Stunning 3–2 Win Over World No. 3: 26-Year-Old Chinese Star Upsets a World Champion

In the women’s team semi-final of the 2025 Chinese Table Tennis Super League (Ping Chao) Finals, both Sun Yingsha and Chen Yi were absent, and Shenzhen University edged Shanghai Longteng 3–2 in a tight five-match battle to book a spot in the final.

With lineups reshuffled, Kuai Man took the No. 1 singles role for Shenzhen, while 26-year-old Liu Weishan led Shanghai as their top singles player. The biggest shock came in the second match, where Liu produced a major upset, defeating world No. 3 Kuai Man 3–2.

Kuai Man is already a world champion, having won a World Championships women’s doubles title and a Mixed Team World Cup. Her latest world ranking climbed to No. 3 after she finished runner-up in women’s singles at the WTT Finals. She started this match in dominant fashion, cruising through the first game 11–2, which suggested a comfortable win might be on the way.

However, Liu Weishan responded with sharp adjustments and stronger control of tempo. She took the second game 11–9 to level the match, before Kuai regained the lead with an 11–9 third game. Under pressure again, Liu held her nerve to steal the fourth game 12–10 and then closed out the decider 11–8 to complete the upset.

The result highlighted just how intense internal competition is within Chinese table tennis: even a world champion ranked in the top three can be vulnerable if she is not at her best against another national-level opponent.

Liu Weishan, who joined China’s women’s first team in 2019, has built a solid resume of her own. She won the women’s singles title at the 2021 WTT Contender event in Novo Mesto, Slovenia, and claimed the women’s singles championship at the 2024 Chinese National Championships, along with multiple titles in doubles disciplines. While she has often been viewed as outside the core “main squad,” her ability and big-match composure have never been in doubt.

During the 2025 season, Liu represented Shanghai Longteng alongside Chen Yi, He Zhuojia, and Sun Mingyang, helping the team reach the semi-finals. Although Shanghai eventually lost 2–3 and missed the final, Liu’s headline win over the world No. 3 served as a strong statement of her value—and a reminder that in China’s deep talent pool, upsets are always possible.