American Paris Olympic Stars Kanak Jha, Lily Zhang and Amy Wang Headline 2025 ITTF Pan American Cup
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by USA Table Tennis
Singles: Lily Zhang of Team United States competes during a Women's Singles Round of 32 match on day three of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at South Paris Arena on July 29, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by ITTF))
Burlingame, CA (February 18, 2025) — The 2025 ITTF Pan American Cup, held in the United States for the second year in a row, kicked off today and runs through February 23 at the 888 Table Tennis Center in Burlingame, California. This premier event, one of the most important across the Pan Am Region, brings together the top table tennis players to compete for vital world ranking points and qualification spots at the 2025 ITTF World Cup in Macao, China, scheduled for April 14-20.
The United States will bring a top tier team to the event, 3x Olympian Kanak Jha leads the charge as the top seed in Men’s Singles. Kanak Jha made history at the 2024 Paris Olympics when he progressed to the round of 16 in the Singles event, the farthest a U.S. man had ever finished. 4x Olympian Lily Zhang is second seed in the Women’s Event while her Paris Olympics teammate Amy Wang sits in the fourth seeded position. At last year’s Pan Am Cup, Amy Wang finished in second place and earned her appearance at the 2024 World Cup. She and Lily will both be looking to qualify in this year’s event.
US Men's Singles Players:
- Kanak Jha: The Milpitas, California native is #1 seed in the event and part of the host club’s talent development program. He primarily trains and competes in Germany and looks forward to competing in front of a home crowd.
- Nandan Naresh: Entering as the #11 seed, Nandan Naresh is looking make a name for himself in the adult events, having had a storied career as a junior player. The Chicago, Illinois native now calls host club, 888 Table Tennis Center, his primary base for training.
US Women's Singles Players:
- Lily Zhang: Born in Redwood City, California, Lily Zhang began her table tennis career only a few miles from the Pan Am Cup venue. Largely regarded as the most decorated female US table tennis player of her era, the 4x Olympian and 6x National Champion upset the top seed in the event, Bruna Takahashi (BRAZIL), at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
- Amy Wang: Seeded #4, Wang seeks to build upon her impressive runner-up finish at the 2024 Pan American Cup. The UCLA student, 2x National Champion and 2x US Open Champion is the reigning Pan Am Games gold medalist in teams and doubles.
The stakes are exceptionally high, as the top four finishers in both the men's and women's singles at the Pan American Cup will earn qualification for the 2025 ITTF World Cup in Macao. This prestigious event is set to take place from April 14 to 20 at the Galaxy Arena, featuring only 48 male and 48 female players from around the globe.
USATT invites fans, families, and aspiring athletes to experience the excitement firsthand. Information about the event and how to purchase tickets can be found here. For those unable to attend in person, live streaming of the main draw matches will be available on USA Table Tennis’s YouTube page.
Event Schedule:
- Preliminary Stage: February 18-19, 2025
- Main Draw: February 21-23, 2025
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