Kenta Matsudaira

Kenta Matsudaira

Matsudaira at the 2013 World Championships
Personal information
Nationality Japanese
Born (1991-04-11) April 11, 1991[1]
Nanao-shi, Ishikawa, Japan
Playing style Right-handed, shakehand grip
Equipment(s) Kenta Matsudaira ALC, Tenergy 05 FH, Tenergy 05 BH
Highest ranking 15 (December 2013)[2]
Height 1.69 m (5 ft 7 in)[3]
Weight 61 kg (134 lb; 9.6 st)[3]

Kenta Matsudaira (松平 健太 Matsudaira Kenta, born April 11, 1991) is a Japanese table tennis player. Winner of the 2006 World Junior Championships in singles,[4] he was the world number one junior player in 2008.[5] He is world-renowned for his tomahawk serve, which he has popularized throughout his career. The serve itself is rather unorthodox but still ample in efficiency, making it even more effective due to its unfamilar nature. His serve has been one of the imperative factors in his illustrious junior career, alongside making him a top 50 player for many years. He also utilizes its reverse variation.[6]

Matsudaira became well-known on the world stage after his match against the Olympic champion Ma Lin at the 2009 World Table Tennis Championships, where he demonstrated his advanced tomahawk serves, compact and explosive technique, alongside his dynamic backhand control. He won two straight games from a 1–3 deficit and held the lead at 4–1 in the seventh (he lost the set 11–9).[7] Later, he beat Ma 4–1 at the 2013 World Table Tennis Championships in the Round of 64. After progressing to the Round of 16 and beating Vladimir Samsonov 4-3, he lost in the quarter-finals to the Bronze medalist, Xu Xin, in 6 games. This is regarded as his best performance in his adult career and was considered to have performed the best out of all of the non-Chinese players. He is ranked 35 in the world as of October, 2016.[8]

References

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  1. ↑ "ITTF players' profiles". ITTF. Retrieved November 19, 2010.
  2. ↑ "ITTF world ranking". International Table Tennis Federation. Retrieved July 6, 2013.
  3. 1 2 "Athlete's Profile". 2014 Incheon Asian Games Organizing Committee. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
  4. ↑ "ITTF statistics". ITTF. Retrieved November 19, 2010.
  5. ↑ "ITTF under 18 world ranking". ITTF. Retrieved November 19, 2010.
  6. ↑ Marshall, Ian. "Gaining The Plaudits". ITTF. Retrieved November 19, 2010.
  7. ↑ Marshall, Ian (May 2, 2009). "Olympic Champion Stretched to the Limit as Japanese Heroes Bid Farewell". ITTF. Retrieved May 18, 2010.
  8. ↑ "World Table Tennis Championships 2013 Results". www.ittf.com. ITTF. Retrieved October 23, 2016.
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