JOOLA USA

Interview with Ethan Chua

Written by Larry Hodges
Monday, 18 February 2008
Age/DOB: 9, but soon to be 10, on Feb 27 Home Club: San Gabriel Valley TTC and Bakersfield TTC Equipment Racket: Viva FL Forehand sponge: Mambo Max (Red) Backhand sponge: Mambo Max (Black) Shoes: JOOLA Touch What are your best titles or rankings? Second place, 10 and under, 2006 USA Nationals. Best ranking: #1 in ten and under in 2007 for several months. When and how did you start playing? I started playing when I saw my dad and sister playing at home. I started going with my dad and sister to Grace Lin's club when my sister took lessons. I wanted to start playing and taking lessons. Grace told me to pick up balls first before I could take any lessons. Describe your playing style. Aggressive forehand spin and backhand counter. Who are your coaches (past or present)? Who do you practice with? My main coach is Grace Lin, who I take lessons from every Saturday. I also have lessons with assistant coach Luke Tai. Every Saturday afternoon I also get to practice with Du Cheng Yi. At home, I practice with my dad and sister. What are you currently working on? To be more consistent with my backhand, and to vary my forehand spinning game. Also practicing different serves. What are your table tennis goals – short-, intermediate- and long-term? To be more consistent and continue my progress to reach at least 2100 by the end of the year. I hope to be good enough and make the USA Cadet Team in the near future. I want to be good enough to make a career from playing table tennis. Tell us about the other table tennis-playing members of your family. My dad and my sister. They are really active to improve my game. What are your interests outside table tennis? Soccer and the computer Tell us something interesting about yourself. I like mathematics. I also like to play with radio control airplanes and helicopters. How often do you practice a week? On Monday and Wednesday afternoons after school, I practice serving for at least one hour and sometimes hit with my sister and dad. On Tuesday and Thursday evenings I practice serving for 20-30 minutes, and do drills for another 30 minutes with my dad. After that, I get to play against some members of the club. On Friday afternoon we drive to Grace Lin's club for group lessons and private lessons for the weekend. I also want to thank JOOLA USA for taking an interest in me and providing sponsorship.