John Edelson's competitive table tennis career has not gone great.
I had been under the impression that if I took a few lessons and played hard / trained three times a week, I would become a competitive player. Here's what that approach has yielded so far:
 |
| John Edelson's Table Tennis Rankings |
Quick summary - My ranking started low and rather than improving, has dropped. I'm at the very bottom of the competitive rankings.
I played in my first tournament in March of 2023 and I was encouraged by having a few wins. I was awarded a player rating of 1110 which I thought was a very respectable ratting. I played again in May and did about the same and my rating increased to 1118. I was thrilled.
But the subsequent two tournaments, I have not done so well (in one tournament I didn't win a single match) and so my ranking is now down to 977. In retrospect, my initial scores might have been a bit of a fluke since I played several players with no ranking at all and I beat them. Since then, I have played people with ratings and I suspect my current rating is a better illustration of where I fit in the competitive table tennis world. Basically, at the very bottom.
You can see my rating as it evolves here.
You can look up any competitive table tennis player's ranking on the USATT website, here's a shortcut.
BUT, I am still working at it and my technique is improving. There's also the question of my fitness. When i watch myself playing, I am surprised to see that I am very low energy on the court. I look tired. Frankly, I often feel tired. So I'm trying to also get back in shape by generally improving my workout schedule, diet, weight, and mentality.
Stay tuned. For more background and to see what I look like as a player, here's another article about my table tennis efforts.
BTW, I do still do some martial arts in the form of doing boxing-based circuit training at 9 Rounds in Ft Lauderdale. I usually get to hit pads but I no longer spar. Here I am with the speed bag.
