Anna Hursey – Shi Xunyao: The Space English Table Tennis Needs to Learn in Macao and Beijing

At 12:05 pm London time at the WTT Champions Macao, Tom Jarvis will step onto the court to face Sora Matsushima. The English player, ranked No. 45 in the world, knows his task: standing in his way is a Japanese player who sits inside the top three of the world rankings. Later that afternoon, Anna Hursey, ranked No. 37, receives a softer draw against home wildcard Leong On Na, ranked No. 475. The match has not begun, but much of the script has been written since the draw was made.

I watched the player list for two consecutive days looking for details the scoreboard will not show. The sentence I keep for my work is: “The 4-3 map is not in the score, but in the runs the camera ignores.” Table tennis works the same way. Jarvis may lose to Matsushima in class, but the bigger question is which space Jarvis will occupy before Matsushima has time to raise his racket.

This event does not stand alone. The WTT China Smash in Beijing begins on October 1, immediately after Macao finishes. Two consecutive tournaments in one week create a special competition window. Hursey described this as a chance to focus on training at the National Centre; I read it as a signal that a national programme wants its young players to become used to a high density of matches. When the body has not recovered, tactical decisions reveal their true nature.

In Macao, Jarvis faces a top-three seed in the first round. This is the kind of match where rankings do not tell the full truth. For a player ranked 45th, a match against the No. 3 seed often becomes a test of serve percentage, return quality, and third-ball management. Jarvis cannot choose his opponent. What he can control is the rhythm at the start of each point. If he allows Matsushima to control the ball from the second stroke, Jarvis will be pushed away from the table and forced to defend with floated balls lacking weight.

Yet the most interesting story of this trip is in the women's doubles. Anna Hursey will partner Shi Xunyao, the world No. 16 from China. In media terms, this pair is called “eye-catching.” In development terms, it is a map that does not appear on the live broadcast. Hursey is not just playing next to a Chinese player; she is standing in the same training space, following the same preparation routine, and receiving the same tactical instructions that Shi Xunyao uses every day.

The Hursey – Shi Xunyao pair is not built to win immediately in their first collaboration; it is built for Hursey to learn how a rising Chinese player reads space.

Doubles is different from singles because two players have to share one half of the table during each rally. The diagonal service box narrows the return angle, but after the serve, space opens up quickly. If one player moves out of tempo, the pair leaves a gap between them. Shi Xunyao is used to staying close to the table and pressing with short balls. Hursey has the advantage of speed and range. The issue is not who is stronger, but who moves first.

Based on my experience following matches, I know that a new pair usually struggles most on the third and fourth balls. The server must quickly retreat to give the partner space to return. If the server stays too long near the table, both players will collide or have to play from awkward twisted positions. Shi Xunyao will have to adjust her singles habits. Hursey will also need to read the signals from her partner's shoulder and hip instead of only watching the ball.

The involvement of Ma Lin gives this pair special value. Ma Lin has won Olympic gold and is one of the best spin readers in the history of Chinese table tennis. His direct coaching of Hursey during this trip is not a random arrangement. It shows that the relationship between Table Tennis England and Chinese table tennis has moved beyond exchange-level co-operation. John Murphy, who sits on the bench with Ma Lin, will act as a bridge so that the tactical instructions of an Olympic champion can be turned into language Hursey can practise.

I do not believe in random points. Every point is a link in a chain of 12 preceding rhythms. When an English player enters a training court with a Chinese player, she receives not just one match; she receives the entire chain of decisions Shi Xunyao has built over many years. Hursey is ranked No. 37, which means she has reached the level where she can surprise people at major events, but the gap between No. 37 and the top 10 is not about speed or power. That gap is about choosing the right moment to accelerate in a long rally.

Gavin Evans, Table Tennis England’s Performance Development Director, called this a fantastic opportunity. His language is diplomatic, but the structure of the trip shows clear logic. Tom Jarvis and Anna Hursey are not coming to Asia to find easy wins. They are coming to train in an environment where every training session carries competitive pressure. The National Centre in China has coaches and sparring partners of outstanding quality. For a national team trying to build depth, that is something money alone cannot buy.

I remember the period when stadiums were empty because of the pandemic. The sentence I used then was: “Empty stands turn the field into a laboratory, and I read history to find the lost sound.” Now the stands are full again, but my approach has not changed. I still read Shi Xunyao’s match history to find the movement habits she repeats in her rare doubles appearances. I still compare how Matsushima opens points by serving long into the middle of the table. These details do not appear when reporters ask about feelings before a match.

The biggest blind spot in this story is not Shi Xunyao’s strength. It is expectation. When a young player is paired with a Chinese player, the public often uses wins and losses as the measure of success. But if Hursey and Shi Xunyao lose in the first round because of poor coordination, the value of the match remains. Hursey will learn how to handle pressure in a spotlighted partnership. She will have Ma Lin analysing every point from the bench. That matters more than one victory at a regular tour event.

I also ask the opposite question about Jarvis. A loss to Matsushima may push him back in the race for ranking points, but it also provides direct head-to-head data against a top-three player. In modern table tennis, players often do not have enough chances to face the leading group in early rounds because of the knockout format. Macao gives Jarvis such a match on day one. If he uses it properly, even a defeat can become coaching material for the next phase.

The WTT Champions Macao and WTT China Smash occupy different positions in the ranking system. But for Hursey and Jarvis, these two tournaments should be viewed as one continuous block. The dense schedule forces them to manage energy, control training intensity between matches, and keep their minds stable while travelling between Macao and Beijing. I want to look at day three and day four of the China Smash, when young players often start to lose focus because of fatigue. That is when tactical decisions are replaced by instinct. Hursey’s instinct will reflect what she learned from Shi Xunyao just days before.

The match ends, but the notebook keeps speaking. That is what I keep for myself. This week, my notebook will record how many times Shi Xunyao moves to her forehand side to give Hursey space for the return. It will record how many times Jarvis chooses a short serve into the middle in the first set. When the match is over, these numbers will tell the real story of the future. Rankings can change, but movement habits and the way two players share space on the table will remain, waiting to be tested at the next tournament.