Lily Zhang

Lily Zhang
Personal information
Full nameLily Ann Zhang[3]
Nationality United States
Born (1996-06-16) June 16, 1996
Redwood City, California, U.S.
Height5 ft 4.5 in (164 cm)[4]
Weight118 lb (54 kg)[5]
Sport
SportTable tennis
Playing styleShakehand, all-round attack
Highest ranking21 (January 2023)[1]
Current ranking28 (15 July 2025)[2]
Medal record
Women's table tennis
Representing  United States
World Championships
2021 Houston Mixed doubles
Pan American Games
2015 Toronto Team
2019 Lima Doubles
2015 Toronto Singles
2011 Guadalajara Team
2011 Guadalajara Singles
2019 Lima Team
Pan American Championships
2019 Asunción Singles
2019 Asunción Doubles
2019 Asunción Mixed doubles
2019 Asunción Team
2018 Santiago Doubles
2018 Santiago Team
2025 Rock Hill Team
2021 Lima Singles
2025 Rock Hill Singles
Pan American Cup
2017 San Jose Singles
2020 Guaynabo Singles
2025 San Francisco Singles
Youth Olympic Games
2014 Nanjing Singles
Lily Ann Zhang
Traditional Chinese張安
Simplified Chinese张安
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinZhāng Ān

Lily Ann Zhang (born June 16, 1996) is an American table tennis player who competed in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London with teammates Ariel Hsing and Erica Wu. She also competed in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio with teammates Zheng Jiaqi and Wu Yue. She is a six-time US national champion in women's singles, having won in 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019 and 2022. In 2011, she was a bronze medalist in women's singles and women's team at the Pan American Games and won the women's doubles title at the Qatar Peace and Sport Cup.[3][6][7] She is a member of the United States National Women's team. She has been ranked #2 in the cadet (U-15) world ranking[8] and #5 in the junior (U-18) world ranking.[9][6][10]

Life

Lily Zhang was born on June 16, 1996, in Redwood City, California, to Chinese parents.[5] Her family lived on the campus of Stanford University, where her father was then a mathematics professor.[11][12] Zhang played table tennis with her parents while she was growing up.[11][12]

She graduated from Palo Alto High School in 2014 before enrolling at the University of California, Berkeley. After her first year, Zhang took a year off to train for the 2016 Olympic Games. For a part of her gap year, she trained and played in the Austrian league and trained at her home club, ICC.[13]

Zhang is featured in the documentary Top Spin.

She is sponsored by JOOLA Table Tennis.[14]

U.S. career

When Zhang was 7 years old, Dennis Davis, the president and head coach of the Palo Alto Table Tennis Club and the North American representative of the junior commission of International Table Tennis Federation, began training her. When she was 11, Zhang made the U.S. Cadet Team. By age 12, Zhang became the youngest player to ever make the U.S. Women's Team, and when she was 13 years old, she was the #2 ranked Junior Girls' table tennis player in the United States.[15]

At the 2010 and 2011 U.S. National Championships, Zhang won the title in the junior girls' event and was the runner-up in women's singles. In 2012, she won her first national championship in women's singles, beating defending champion Ariel Hsing in 7 games.[16]

Major League Table Tennis

In 2023, Zhang joined Major League Table Tennis (MLTT) as a member of the Bay Area Blasters for the league's inaugural season.

Season 1 (2023–24)

During the 2023–24 season, Zhang helped lead the Bay Area Blasters to a first-place finish in the West Division with a 12–10 regular-season record.

Season 2 (2024–25)

Following her participation in the 2024 Summer Olympics, Zhang rejoined the Blasters in January 2025 for the second half of Season 2..[17]

Season 3 (2025–26)

In Season 3, Zhang achieved several statistical milestones. In November 2025, she was named the MLTT Women's Player of the Week for Week 6 after winning seven of her nine matches, including a two-game victory over Mo Zhang.[18]

On December 5, 2025, Zhang became the first female player to reach the No. 1 position in the MLTT official player power rankings, surpassing Seungmin Cho with a rating of 787.4.[19] Through the first half of the season, she maintained a 15–6 (71.4%) singles win record.[20] In February 2026, she secured a win for the Blasters in a match against the Chicago Wind by winning an "Ultimate Golden Point" during the Golden Game format.[21] She plays for the Bay Area Blasters in Major League Table Tennis, which started in 2023, and was the first female player to top its power rankings.[22]

International career

2011 Pan American Games

Zhang participated in the 2011 Pan American Games where she played both as an individual and as part of the United States team. The US team won a bronze medal and she also won a bronze medal in women's singles.[23]

Qatar Peace and Sport Cup

On November 22, 2011, Zhang and Russian player Anna Tikhomirova won the Women's Doubles title at the Qatar Peace and Sport Cup.[6]

2012 Olympics

After qualifying for the last singles position on the 2012 United States Olympic Team by beating Canada's Anqi Luo in five games in the North American Olympic Trials, Zhang went into the London Olympics as the youngest player in the table tennis competition[24] and was seeded 49th.[25] In the first round, Zhang lost in straight games to Croatian player Cornelia Molnar (11–6, 11–8, 11–7, 11–5).[26]

The United States team play second-seeded Japan in the first round of proceedings.[27] Zhang lost to Sayaka Hirano in straight games (11–9, 11–5, 11–3) and teamed with Erica Wu in the doubles to lose to Kasumi Ishikawa and Ai Fukuhara, also in straight games (11–7, 11–7, 11–1).[28]

2012 North American Championships

On September 2, 2012, Zhang won the women's singles title at the ITTF North American Championships with a victory over Erica Wu in straight games (11–8, 11–3, 11–7, 11–9). She had previously (in 2011 and 2010) failed to achieve the title, with losses in the finals on both occasions to Canada's Mo Zhang.[29]

2012 World Junior Championships

At the 2012 ITTF World Junior Championships in Hyderabad, India, Lily Zhang reached the quarterfinals in singles and also led the USA into the quarterfinals of the team competition.[30][31] As a result of her performance during the championships (12 wins, 2 losses), Zhang broke into the top 100 of the ITTF women's world ranking for the first time in her career.

2013 U.S. Open

At the 2013 U.S. Open, Zhang won the title in the junior girls' event. In women's singles (part of the ITTF World Tour), she beat Mo Zhang to advance to the semi-final, where she lost to Elizabeta Samara in 5 games. Following this tournament, Zhang's world ranking improved to a career-high 84.[32]

2014 Youth Olympic Games

In August 2014, Lily Zhang was the first ever US athlete to win a bronze medal in the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics. In the contest for bronze, she won over Miyu Kato of Japan in six games.

2019 ITTF Women's World Cup

She came in fourth place at the 2019 ITTF Women's World Cup, losing 3–4 to Feng Tianwei. Zhang's performance included a high-profile upset over Miu Hirano.[33]

2020 ITTF Women's World Cup

At the 2020 World Cup, Zhang won with an upset over Feng Tianwei.[33]

2020 Olympics

At the 2020 Summer Olympics, after losing the first game in her opening round match against Nigeria's Offiong Edem, Zhang regrouped with a 4–1 victory.[34]

2024 Olympics

Zhang competed for the United States at the table tennis event in the 2024 Summer Olympics. She placed 19th in the women's singles. She also played in the women's team with Amy Wang and Rachel Sung, placing 14th in the event.[35][36]

References

  1. ^ "ITTF World Ranking". ITTF. Archived from the original on November 15, 2020. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
  2. ^ "Women's singles rankings Week #29 - July 15th". ittf.com. Retrieved July 15, 2025.
  3. ^ a b "ZHANG Lily Ann (USA)". ITTF. Archived from the original on December 30, 2013. Retrieved October 2, 2012.
  4. ^ "Lily Zhang". Team USA Table Tennis. Archived from the original on July 27, 2012. Retrieved July 29, 2012.
  5. ^ a b "Lily Zhang – Table Tennis – Olympic Athlete". London 2012. Archived from the original on September 25, 2012. Retrieved September 26, 2012.
  6. ^ a b c Marshall, Ian (December 16, 2011). "Smiling Faces Print A Thousand Words, Doha Reserves a Place in History". ITTF. Archived from the original on August 20, 2012.
  7. ^ "2012 Olympic Games USA Table Tennis Media Guide". USA Table Tennis. July 18, 2012. Archived from the original on July 20, 2012.
  8. ^ "ITTF U-15 World Ranking". Archived from the original on August 28, 2012. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  9. ^ "ITTF U-18 World Ranking". Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  10. ^ "XVI Pan-American Games Results Book" (PDF). ITTF. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 15, 2012. Retrieved October 3, 2012.
  11. ^ a b Rosen, Karen (April 6, 2016). "Lily Zhang, Already Having Made Table Tennis History, Is Ready For Another Olympic Shot in Rio". TeamUSA.org. Archived from the original on April 8, 2016. Retrieved August 14, 2016.
  12. ^ a b Espinoza, Alex (August 11, 2016). "2016 Olympics: Top table tennis player Lily Zhang brings Pac-12 flavor to Team USA". Pac-12.com. Archived from the original on August 12, 2016. Retrieved August 14, 2016.
  13. ^ Sheehy, Kelsey (August 2, 2012). "Meet the U.S. High School Students Competing in 2012 Olympic Games". U.S. News. Archived from the original on February 2, 2014.
  14. ^ Blount, Robert (November 10, 2025). "Lily Zhang: Profile, Equipment and World Ranking". PingPongAcademy. Retrieved January 23, 2026.
  15. ^ "Bay Area a hotbed for table tennis". ABC News. December 30, 2009. Archived from the original on January 2, 2010. Retrieved December 30, 2009.
  16. ^ Concha, Romina (December 28, 2012). "Ariel Hsing lost her crown at the 2012 US Nationals". TableTennista. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014.
  17. ^ "BREAKING: Lily Zhang Returns To MLTT". Butterfly Online. January 4, 2025. Retrieved March 12, 2026.
  18. ^ "Elsayed Lashin and Lily Zhang win Player of the Week honors For Week 6". Major League Table Tennis. November 18, 2025. Retrieved March 12, 2026.
  19. ^ "Lily Zhang becomes first woman to top MLTT's Official Power Rankings List". Table Tennis TV. December 5, 2025. Retrieved March 12, 2026.
  20. ^ "MLTT Week 7 Player Power Rankings". Major League Table Tennis. December 5, 2025. Retrieved March 12, 2026.
  21. ^ "Lily Zhang wins ULTIMATE GOLDEN POINT (2/13/26)". Table Tennis TV. February 16, 2026. Retrieved March 12, 2026.
  22. ^ Riddell, Don (January 14, 2026). "How killing time at a laundromat set Lily Zhang on a path to multiple Olympics". CNN. Retrieved January 23, 2026.
  23. ^ "XVI Pan-American Games Results Book" (PDF). ITTF. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 15, 2012. Retrieved October 3, 2012.
  24. ^ "Table Tennis at the 2012 London Summer Games". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020. Retrieved October 3, 2012.
  25. ^ "2012 Olympic Games. Women's Singles Seeding List" (PDF). ITTF. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 31, 2012. Retrieved October 2, 2012.
  26. ^ "Olympics: Lily Zhang Out of Table Tennis Singles Event". Mercury News Media Center. July 28, 2012. Archived from the original on February 1, 2014.
  27. ^ "2012 Olympic Games Women's Team Seeding List" (PDF). ITTF. Retrieved October 2, 2012.
  28. ^ "Li Qian Defeats Bronze Medallist but Singapore Recovers to Reach Last Eight". ITTF. Archived from the original on August 15, 2012. Retrieved October 2, 2012.
  29. ^ Marshall, Ian (April 3, 2011). "Titles Retained at ITTF-North America Championships in Mississauga". ITTF. Archived from the original on August 11, 2011.
  30. ^ "Top Form Maintained, Quarter-Final Places Booked After Earlier Surprise Wins". ITTF. Retrieved January 3, 2014.
  31. ^ "ZHANG Lily". results.ittf.link. Retrieved January 23, 2026.
  32. ^ "ITTF World Ranking details: ZHANG Lily (USA)". Archived from the original on February 2, 2014.
  33. ^ a b "WTT Doha 2021 Preview Part 2: X-Factors Lily Zhang and An Jaehyun". Edges and Nets. February 9, 2021. Archived from the original on February 10, 2021.
  34. ^ "Olympics Day 3 Results: Lily Zhang Slow Spins Past Offiong Edem". Edges and Nets. July 26, 2021. Archived from the original on August 18, 2022.
  35. ^ Sullivan, Becky (August 7, 2024). "U.S. table tennis team has a moment in the spotlight, helped along by an All-Star fan". NPR. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  36. ^ "Shin Yubin sees off Lily Zhang to secure quarterfinal spot". NBC News. July 31, 2024. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
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