# Fan Zhendong

Fan Zhendong (Chinese: 樊振东; pinyin: Fán Zhèndōng, pronounced; born 22 January 1997) is a Chinese professional table tennis player. After joining the Chinese national table tennis team in 2012 as the youngest member, he went on to become the youngest ITTF World Tour Champion and the youngest World Table Tennis Champion. From December 2013 to December 2024, Fan was ranked top five in the world according to the ITTF -- this eleven year streak is the longest in men's singles history.
Fan is the reigning Olympic gold medallist in men's singles, with his victory at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris making him the 6th male player (and 11th player overall) to achieve a Grand Slam. He is also a two-time team event gold medallist, as well as a two-time World Champion and four-time World Cup champion in men's singles.
Fan's attacking style of play involves explosive footwork and powerful loops on both forehand and backhand wings. His thick-set build has led fans and commentators to affectionately refer to him as "Little Fatty" (Chinese: 小胖, meaning "chubby boy"; pinyin: Xiǎo Pàng). His continuous rise to becoming one of the top table tennis players in the world has garnered him a large fanbase worldwide, with over half a million followers on Chinese social media site Weibo. In 2016, he won the ITTF Star Point Award, and he was nominated for the Best Male Star Award every year between 2013 and 2016.
Fan studied at Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

## Playing style and equipment

A right-handed shakehand-grip player, Fan plays an attacking style of table tennis using his explosive footwork and thunderous and well placed loops to finish off his opponents. Emerging as a 16-year-old wunderkind, Fan's playing style is often compared to his senior compatriot Ma Long. In addition to being trained by national team coaches, he has been specially trained by both Wang Hao and Ma Lin. His encounters against senior players in the Chinese national team have drawn much speculation and anticipation. His fearlessness and technique allow him to challenge highly rated, experienced players, sometimes even beating top players in thrilling style.
Fan raises his elbow higher on his strokes compared to some of his contemporaries such as Ma Long and Xu Xin, resulting in a stronger backhand-forehand transition game at the expense of a more vulnerable middle. In 2021, Timo Boll stated that he felt that he and Fan played a similar style except that Fan was better. Boll did not elaborate further.
Fan was a Stiga sponsored athlete. However, he changed to Butterfly Fan Zhendong ALC, he uses a black DHS Hurricane 3 neo National Blue Sponge for forehand and a Red Tenergy 05 for backhand. During the 2019 world table tennis championships, he changed to the new Butterfly Dignics 05 on his backhand that had just been released on 1 April 2019. Butterfly announced its signing of Fan Zhendong on 1 November 2021.

## Career
### 2013

On 3 January 2013, the Chinese table tennis team went straight to Paris for the first time
Fan In the first stage of the competition, Fan who was only 16 years old, defeated many famous players and won an unexpected second place, thus becoming the biggest dark horse. From 15 to 19 January, in the second stage of the Chinese men's table tennis selection that went directly to Paris, Fan Zhendong finally achieved eighth place.

### 2014

On 22 March, in the men's singles final of the Asian Cup Table Tennis Tournament, he lost to Ma Long 3:4 and placed runner-up.
On 5 May, the 52nd Team World Table Tennis Championships kicked off the men's team finals in Tokyo, Japan. In the end, the Chinese team defeated its opponent with a big score of 3-1 and won the men's team championship of this World Table Tennis Championships. Fan Zhendong also became the world champion by virtue of this competition, and won the world championship at the age of 17 years and 103 days, surpassing Ma Long, who won the world championship at the age of 17 years and 8 months; becoming the youngest world champion in the history of men's table tennis.

### 2015

In January, he won the Dubai World Cup men's team championship with Zhang Jike, Ma Long, Xu Xin and Fang Bo. On 28 July 2015, in the 13th round of the Table Tennis Super League men's competition, 18-year-old Fan Zhendong of the Bayi Team won another victory this round. So far, his personal winning rate is still 100%. Winning 24 games, Fan Zhendong broke the Super League record of 23 games won by Ma Long in 2012.

### 2016

In June, Fan Zhendong won the men's singles championship at the ITTF World Tour Japan Open. It is worth mentioning that in the quarter-finals with French player Simon Gauzy, Fan Zhendong hit a "magic save". This "magic save" not only made Fan Zhendong's popularity soar, but also won the ITTF Star Awards title of "Star Point of the Year".

### 2017

On 8 March, in the final round of the World Table Tennis Championships in Dusseldorf held in Shenzhen, Fan Zhendong defeated Xu Xin 2-0, ranking first with 9 wins and 2 losses, and won the first Dusseldorf title. On 12 April, he won the men's team championship at the Asian Table Tennis Championships.

### 2018

In the early morning of 22 January 2018, the Hungarian Open, the first ITTF tournament in 2018, decided on four championships, all of which were won by China Table Tennis Federation. Fan Zhendong defeated another Chinese player Wang Chuqin 4-1 in the men's singles final and won the championship.

### 2019

On 3 March 2019, Fan Zhendong won all 11 matches in the 2019 Direct Tournament and received the qualification for singles participation as the first seed in the 2019 World Table Tennis Championships, held in Budapest. Fan was knocked out in the fourth round by compatriot Liang Jingkun.

### 2020

On 15 November 2020, he defeated Ma Long 4-3 in the men's singles final of the 2020 Men's Table Tennis World Cup and won the championship for the fourth time. On 22 November, in the men's singles final of the 2020 ITTF Finals, Fan Zhendong lost to Ma Long 1-4 and won the runner-up.

### 2021

In May, Fan played in the Chinese Olympic Scrimmages. He won all his group matches 3–0 and defeated 16-year-old break-out star Lin Shidong, who defeated Xu Xin in the group stage, 4–2 in the quarter-finals. Because of Lin's similarity to Fan, he received the nickname "Little Little Fatty" by Chinese netizens. Fan defeated Wang Chuqin in the semi-finals, but lost to the dark horse champion Zhou Qihao in the finals. Fan was selected alongside Ma Long to represent China in the men's singles event at the Tokyo Olympics. Fan won the second leg of the Chinese Olympic Scrimmage, coming back from down 8–4 and 3–1 in games to defeat Xu Xin in the finals. Fan noted that his selection onto the Olympic team helped him focus better on his training and play better in the second leg compared to the first leg. Zhou again upset Fan in a closed-door scrimmage in June.
Although Ma Long called Fan the favorite before their Olympic finals match-up, Ma ended up upsetting Fan 4-2 in the Olympic finals, giving Ma the gold medal and Fan the silver. Despite the loss, Fan Zhendong still showed class, acknowledging Ma Long's control of the match and recognizing his own missed opportunities. When asked about Ma Long's place in history, Fan acknowledged that he is the greatest in their generation.
In September, Fan saved six match points to beat Ma Long in the fifth in the finals of the team event at the China National Games. Fan's win over Ma delivered Team Guangdong the gold medal. Fan Zhendong also won the gold in the men's singles event.

### 2023

Fan won five titles in 2023, including double gold at both the Singapore Smash and the 2023 World Table Tennis Championships, where he won the men's singles and doubles competition in both events. Fan won the ITTF "Male Player of the Year" award later that year, with an impressive 81% singles winning rate and reaching seven finals.

### 2024

Fan Zhendong beat Sweden’s Truls Möregårdh 4-1 to win his first individual Olympic gold medal at Paris 2024 on Sunday, 4 August.
His victory marked Fan's completion of a career Grand slam, having now secured singles titles in the World Championships, World Cup, and Olympics. He becomes the sixth man to achieve this feat after Kong Linghui, Liu Guoliang, Zhang Jike, Ma Long and Jan-Ove Waldner.
On 9 August, in the table tennis men's team gold medal match, Fan Zhendong's Chinese team won the men's team gold medal at the Paris Olympics with a 3-0 (3-2, 3-2, 3-2) win over Sweden.

## Achievements
### Performance timeline

Key :
| W | W | F | SF | QF | #R |
(W) won; (F) finalist; (SF) semi-finalist; (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 | | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
| World Championships | S | 3R | | SF | | F | | 4R | | W | | W | |
| World Championships | MD | | | F | | W | | | | QF | | W | |
| World Championships | XD | | | | | | | SF | | | | | |
| World Championships | T | | W | | W | | W | | | | W | | W |
| Olympic Games | S | | | | | | | | | F | | | W |
| Olympic Games | T | | | | | | | | | W | | | W |
| World Cup | S | | | F | W | | W | W | W | | | | QF |
| World Cup | T | | | W | | | W | W | | | | W | |
| ITTF Finals / WTT Finals | S | SF | | F | F | W | QF | W | F | W | QF | F | |
| ITTF Finals / WTT Finals | MD | | | | | | | W | | | | SF | |
| Asian Games | S | | F | | | | W | | | | | F | |
| Asian Games | MD | | F | | | | | | | | | W | |
| Asian Games | T | | W | | | | W | | | | | W | |
| Asian Championships | S | QF | | W | | W | | SF | | | | F | |
| Asian Championships | MD | | | W | | W | | F | | | | W | |
| Asian Championships | XD | SF | | W | | | | | | | | | |
| Asian Championships | T | W | | W | | W | | W | | | | W | |
| Asian Cup | S | | F | F | | F | W | W | | | | | |
| Year-end ranking | Year-end ranking | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
| Year-end ranking | Year-end ranking | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 |

### Finals
#### Men's singles

| Result | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Score |
| Winner | 2013 | East Asian Games | Yan An | 3–0 |
| Winner | 2013 | ITTF World Tour, Polish Open | Zhou Yu | 4–2 |
| Winner | 2013 | ITTF World Tour, German Open | Dimitrij Ovtcharov | 4–1 |
| Runner-up | 2013 | ITTF World Tour, Swedish Open | Yan An | 2–4 |
| Winner | 2014 | ITTF World Tour, Kuwait Open | Yan An | 4–1 |
| Runner-up | 2014 | Asian Cup | Ma Long | 3–4 |
| Runner-up | 2014 | Asian Games | Xu Xin | 2–4 |
| Winner | 2014 | ITTF World Tour, Swedish Open | Fang Bo | 4–2 |
| Runner-up | 2015 | Asian Cup | Xu Xin | 3–4 |
| Winner | 2015 | Asian Championships | Xu Xin | 4–3 |
| Runner-up | 2015 | World Cup | Ma Long | 0–4 |
| Winner | 2015 | ITTF World Tour, Polish Open | Stefan Fegerl | 4–3 |
| Winner | 2015 | ITTF World Tour, Swedish Open | Xu Xin | 4–2 |
| Runner-up | 2015 | ITTF World Tour Grand Finals | Ma Long | 3–4 |
| Runner-up | 2016 | ITTF World Tour, Qatar Open | Ma Long | 1–4 |
| Runner-up | 2016 | ITTF Asian Olympic Qualification Tournament | Ma Long | 1–4 |
| Winner | 2016 | ITTF World Tour, Japan Open | Xu Xin | 4–1 |
| Winner | 2016 | ITTF World Tour, China Open | Ma Long | 4–0 |
| Winner | 2016 | World Cup | Xu Xin | 4–1 |
| Runner-up | 2016 | ITTF World Tour Grand Finals | Ma Long | 2–4 |
| Runner-up | 2017 | ITTF World Tour, Qatar Open | Ma Long | 2–4 |
| Winner | 2017 | Asian Championships | Jeong Sang-eun | 3–0 |
| Runner-up | 2017 | World Championships | Ma Long | 3–4 |
| Runner-up | 2017 | ITTF World Tour, Japan Open | Ma Long | 1–4 |
| Runner-up | 2017 | Asian Cup | Lin Gaoyuan | 2–4 |
| Runner-up | 2017 | ITTF World Tour, Swedish Open | Xu Xin | 1–4 |
| Winner | 2017 | ITTF World Tour Grand Finals | Dimitrij Ovtcharov | 4–0 |
| Winner | 2018 | ITTF World Tour, Hungarian Open | Wang Chuqin | 4–1 |
| Winner | 2018 | ITTF World Tour, Qatar Open | Hugo Calderano | 4–0 |
| Winner | 2018 | Asian Cup | Lin Gaoyuan | 4–0 |
| Runner-up | 2018 | ITTF World Tour, China Open | Ma Long | 1–4 |
| Winner | 2018 | Asian Games | Lin Gaoyuan | 4–2 |
| Winner | 2018 | World Cup | Timo Boll | 4–1 |
| Winner | 2018 | ITTF World Tour, Swedish Open | Xu Xin | 4–1 |
| Winner | 2019 | Asian Cup | Ma Long | 4–2 |
| Runner-up | 2019 | T2 Diamond Malaysia | Lin Yun-ju | 1–4 |
| Winner | 2019 | ITTF World Tour Platinum, German Open | Xu Xin | 4–1 |
| Winner | 2019 | ITTF World Tour Platinum, Austrian Open | Zhao Zihao | 4–0 |
| Winner | 2019 | World Cup | Tomokazu Harimoto | 4–2 |
| Winner | 2019 | ITTF World Tour Grand Finals | Ma Long | 4–1 |
| Winner | 2020 | ITTF World Tour Platinum, Qatar Open | Liam Pitchford | 4–2 |
| Winner | 2020 | World Cup | Ma Long | 4–3 |
| Runner-up | 2020 | ITTF Finals | Ma Long | 1–4 |
| Runner-up | 2021 | Olympic Games | Ma Long | 2–4 |
| Winner | 2021 | World Championships | Truls Möregårdh | 4–0 |
| Winner | 2021 | WTT Cup Finals | Tomokazu Harimoto | 4–1 |
| Winner | 2022 | WTT Singapore Smash | Ma Long | 4–3 |
| Runner-up | 2022 | WTT Champions Macao | Wang Chuqin | 3–4 |
| Winner | 2023 | WTT Singapore Smash | Ma Long | 4–1 |
| Winner | 2023 | WTT Champions Xinxiang | Liang Jingkun | 4–1 |
| Winner | 2023 | World Championships | Wang Chuqin | 4–2 |
| Runner-up | 2023 | WTT Contender Zagreb | Lin Gaoyuan | 3–4 |
| Winner | 2023 | WTT Star Contender Ljubljana | Wang Chuqin | 4–3 |
| Runner-up | 2023 | Asian Championships | Ma Long | 2–3 |
| Runner-up | 2023 | Asian Games | Wang Chuqin | 3–4 |
| Runner-up | 2024 | WTT Finals | Wang Chuqin | 0–4 |
| Winner | 2024 | WTT Champions Chongqing | Wang Chuqin | 4–3 |
| Winner | 2024 | Olympic Games | Truls Möregårdh | 4–1 |

#### Men's doubles

| Result | Year | Tournament | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| Winner | 2014 | ITTF World Tour, China Open | Ma Long | Xu Xin / Zhang Jike | 3–2 |
| Runner-up | 2014 | Asian Games | Xu Xin | Ma Long / Zhang Jike | 0–4 |
| Runner-up | 2014 | ITTF World Tour, Swedish Open | Xu Xin | Wang Hao / Yan An | 2–3 |
| Runner-up | 2015 | World Championships | Zhou Yu | Xu Xin / Zhang Jike | 2–4 |
| Runner-up | 2015 | ITTF World Tour, Japan Open | Shang Kun | Ma Long / Xu Xin | 2–3 |
| Winner | 2015 | ITTF World Tour, China Open | Xu Xin | Fang Bo / Zhu Linfeng | 3–2 |
| Winner | 2015 | Asian Championships | Xu Xin | Jeoung Young-sik / Lee Sang-su | 4–0 |
| Runner-up | 2015 | ITTF World Tour, Swedish Open | Zhang Jike | Fang Bo / Xu Xin | 1–3 |
| Winner | 2016 | ITTF World Tour, Qatar Open | Zhang Jike | Koki Niwa / Maharu Yoshimura | 3–0 |
| Runner-up | 2016 | ITTF World Tour, China Open | Xu Xin | Ma Long / Zhang Jike | 2–3 |
| Winner | 2017 | Asian Championships | Lin Gaoyuan | Fang Bo / Zhou Yu | 3–1 |
| Winner | 2017 | World Championships | Xu Xin | Masataka Morizono / Yuya Oshima | 4–1 |
| Winner | 2017 | ITTF World Tour, Swedish Open | Xu Xin | Ho Kwan-kit / Wong Chun-ting | 3–1 |
| Winner | 2018 | ITTF World Tour, Hungarian Open | Yu Ziyang | Pavel Platonov / Vladimir Samsonov | 3–0 |
| Winner | 2018 | ITTF World Tour, Qatar Open | Xu Xin | Jun Mizutani / Yuya Oshima | 3–1 |
| Winner | 2018 | ITTF World Tour, China Open | Lin Gaoyuan | Ovidiu Ionescu / Álvaro Robles | 3–0 |
| Runner-up | 2019 | ITTF World Tour, Hungarian Open | Lin Gaoyuan | Liang Jingkun / Xu Xin | 2–3 |
| Winner | 2019 | ITTF World Tour Platinum, Japan Open | Xu Xin | Benedikt Duda / Dang Qiu | 3–0 |
| Winner | 2019 | ITTF World Tour, Korea Open | Xu Xin | Jeoung Young-sik / Lee Sang-su | 3–0 |
| Runner-up | 2019 | Asian Championships | Xu Xin | Liang Jingkun / Lin Gaoyuan | 1–3 |
| Winner | 2019 | ITTF World Tour, Swedish Open | Xu Xin | Liang Jingkun / Lin Gaoyuan | 3–2 |
| Winner | 2019 | ITTF World Tour Grand Finals | Xu Xin | Liao Cheng-ting / Lin Yun-ju | 3–1 |
| Winner | 2022 | WTT Singapore Smash | Wang Chuqin | Yukiya Uda / Shunsuke Togami | 3–1 |
| Winner | 2023 | WTT Singapore Smash | Wang Chuqin | Jang Woo-jin / Lim Jong-hoon | 3–1 |
| Winner | 2023 | World Championships | Wang Chuqin | Jang Woo-jin / Lim Jong-hoon | 3–0 |
| Winner | 2023 | Asian Championships | Lin Gaoyuan | Ma Long / Wang Chuqin | 3–2 |
| Winner | 2023 | Asian Games | Wang Chuqin | Jang Woo-jin / Lim Jong-hoon | 4–0 |
| Runner-up | 2024 | WTT Singapore Smash | Wang Chuqin | Lin Gaoyuan / Ma Long | 2–3 |

#### Mixed doubles

| Result | Year | Tournament | Partner | Opponents | Score | Ref |
| Winner | 2015 | Asian Championships | Chen Meng | Yang Zi / Yu Mengyu | 4–0 | |