Sora Matsushima

Sora Matsushima
Personal information
Born (2007-04-29) 29 April 2007
Kyoto, Japan[1]
Height172 cm (5 ft 8 in)[1]
Sport
SportTable tennis
ClubOkayama Rivets (T.League)[1]
Playing styleLeft-handed shakehand grip
Highest ranking3 (17 August 2026)[2]
Current ranking3 (17 August 2026)
Medal record
Men's table tennis
Representing  Japan
World Championships
Silver medal – second place2026 LondonTeam
World Cup
Silver medal – second place2025 ChengduMixed team
Silver medal – second place2026 MacaoSingles
Asian Championships
Bronze medal – third place2025 BhubaneswarTeam

Sora Matsushima (松島 輝空, Matsushima Sora; born 29 April 2007) is a Japanese professional table tennis player.[1][3] He is the youngest male player in the current top 10 of the ITTF World Ranking.[4]

Career

Matsushima won the U-15 boys' singles title at the 2021 ITTF World Youth Championships.[5] On that occasion, he also captured the U-15 boys' doubles title with Félix Lebrun and the U-15 mixed doubles title with Miwa Harimoto. In addition, Matsushima was a member of the Japanese U-19 boys' team, which won the bronze medal in the tournament.

At the senior level, Matsushima reached the men's singles final at the WTT Contender Rio de Janeiro 2023, where he was defeated by Mattias Falck in six games.[6] He was later selected as a member of the Japanese national team for the 2024 World Team Championships, recording three wins and one loss.[7] Matsushima was also named a reserve player for the Japanese men's team at the 2024 Summer Olympics.[8]

In 2025, Matsushima won the men's singles title at the All Japan Table Tennis Championships, defeating Tomokazu Harimoto in the semifinals and Hiroto Shinozuka in the final.[9] He later claimed the men's singles title at the WTT Contender Taiyuan.[10] In November, Matsuhima set new personal milestones on the pro level in a span of two weeks. He first finished as runner-up at WTT Champions Montpellier, where he lost to Truls Möregardh and later crowned champion at WTT Champions Frankfurt, defeating local player Dang Qiu.[11][12] This victory also propelled him into the top ten of the men's singles world rankings.[13]

In 2026, Matsushima successfully defended his men's singles title at the All Japan Table Tennis Championships by once again defeating Tomokazu Harimoto and Hiroto Shinozuka in consecutive fashion.[14] Later that year at the ITTF World Cup, he reached the men's singles final after securing successive victories over Jang Woo-jin, Truls Möregårdh, and Lin Yun-ju.[15] In the final, he pushed Wang Chuqin to a deciding seventh game before ultimately falling to claim the silver medal. Matsushima later helped the Japanese men's team advance to the finals at the World Team Championships, ultimately securing a silver medal.[16] He then went on to capture the men's singles title at the WTT United States Smash.[17]

Singles titles

Year Tournament Final opponent Score Ref
2025 WTT Contender Taiyuan South Korea An Jae-hyun 4–3 [18]
WTT Champions Frankfurt Germany Dang Qiu 4–1 [19]
2026 WTT United States Smash Individual Neutral Athletes Vladimir Sidorenko 4–2 [20]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "松島 輝空 Sora Matsushima". tleague.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 9 November 2025.
  2. ↑ "Player Ranking History". results.ittf.link. Retrieved 24 August 2026.
  3. ↑ "松島輝空（JPN） MATSUSHIMA Sora". butterfly.co.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 9 November 2025.
  4. ↑ "ITTF Table Tennis World Ranking". ittf.com. Retrieved 6 July 2026.
  5. ↑ "Sun sets on Japan, Sora Matsushima and Miwa Harimoto rise to the occasion". ittf.com. 8 December 2021. Retrieved 9 November 2025.
  6. ↑ "Studied Performance; Falck's A-Grade Form Scores Maiden WTT Series Title". worldtabletennis.com. Retrieved 9 November 2025.
  7. ↑ "ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals Busan 2024". worldtabletennis.com. Retrieved 9 November 2025.
  8. ↑ "Japan's Matsushima Sora ready to step up after frustrating Paris 2024". olympics.com. 8 August 2025. Retrieved 9 November 2025.
  9. ↑ "強すぎる！17歳松島輝空初V!! 圧倒的なパワーでパリ五輪日本代表を連破". tv-tokyo.co.jp (in Japanese). 26 January 2025. Retrieved 9 November 2025.
  10. ↑ "Sora Matsushima Wins in Taiyuan". butterflyonline.com. 13 April 2025. Retrieved 9 November 2025.
  11. ↑ "Unstoppable Force: Truls Moregard Takes First WTT Champions Trophy". worldtabletennis.com. Retrieved 14 November 2025.
  12. ↑ "Redemption: Sora Matsuhima Denies Home Favourite to Take the Crown in Frankfurt". World Table Tennis. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
  13. ↑ "Men's Singles 2025 Week #46 - November 11th". ittf.com. 11 November 2025. Retrieved 14 November 2025.
  14. ↑ "１８歳の松島輝空が史上２人目の「高校生連覇」達成　準決勝で張本智和、決勝で篠塚大登を連破「もっと、もっと強くなっていきたい」". Sports Hochi (in Japanese). 25 January 2026. Retrieved 6 April 2026.
  15. ↑ "１８歳・松島輝空が準優勝　日本勢初制覇まであと一歩　世界１位王楚欽との死闘に敗れる". Sports Hochi (in Japanese). 5 April 2026. Retrieved 6 April 2026.
  16. ↑ "Table tennis: Japan men's, women's teams fall to China in world finals". Kyodo News. 11 May 2026. Retrieved 6 July 2026.
  17. ↑ "快挙！松島輝空が最高峰USスマッシュで初優勝　快進撃のシドレンコを破る". 日テレNEWS (in Japanese). 6 July 2026. Retrieved 6 July 2026.
  18. ↑ "Honoka Hashimoto Denies Zhu Yuling's Moment of Glory". World Table Tennis. Retrieved 14 April 2025.
  19. ↑ "WTT Champions Frankfurt 2025". worldtabletennis.com. Retrieved 6 July 2026.
  20. ↑ "Men's Singles Draw". ussmash.com. Retrieved 6 July 2026.
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