Matt: I Once Lost 0–3 to Sun Yingsha — She Absolutely Dominated Our Match!

On November 29, it was reported that back in 2023, Olympic champion Sun Yingsha and the men’s defensive chopper player Matt faced off in a highly anticipated “battle of the sexes.” The result? Sun Yingsha delivered a dominant 3–0 victory, showcasing her power and precision. On November 29 this year, Matt spoke about that memorable match during a livestream.

In the morning of August 26, 2023, at the Weihai Table Tennis Training Base in Shandong, the team’s internal warm-up match drew wide attention as the world No. 1 Sun Yingsha stepped up against Matt, known for his defensive chopping style.

In the first game, Sun Yingsha jumped to a 3–1 lead before Matt leveled the score at 3–3. Yingsha calmly pushed ahead 7–5, then secured game point at 10–7. Matt saved one point, but Sun maintained control and took the game 11–8.

Game two began with Sun up 5–2. Using clever variations in pace and placement, she continued testing Matt at 6–3. Matt then took the initiative with aggressive counter-attacks, narrowing the gap to 5–7. Sun reached game point again at 10–7, but Matt impressively saved three straight points to force 10–10. After reaching 12–12, Sun capitalized on her momentum to win 14–12, extending her overall lead to 2–0.

In the third game, Sun led 5–3 before Matt drew level again at 5–5. Sun stayed just ahead at 8–7. Matt called a timeout, but Sun only became more assertive, reaching match point at 10–8. Matt saved one, Sun called her own timeout, and Matt saved another to reach 10–10. But in the final rally burst, Sun gave no further openings, sealing the match 12–10.

During his livestream recollection, Matt joked with good-natured humor:
“Can Sun Yingsha beat me? Didn’t she already beat me 3–0? You guys have watched the video so many times it’s practically worn out! She’s been sweeping me 3–0 for years now — she gave me a complete beating! Why even ask?”

He continued, referencing other team matches:
“At the National Games, I played Xiang Peng — you shouldn’t just say he lost to me twice. Sure, he did, but before that he beat me so many times you guys didn’t see! Go look it up — he beat me in 2020 Nationals, and again in 2023. I’ve lost to him so many times; I only managed to win those two. In the third game of one match he was ahead 10–7 or 10–8 — if he finished it off, I wouldn’t have stood a chance!”

Matt also casually revealed:
“I’ve played against Wang Manyu in internal matches too — no broadcast footage of that one — and she beat me as well!”

Online reactions followed quickly, with netizens commenting:
“They’ve played against each other so many times internally!”
“Sun Yingsha really is incredible.”
“She’s so strong!”
“I didn’t know there were this many internal matches.”
“When it comes to chopping style players, Sun and Wang Manyu are the ones to watch.”
“Hahaha this is hilarious!”