Reading the Five Biggest Threats to China's Women's Team Right Now
Earlier we covered the “F6” — the six male players who pose the greatest threat to China’s men’s team. At the recent Chongqing Championships, the Chinese women’s side had to settle for the runner-up spot. Taking the chance to think ahead, let’s analyze the “F5” on the women’s side: which players are the most dangerous, and what are their tactical characteristics?
Mima Ito
Equipment: Tomokazu Harimoto SALC, Dignics 09c, Dignics 05
Recent results:
- 2026 Chongqing Championships — Champion
- 2025 Frankfurt Championships — Runner-up
- 2025 Incheon Championships — Top 4
Over the past year Mima Ito has taken several Challenge Series titles, but in the bigger events she has been knocked out early by Wang Manyu on multiple occasions. In the Chongqing Championships women’s singles final she beat Kuai Man 4-3, playing more aggressively and decisively in key moments. Beyond singles, she is also formidable in doubles: at the recent Singapore Grand Slam she partnered Hina Hayata to win the women’s doubles title. She also won the All-Japan Championships women’s singles this year. For at least the next decade, she will be a dominant force in women’s table tennis.
Serve-wise, she favors short balls to the middle-forehand zone and fast deep balls to the backhand or middle. The fast-deep serve in particular appears very frequently in her game — using topspin serves to set up rallies directly and exploit her speed.
Hina Hayata
Equipment: Hina Hayata H2, NEO Blue National Hurricane 3, ZYRE-03
Recent results:
- 2025 Frankfurt Championships — Champion
She performs well in smaller events, including some Challenge Series events and the All-Japan Championships, winning or placing as runner-up. But her results in the big events over the past year have been average, possibly related to injury. The current Chinese main lineup also has a decent record against her. She was once Japan’s women’s number one, but her threat level has dropped somewhat. Still, with the Los Angeles Olympics on the horizon, she remains a key rival in both singles and doubles.
Hayata previously used Dignics 09c on the backhand, but at the All-Japan Championships this year she switched to ZYRE-03. At the Singapore Grand Slam she reportedly switched again to GENEXTION V2C, though this has not been confirmed.
Ofutune Satsuki
Equipment: Tomokazu Harimoto SZLC, ZYRE-03, Dignics 09c
Recent results:
- 2026 Chongqing Championships — Top 4
At last year’s European Grand Slam, she partnered Mima Ito and finished runners-up in women’s doubles, losing the final 2-3 to Sun Yingsha and Wang Manyu. Japan’s women’s team is investing heavily in all the double-pair combinations between Ito, Hayata, and Ofutune. Ofutune also won mixed doubles silver at the 2025 World Table Tennis Championships.
At the Chongqing Championships, she defeated Wang Manyu and Chen Yi, showing significant improvement. Against Wang Manyu, she mixed short and long serves but leaned heavily on fast deep serves to bypass the short game, then played fast and powerful through the rallies. In short: use deep balls to open up, and play big, expansive table tennis. She largely avoided getting drawn into close-table exchanges with Wang Manyu, simplifying her game.
Sabine Winter
Equipment: Kishida New Core OFF/S, NUZN 55, Neubauer Blocker ABS 3 Pro
Recent results:
- 2026 Singapore Grand Slam — Top 4
- 2026 European Championships — Champion
- 2025 Montpellier Championships — Runner-up
Before switching her backhand to an anti-spin rubber, she was using Kishida R53 (a grippy inverted rubber). After the change to anti-spin, she also added some all-around attacking techniques, and the transformation was stunning. It has to be said: this tactical makeover is an enormous success. Her forehand was already powerful and heavy, but her backhand had been inconsistent — now it’s complete, with added variety on the backhand wing.
Shin Yubin
Equipment: Hurricane (Shin Yubin signature), NEO Blue National Hurricane 3, NEO Orange National Hurricane 3
Recent results:
- 2025 Frankfurt Championships — Top 4
- 2025 Montpellier Championships — Top 4
- 2025 China Grand Slam — Top 4
She has strong credentials in both mixed and women’s doubles. At the year-end Hong Kong Finals, she and Lim Jonghoon won the mixed doubles, defeating Sun Yingsha and Wang Chuqin in the final. In the women’s singles she is also improving, and has caused real trouble recently for Wang Manyu and Wang Yidi. While she rarely wins the big titles, she has been a consistent top-ten player for several years now, and at just 21 years old still has enormous room to grow.