GOAT Index

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Fan Zhendong: the case for the GOAT

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    Fan Zhendong: the case for the GOAT

    China · Born 22 January 1997, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China · Career 2010s–present

    Powerful Chinese right-hander with a punishing backhand and relentless physical style who dominated world rankings in the late 2010s and early 2020s.

    Career highlights

    Why Fan Zhendong could be the GOAT

    Fan completed the career Grand Slam by winning Olympic singles gold in Paris after silver in Tokyo, and he added two world singles titles and four World Cups. He finished five years as year-end No. 1. His power from both wings defined the modern game.

    What fans say

    Fan Zhendong is #2 of 18 in the fan ranking, with a 7–1 head-to-head record from 56 Men's table tennis votes. See the full Men's table tennis GOAT ranking

    Fan Zhendong head to head

    How the ranking works. Every head-to-head vote is a result, like a game. The standings use a Bradley–Terry model, the same idea behind chess ratings: beating a highly rated legend counts for more than beating a long shot. Ratings are shown on a chess-style scale centred on 1500.

    One vote per matchup per person. If you see a pairing again in another session your new answer replaces the old one, so nobody can stuff the ballot by repeating a matchup.

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    Photo credits

      Photos come from Wikimedia Commons under the licenses listed. Each links to its source page.