% | Lost (0–4) at 2024 WTT Finals |
| Lin Gaoyuan | 2 | 4–4 | 50% | Won (4–0) at 2024 WTT Star Contender Bangkok |
| Liang Jingkun | 2 | 2–6 | 25% | Won (3–1) at 2024 WTT Finals |
| Lin Shidong | 2 | 4–1 | 80% | Won (4–3) at 2024 WTT Finals |
| Chuang Chih-yuan | 3 | 8–3 | 73% | Won (3–0) at 2024 Summer Olympics |
| Hugo Calderano | 3 | 4–1 | 80% | Won (4–1) at 2021 WTT Cup Finals |
| Truls Möregårdh | 3 | 1–2 | 33% | Lost (2–3) at 2024 WTT China Smash |
| Jun Mizutani | 4 | 3–0 | 100% | Won (4–1) at 2019 ITTF World Tour Hong Kong Open |
| Félix Lebrun | 4 | 0–4 | 0% | Lost (1–4) at 2024 WTT Champions Montpellier |
| Koki Niwa | 5 | 4–1 | 80% | Won (4–3) at 2019 World Cup |
| Lin Yun-ju | 5 | 6–2 | 75% | Won (3–1) at 2024 Asian Championships |
| Wong Chun Ting | 6 | 9–2 | 82% | Won (3–1) at 2024 WTT China Smash |
| Lee Sang-su | 6 | 4–1 | 80% | Won (4–1) at 2022 Asian Cup |
| Darko Jorgić | 6 | 3–1 | 75% | Won (3–1) at 2023 WTT Champions Macao |
| Marcos Freitas | 7 | 5–2 | 71% | Won (4–2) at 2024 World Cup |
| Jeoung Young-sik | 7 | 3–1 | 75% | Won (3–0) at 2021 WTT Star Contender Doha |
| Mattias Falck | 7 | 2–2 | 50% | Lost (1–3) at 2022 WTT Champions Macao |
| Simon Gauzy | 8 | 3–0 | 100% | Won (3–1) at 2024 Summer Olympics |
| Dang Qiu | 8 | 1–0 | 100% | Won (3–0) at 2022 WTT Champions Budapest |
| Jang Woo-jin | 8 | 6–4 | 60% | Won (3–0) at 2024 WTT Finals |
| Patrick Franziska | 8 | 9–0 | 100% | Won (3–0) at 2024 WTT Champions Montpellier |
| Gao Ning | 9 | 1–0 | 100% | Won (3–0) at 2018 World Championships |
| Kenta Matsudaira | 9 | 0–1 | 0% | Lost (2–4) at 2018 ITTF World Tour Bulgarian Open |
| Quadri Aruna | 10 | 3–2 | 60% | Lost (2–3) at 2024 WTT Champions Frankfurt |