Styles of Top 10 Table Tennis Players (October 2025)

The current top ten men’s table tennis players as of October 2025 include both established and rising stars, representing a mix of power, precision, and tactical intelligence. Their primary playing styles reflect modern table tennis trends—emphasizing spin variation, quick footwork, and high-speed counter-attacking ability.

Top 10 Table Tennis Players (October 2025)

Rank	Player	Country	Playing Style
1	Wang Chuqin	China	Left-handed all-round attacker with explosive forehand and strategic adaptability at mid- and close-distance ​.
2	Lin Shidong	China	Right-handed two-winged topspin player with balanced backhand and strong consistency ​.
3	Hugo Calderano	Brazil	Right-handed power looper focused on athleticism and fast topspin from mid-distance ​.
4	Tomokazu Harimoto	Japan	Right-handed fast-paced, close-to-table attacker with quick backhand flicks and anticipation ​.
5	Félix Lebrun	France	Right-handed penhold attacker using all-inverted rubbers, emphasizing fast topspin loops and aggressive play (no short pips) ​.
6	Truls Moregard	Sweden	Right-handed innovator with spin deception, third-ball attack focus, and unconventional variations ​.
7	Liang Jingkun	China	Right-handed attacker with powerful forehand drive and stable two-winged topspin ​.
8	Benedikt Duda	Germany	Left-handed spin-based topspin looper, strong forehand dominance, and rally control ​.
9	Xiang Peng	China	Right-handed fast attacker with sharp serve-receive and early ball initiative ​.
10	Darko Jorgic	Slovenia	Right-handed backhand-oriented attacker known for half-distance play and compact backhand control ​.

 It reflects the official ITTF rankings and current playing style profiles as of late 2025.​

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List of common table tennis playing styles

Here is a list of common table tennis playing styles along with their representative or notable players:

1. Looping Attacker (Forehand Looper)
   • Style: Uses fast, spin-loaded loops to end points quickly, mainly on forehand.
   • Representatives: Ma Long, Zhang Jike, Wang Liqin, Jean-Michel Saive, Werner Schlager, Ding Ning.
2. Two-sided Attacker (Two Wing Looper)
   • Style: Uses powerful loops and attacks from both forehand and backhand sides.
   • Representatives: Fan Zhendong, Dimitrij Ovtcharov, Liang Jingkun, Darko Jorgić.
3. Counter-driver
   • Style: Uses fast drives and blocks to return attacks while changing angles and rhythm.
   • Representatives: Zhang Yining, Fukuhara Ai, Tie Yana, He Zhuojia.
4. All-rounder
   • Style: Balanced play between offense and defense, adapting to the situation.
   • Representatives: Vladimir Samsonov, Jan-Ove Waldner, Oh Sang-eun.
5. Blocker (Defensive Attacker)
   • Style: Focuses on blocking opponents’ attacks and placing the ball strategically.
   • Representatives: Various players with strong defensive skills but will attack opportunistically.
6. Defender (Chopper)
   • Style: Uses heavy backspin chops to control and prolong rallies, forcing opponents’ errors.
   • Representatives: Joo Sae-hyuk, Li Ching (noted modern defenders).
7. Short Pimple Attacker
   • Style: Uses short pimpled rubber for quick hits and disruptive play.
   • Representatives: Players known for pimpled rubber usage (specific names less standardized).
8. Penhold Grip Styles
   • Penhold Looper: Combines looping technique with penhold grip.
   • Reverse Penhold Backhand (RPB): Using the penhold grip with backhand reverse loop.
   • Representatives: Wang Hao (RPB), Xu Xin (Penhold Looper).
9. Flat Hitting Attacker
   • Style: Uses flatter, faster hits rather than topspin loops.
   • Representatives: Varies; more prevalent in earlier eras but some modern players use it situationally.
10. One-wing Looper
    • Style: Primarily loops with forehand, often avoiding backhand loops.
    • Representatives: Players who favor forehand loops predominantly.

In addition, there are emerging or less common styles such as the Wing-Tiger (TigerWing) grip style, exemplified by Eli Ho, noted for its unique grip and tactical innovation.

This covers most major table tennis styles with their known prominent or representative players as of the latest information in 2025.