GOAT Index

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Deng Yaping: the case for the GOAT

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    Deng Yaping: the case for the GOAT

    China · Born 5 February 1973, Zhengzhou, Henan, China · Career 1989–1997

    Chinese right-hander, just 1.5 m tall, whose speed, aggression and fierce will made her the dominant player of the 1990s.

    Career highlights

    Why Deng Yaping could be the GOAT

    Deng won Olympic singles and doubles gold at two straight Games and three world singles titles, and she was No. 1 for eight consecutive years. She overcame doubts about her height to dominate the sport. Few athletes in any sport have controlled their era so completely before retiring at 24.

    What fans say

    Deng Yaping is #7 of 15 in the fan ranking, with a 1–1 head-to-head record from 18 Women's table tennis votes. See the full Women's table tennis GOAT ranking

    Deng Yaping 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.