(ang. + slo prevod)

Sora Matsushima

Sora Matsushima (松島 輝空)

Basic Information

  • Date of birth: April 29, 2007
  • Place of birth: Kyoto, Japan
  • Height: 172 cm
  • Playing hand: Left-handed
  • Grip: Shakehand
  • Club: Kinoshita Meister Tokyo (T.League)
  • Highest ITTF World Ranking: No. 7 (February 2026)

Early Years

Sora Matsushima comes from a true table tennis family. His parents, Takashi and Yumiko Matsushima, were professional table tennis players, and his younger siblings also play the sport. He started playing table tennis at around three years of age, and by the age of seven he had already won his first Japanese national title in the Bambi (youngest) category.

From an early age, Matsushima was regarded as one of the world’s brightest young talents. At the age of eleven, he made his international debut, and in 2019 he reached No. 1 in the ITTF Under-15 World Rankings.

Major Achievements by Year

Year Achievement
2014 Won his first Japanese National Championship title (Bambi category).
2015 Successfully defended his Japanese National Championship title (Bambi).
2016 Japanese National Champion (Cubs category).
2017 Retained the Japanese National Championship title (Cubs).
2018 Japanese National Champion (Hopes category) and Under-13 National Champion.
2019 Winner of the East Asia Hopes Tournament and reached No. 1 in the ITTF Under-15 World Rankings.
2020 Runner-up at the Japanese Junior National Championships and made his debut in the professional T.League.
2021 ITTF World Youth Champion (U15 Singles), World Champion (U15 Boys’ Doubles, with Félix Lebrun), World Champion (U15 Mixed Doubles, with Miwa Harimoto), and bronze medalist with the Japanese U19 team.
2022 Japanese High School Champion and among the Top 16 players at the Japanese Senior National Championships.
2023 Runner-up at the WTT Contender Rio de Janeiro and winner of the WTT Contender Lima Men’s Doubles title.
2024 Member of Japan’s team at the World Team Table Tennis Championships in Busan and reserve player for the Paris Olympic Games.
2025 Became the Japanese Senior National Champion at the age of 17. Won the WTT Contender Taiyuan, finished runner-up at WTT Champions Montpellier, and claimed the WTT Champions Frankfurt title—his biggest international victory to date.
2026 Successfully defended his Japanese National Championship title, won the silver medal at the ITTF World Cup, and climbed to World No. 7.

Playing Style

  • Left-handed attacking player with an aggressive offensive style.
  • Exceptional backhand, considered one of his greatest strengths from a young age.
  • Extremely quick first topspin attack after the serve or receive.
  • Prefers to play high-risk, high-speed attacking table tennis, making his matches exciting to watch.
  • Widely regarded as one of the leading players expected to carry Japanese men’s table tennis into the next generation.

Summary

Sora Matsushima is considered one of the most promising table tennis players of his generation. Thanks to his remarkable success in youth competitions, his rapid rise to the senior level, and his victories in WTT events, many experts see him as a future contender for World Championship titles and Olympic medals.

Record sources: Wikipedia & Google

(collected and written by: fv, 13.07.2026))

Image

Sora Matsushima (松島 輝空)

Osnovni podatki

  • Datum rojstva: 29. april 2007
  • Kraj rojstva: Kyoto, Japonska
  • Višina: 172 cm
  • Igralna roka: levičar
  • Prijem: shakehand
  • Klub: Kinoshita Meister Tokyo (T.League)
  • Najvišja uvrstitev na svetovni lestvici ITTF: 7. mesto (februar 2026). (Wikipedia)

Začetki

Sora Matsushima prihaja iz prave namiznoteniške družine. Njegova starša, Takashi in Yumiko Matsushima, sta bila profesionalna igralca, z namiznim tenisom pa se ukvarjajo tudi njegovi mlajši bratje in sestre. Z loparjem je začel igrati že pri približno treh letih, pri sedmih letih pa je postal državni prvak v najmlajši kategoriji (Bambi). (Wikipedia)

Že kot otrok je veljal za enega največjih talentov na svetu. Pri enajstih letih je debitiral na mednarodnih turnirjih, leta 2019 pa se je povzpel na 1. mesto svetovne lestvice do 15 let. (phiten.com)

Pomembnejši uspehi po letih

Leto Dosežek
2014 Prvi naslov državnega prvaka Japonske (Bambi). (tleague.jp)
2015 Drugi zaporedni naslov državnega prvaka (Bambi). (tleague.jp)
2016 Državni prvak v kategoriji Cubs. (tleague.jp)
2017 Ponovno državni prvak v kategoriji Cubs. (tleague.jp)
2018 Državni prvak v kategoriji Hopes in prvak do 13 let. (tleague.jp)
2019 Zmagovalec East Asia Hopes, št. 1 na svetovni U15 lestvici. (Butterfly Table Tennis)
2020 Podprvak Japonske med mladinci. Zaigral v profesionalni ligi T.League. (tleague.jp)
2021 Svetovni prvak U15 posamezno, svetovni prvak U15 dvojice (s Félixom Lebrunom), svetovni prvak U15 mešane dvojice (z Miwo Harimoto) ter bron z japonsko ekipo U19. (Wikipedia)
2022 Državni srednješolski prvak, med člani že med najboljših 16 na Japonskem. (tleague.jp)
2023 Finale turnirja WTT Contender Rio de Janeiro, zmaga v dvojicah na WTT Lima. (Wikipedia)
2024 Član japonske reprezentance na ekipnem svetovnem prvenstvu v Busanu, rezerva za olimpijske igre v Parizu. (Wikipedia)
2025 Pri 17 letih postal članski prvak Japonske. Osvojil WTT Contender Taiyuan, bil finalist WTT Champions Montpellier in zmagovalec WTT Champions Frankfurt – največji uspeh kariere do tedaj. (Wikipedia)
2026 Ubranil naslov japonskega prvaka in osvojil srebrno medaljo na svetovnem pokalu ITTF. Dosegel 7. mesto na svetovni lestvici. (Wikipedia)

Značilnosti njegove igre

  • levičar z zelo agresivnim napadalnim slogom,
  • izjemno močan bekhend že od mladih let,
  • zelo hiter prvi topspin po servisu ali sprejemu,
  • veliko tvega pri napadalni igri, zato igra zelo atraktivno,
  • velja za enega glavnih kandidatov, da bo v prihodnjih letih prevzel vodilno vlogo japonskega moškega namiznega tenisa. (Wikipedia)

Sora Matsushima danes sodi med najobetavnejše igralce svoje generacije. Zaradi številnih naslovov v mlajših kategorijah, zgodnjega preboja med člane in zmag na turnirjih WTT ga mnogi strokovnjaki uvrščajo med prihodnje kandidate za naslov svetovnega prvaka in olimpijsko medaljo. (Wikipedia)

Viri zapisa: Wikipedia & Google

(zbral in zapisal: fv, 13.07.2026))

Click here to add your own text