After his historic fourth place at the 2024 Olympic Games, Hugo is back in international competitions. His first event will be the WTT China Smash, in Beijing, from September 29 to October 6. The tournament is part of the most important series on the world circuit, equivalent to a Grand Slam in tennis.

Top 3 in the world ranking, Hugo is the second seed in the China Smash, behind China’s Wang Chuqin. Among the Top 10 athletes, only Olympic champion Fan Zhendong will not be there – check out the full list of participants here.

+ Hugo returns to #3 in the ranking after historic campaign in Paris-2024

Hugo has had a solid season at the WTT events in 2024. This year, he won two titles (WTT Star Contender Ljubljana and WTT Contender Rio de Janeiro) and reached two other finals (WTT Champions Incheon and WTT Star Contender Goa).

RETURN TO BEIJING

The WTT China Smash marks the return of an elite international table tennis event to Beijing after 63 years. Confirmed as the venue for the tournament until 2028, the Chinese capital has returned in style, offering US$2 million in prize money. In fact, this will be the first time the country hosts a Smash series tournament.

BRAZILIANS IN CHINA

In addition to Hugo, four other Brazilians are confirmed in the WTT China Smash. In women’s singles, Bruna Takahashi has a guaranteed place in the main draw. Vitor Ishiy, Eric Jouti and Guilherme Teodoro will compete in the men’s singles qualifying.

Brazil will also have representatives in the doubles tournaments. In the mixed doubles, Vitor and Bruna will play together, while Eric and Teodoro will have partners from other countries: Serbian Izabela Lupulesku and Slovak Tatiana Kukulkova respectively. Vitor and Teodoro will also compete in the men’s doubles.

COMPETITION SYSTEM

All the matches in the WTT China Smash will take place in a single-elimination system. The matches will be played in best of five games until the round of 16. From the quarter-finals onwards, the matches will be best of 7 games.

WHAT’S AT STAKE

Check out the scores and prize money at stake in the WTT China Smash:

• Champion: 2,000 points / US$ 100,000
• Runner-up: 1,400 points / US$ 60,000
• Semi-final: 700 points / US$ 40,000
• Quarterfinals: 350 points / US$ 20,000
• Round of 16: 175 points / US$ 14,000
• Round of 32: 90 points / US$ 11,000
• Round of 64: 20 points / US$ 5,000

SCHEDULE

Check out the schedule for each day of competition:

Thursday (September 26)

• Men’s and women’s singles: Qualifying

Friday ( September 27)

• Men’s and women’s singles: Qualifying

Saturday ( September 28)

• Men’s and women’s singles: Qualifying

Sunday ( September 29)

• Men’s and women’s singles: Round of 64
• Mixed doubles: Round of 24

Monday ( September 30)

• Men’s and women’s singles: Round of 64
• Men’s and women’s doubles: Round of 24

Tuesday (October 1)

• Men’s and women’s singles: Round of 32
• Men’s and women’s doubles: Round of 24
• Mixed doubles: Round of 16

Wednesday (October 2)

• Men’s and women’s singles: Round of 32
• Men’s and women’s doubles: Round of 16
• Mixed doubles: Quarter-finals

Thursday (October 3)

• Men’s and women’s singles: Round of 16
• Men’s and women’s doubles: Quarter-finals
• Mixed doubles: Semi-finals

Friday (October 4)

• Men’s and women’s singles: Quarter-finals
• Men’s and women’s doubles: Semi-finals
• Mixed doubles: Final

Saturday (October 5)

• Men’s and women’s singles: Semi-finals
• Men’s and women’s doubles: Finals

Sunday (October 6)

• Men’s and women’s singles: Finals

HOW TO FOLLOW

The Star+ streaming service, part of the Disney+ package, will show all the table 1 matches of the WTT China Smash main draw for Brazil. The WTT YouTube channel broadcasts the matches of the other tables.

You can also follow our coverage on Hugo’s WhatsApp channel and also on his broadcast channel on Instagram.