Ma Long: How the Dragon Became Table Tennis's Greatest (2026)

Who Is Ma Long?

Nicknamed "the Dragon" (his given name, 龙, means dragon), Ma Long spent more than a decade at the top of the strongest table tennis program in the world. He was world No. 1 for 64 months in total, captained China to team titles across four Olympic Games and, at 35, came back from a dip in form to win a sixth Olympic gold in Paris. He tops many lists of the best ping pong players ever, and it is easy to see why.

Early Life and Rise Through the Chinese System

Ma Long grew up in Anshan, an industrial city in Liaoning province in northeast China, and began playing as a young child. His development ran through some of the best coaches in the country: Wikipedia credits his early growth to former national coach Ma Kai Xuan and to training alongside future Olympic champion Wang Hao, before he moved under the guidance of Qin Zhijian, who would coach him for most of his senior career.

Success came early. After winning titles at the World Junior and Asian Junior Championships, he was part of China's winning squad at the 2006 World Team Championships in Bremen. At 17, that made him the youngest world champion on record at the time, a first taste of team gold that would become a habit.

Breaking into singles was harder. China's men's team in the late 2000s was crowded with stars, and Ma Long spent several years as the talented heir who could not quite win the biggest individual events. That changed in the mid-2010s.

Career Timeline

Olympic Record: Six Golds Across Four Games

Ma Long's Olympic story starts with a snub. He was world No. 1 heading into London 2012, but China's two singles spots went to Zhang Jike and Wang Hao, so he played only the team event, which China won. He made up for it over the next three Games. For the full medal history of the sport, see our guide to table tennis at the Olympics.

In Rio he beat his teammate and great rival Zhang Jike in the singles final. In Tokyo he defended the title against the next star of Chinese table tennis, Fan Zhendong, becoming the first man to win Olympic singles gold twice.

Paris was the most personal of the six. Ma told Olympics.com he had doubts about competing after his form dropped and he lost his singles place. A comeback from 0-3 down in the final of the 2024 World Cup in Macao helped secure his team spot, and in Paris he was China's flag bearer at the opening ceremony alongside Feng Yu. China then won the men's team gold, giving him a sixth Olympic title, a Chinese record across all sports, according to ESPN, and the most by any table tennis player.

World Championships and the Double Grand Slam

Ma Long won 14 World Championship gold medals between 2006 and 2024, the most by any male player.

A career Grand Slam means winning Olympic, World Championship and World Cup singles titles. Six men have done it: Jan-Ove Waldner was the first in 1992, and Ma Long completed his with Rio gold in 2016. His second Olympic singles title in Tokyo made him the only man to complete the set twice, a "double Grand Slam."

Playing Style: Why He Was So Hard to Beat

Ma Long plays a right-handed, shakehand grip attacking game built around the forehand loop. What separated him was not one weapon but how few weaknesses he had.

• Forehand: A heavy, consistent forehand topspin that he could play from close to the table or from mid-distance, often stepping around his backhand corner to use it.
• Footwork: Quick, compact movement let him cover the table and keep forehand pressure on.
• Serve and receive: Short, well-disguised serves and a tidy short game set up his third-ball attack. Our guide on how to serve in ping pong covers the fundamentals behind this kind of serve-and-attack pattern.
• Backhand: Solid and reliable rather than flashy, strong enough to rally until a forehand chance appeared.
• Mental strength: He won many of his biggest finals against teammates who knew his game well, and he repeatedly turned around losing positions, including the 2024 World Cup final.

The "Hexagon Warrior" nickname comes from the six-sided ability charts used to rate players, on which fans see him as strong in every area at once.

Records and Milestones

• Six Olympic golds: the most by any table tennis player and a Chinese Olympic record.
• Only men's double Grand Slam: Olympic singles champion in 2016 and 2020, plus world and World Cup titles.
• 14 World Championship golds across singles, doubles and team events.
• 64 months as world No. 1 in total, including 34 consecutive months from March 2015.
• 28 ITTF World Tour singles titles, the most by a male player.
• Nine world team titles from 2006 to 2024, an 18-year span.

His Equipment in Brief

Ma Long has long been associated with DHS. His retail signature blade is the DHS Hurricane Long 5, a five-wood, two-carbon offensive frame, while equipment sites report that he actually plays a tuned national-team version paired with Chinese Hurricane rubbers. For the full blade and rubber breakdown, how his setup changed over the years and the retail versions you can buy, see our Ma Long equipment guide.

Where Is Ma Long Now? (Status in 2026)

Ma Long has not announced a formal retirement as of 8 November 2026, but his international career appears to be over in practice. Here is what is on record:

• After Paris 2024: He described the team gold as ending his major-championship career on a high, but told Olympics.com he had not retired and would "tell everyone" when he actually chose to stop.
• 31 December 2024: The Chinese Table Tennis Association withdrew Ma Long, Fan Zhendong and Chen Meng from the ITTF World Rankings. Some fans and coaches called it his retirement from the World Table Tennis circuit, but neither the ITTF announcement nor Ma himself described it that way.
• April 2025: He was appointed vice president of the Chinese Table Tennis Association.
• November 2025: He led Beijing to men's team gold at China's National Games, a title CGTN described as completing his career set.
• May 2026: He attended the World Team Championships in London, the sport's centenary event, as a spectator watching China, telling Table Tennis England he was "very happy to be back in London."
• July 2026: He reunited with longtime partner Xu Xin to win the men's doubles at China's National Championships in Changsha, beating their opponents 3-0 in the final. ECNS reports that he denied rumors of a national-team recall, saying he simply wanted to compete and his children wanted to watch him play.

Personal Life and Fun Facts

• He married his longtime girlfriend Xia Lu in January 2017, and their son was born that December. In 2024 he mentioned that his children watched him compete in person for the first time at WTT China Smash in Beijing.
• He has said London is a lucky city for him: it hosted his first Olympic gold in 2012, and nearby Liverpool his first World Cup singles title the same year.
• His name is often confused with Ma Lin, an older Chinese champion; the two are not related.
• Left out of the London 2012 singles draw as world No. 1, he went on to win the next two Olympic singles titles, one of the sport's great redemption stories.

Ma Long's Legacy

Plenty of players have dominated for a few seasons. Ma Long did it across almost two decades, from a teenage world team title in 2006 to an Olympic gold at 35. His six Olympic golds, double Grand Slam and long stretch at No. 1 set the benchmark every future champion, including Fan Zhendong and Wang Chuqin, will be measured against. Whether or not he ever plays another official match, his place at the top of the all-time list is secure.

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