The Chinese Grand Slam "ShaTou" duo makes their debut, with hidden tactics in the national team's mixed doubles lineup

On September 30th Beijing time, the WTT Beijing Grand Slam reached its third day of main competition, where the mixed doubles matches captured the spotlight. Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha, both having played singles, are set to debut as the "ShaTou" pair in this year’s Grand Slam mixed doubles. Migu Video will exclusively stream all WTT Beijing Grand Slam games.

Currently, Wang Chuqin has reclaimed the world No.1 spot after 217 days, while Sun Yingsha leads the women’s singles rankings with 12,200 points. Surprisingly, despite being a strong pairing, their mixed doubles world ranking is only seventh at present.

Behind this ranking lies the strategic planning of the Chinese national team’s coaching staff.

Since the Paris Olympics, the "ShaTou" duo has rarely teamed up, with Lin Shidong and Kuai Man mainly representing China in mixed doubles. In the four Grand Slam events held this year, the first three were led by the "DongMan" pair in mixed doubles. Thus, the "ShaTou" duo currently holds valid points only from last year’s Chengdu Mixed Team World Cup and this year’s Doha World Table Tennis Championships.

However, since Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha became a fixed partnership, the Chinese team has been nearly unbeatable in mixed doubles, with the "ShaTou" pair securing three consecutive World Championship mixed doubles titles from 2021 to 2025.

At the Houston World Championships, the "ShaTou" duo easily defeated Lin Yun-Ju and Cheng I-Ching in the final to claim their first title together. In the Durban World Championships, they dominated Japan’s top duo Harimoto Tomokazu and Hayata Hina 3-0 to defend their crown. This year in Doha, they beat Yoshimura Maharu and Oto Saizuki 3-1, becoming only the second pair in World Championship history to win three consecutive mixed doubles titles.

Given that the "DongMan" pair lost to Yoshimura Maharu and Oto Saizuki in the quarterfinals at the Doha World Championships, the Chinese team has once again dispatched the "ShaTou" duo to compete at the home-ground Grand Slam in China.

According to the draw, Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha have a bye in the first round of the China Grand Slam and will face Aditya Sarin and Yashaswini Ghorpade in the second round. If they advance, their quarterfinal opponent will be the winner between teammates Chen Yuanyu/Kuai Man and the top seeds Lin Zhongxun/Shin Yubin.

Notably, the Chinese Grand Slam mixed doubles lineup splits the world No.1 "DongMan" pair, with Chen Yuanyu and Kuai Man partnering instead. Additionally, there are three other pairs: Xue Fei/Qian Tianyi, Yuan Licen/Wang Yidi, and Huang Youzheng/Chen Yi, indicating that aside from the "ShaTou" duo, the Chinese team is experimenting with various doubles combinations at this event.

It is also worth mentioning that Wang Chuqin is competing in three events at the China Grand Slam—men’s singles, men’s doubles, and mixed doubles—while Sun Yingsha is participating in women’s singles and mixed doubles, placing higher demands on their stamina and energy.

In fact, whether it is the reunion of Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha or the split pairing of Lin Shidong and Kuai Man, these moves demonstrate the importance of mixed doubles for China’s preparations for the Los Angeles Olympics. To achieve the goal of six gold medals in Los Angeles, continuous experimentation with pairings is essential to find the best lineup for the team.

It is also notable that Migu Video will exclusively broadcast all the matches of the WTT China Grand Slam. Fans can look forward to the performances of the Chinese team players.