After three days of qualifying tournaments, the 2024 WTT Saudi Arabia Grand Slam has eight players from each gender to enter the main draw: Álvaro Robolus, Feng Yixin, Shinozuka Daiden, Guo Yong, Noshad Alamiyan, Martin Allegro, Paul Jinkhor, Kahn Akuzu in Men's Singles, and Jian Tongjuan, Zhang Xuan, Zogia Picolin, Li Haoqing, Charlotte Lutz, Shao Jieni, Wan Yuan, and Isabella Luprescu in Women's Singles. Since then, the top 64 lists of the men's and women's singles main draw have all been released.
Men's Singles round of 64 matchup
Men's Singles Upper Half
Men's Singles Bottom Half
Women's Singles round of 64 matchup
Women's Singles Upper Half
Women's Singles Bottom Half
On May 4, the first match day of the WTT Saudi Arabia Grand Slam main event, there will be 16 1/32 finals in the upper half of the men's singles, 16 1/32 finals in the bottom half of the women's singles, and 1/16 finals in the mixed doubles. In Mixed Doubles, 24 pairs competed, with the top eight seeds receiving a first-round bye, with world No.1s Wang Chuqin/Sun Yingsha advancing directly to the round of 16. A total of 12 players participated in the national table tennis men's singles and women's singles, and 6 people will appear on the first day of the main competition, including Lin Gaoyuan, Liang Jingkun, Wang Manyu, Lin Shidong, Chen Meng, and Wang Chuqin.
Matches start at 13:00 local time (18:00 Beijing time) during the day and 17:00 local time (22:00 Beijing time) for evening games.
National table tennis players schedule on May 4
19:00 Lin Gaoyuan VS Abdulaziz Bu Shulaibi
Lin's first-round opponent is Saudi Arabia's Abdulaziz Al Sholrabi, who is ranked 488th in the world, a far cry from world No. 6 Lin Gaoyuan. The difference in strength between the two sides is huge, and it will definitely be no problem to win the game, it depends on whether Lin Gaoyuan wants to properly "release water", after all, the score difference is too big and not good.
19:10 Liang Jingkun VS Daniel Harbesson
Austria's 37-year-old veteran Habesson, it is too difficult to shake Liang Jingkun. Liang Jingkun has significantly improved his stability this year compared to the past, and even the occasional loss of foreign battles can drag the game into a tiebreaker.
20:20 Wang Manyu VS Olawan Paranam
Olawan Paranam is now the highest-ranked player in Thailand's women's singles, temporarily ranked 34th, but there is still a big gap with the strength of the main force of national table tennis, and many times have failed. In the group stage of the Macau Women's World Cup, Wang Yidi was chased to a 2-2 draw by Olawan Paranam in the first two games to ensure the group qualification. Olawan Paranan's forehand and backhand are fast, and his forehand has the ability to attack continuously, but this time when he encounters Wang Manyu, who has a stronger forehand, I am afraid that he will be "more fierce and less lucky".
Wang Manyu has only 1,500 more Olympic points than Chen Meng, and she may be overtaken if she is not careful, so this tournament is very important for her to qualify for the women's singles at the Paris Olympics.
20:55 Lin Shidong VS Trus Moregaard
At one point, Moregard broke into the top 10 in men's singles. He has a good touch and a lot of skill, but he lacks a little hard power, so when his opponent becomes familiar with his rhythm and forces him to go hard, he will quickly lose. Anton Carlberg has replaced Moregard as Sweden's highest-ranked player in men's singles.
Although Lin Shidong is 3 years younger than Moregaard, his forehand and backhand are more balanced, and his overall strength is stronger.
23:30 Chen Meng VS Adina Diaknu
Romania's Diaknu, ranked 47th in the world. In the Romanian women's singles, it is also ranked third after Szokos and Samara. Her teammate Szokos, who has two wins over Chen Meng, may teach her a little bit of winning experience.
The result of this tournament is related to whether Chen Meng can win the Paris women's singles seat. She will definitely try to adjust her form to the best she can, not to mention the opponents in front of her, even if she encounters strong opponents in the back, she will have to do everything she can to win.
0:05 (+1) Wang Chuqin vs Simon Goets
Wang Chuqin is the only player in the national table tennis team who has three events, but he doesn't have to worry about physical fitness problems two days before the main competition. On May 4, there was a bye in the first round of mixed doubles, only the men's singles 1/32 finals, and on May 5, there was also a bye in the first round of men's doubles.
Simon Goetz is the "No. 3" in the French men's singles team other than the Lebrun brothers, and he has beaten Qiu Dang and Lee Sang-so at the WTT Incheon Championships at the end of March. In the 1/4 finals, Liang Jingkun also took a 2-0 lead, but the result was overturned.
Wang Chuqin should give full play to his advantages in the first three boards, whether it is speed or landing point, and strive for a quick victory; Simon Goetz is a bit difficult, especially in the middle and far platform to pull, the feel is excellent.
In addition to the national table tennis players, many famous players from the foreign association will also make their Saudi Grand Slam debuts. In the men's singles, Lim Yunru, Ocharov, Anton Carlberg, Lee Sang-so, Alex Lebrun and others will all make their debut on this day. Hina Hayata, Miu Hirano, Miwa Zhangmoto, and masters such as Szokos and Zheng Yijing of the Japanese women's team at the Paris Olympics will all play in the first round of the women's singles.