Lily Zhang was a top-20 player in the women’s singles table tennis competition at last year’s Paris Olympics, her best-ever showing at a summer Games in her fourth appearance.
However, a showdown between Zhang and an NBA star — something that’s been spoken about ever since the Opening Ceremony in the French capital — has only just hit screens.
At the same time, Zhang has been celebrating a history-making moment in Major League Table Tennis (MLTT), America’s first-ever pro league in the sport, AND she’s now launched a “chaotic” new YouTube vlog with her girlfriend, Jessie Xiao.
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It’s been a busy time! That’s all before MLTT this weekend hits Los Angeles, where the couple lives and where world no. 35 Zhang is sure to be strongly supported at the Terasaki Budokan center.
But first, that showdown with an NBA star, which can finally be seen in a new series streaming on Amazon Prime. “Serious Business with Anthony Edwards” features the Minnesota Timberwolves guard chancing his arm at sports other than basketball, trying to beat the world’s elite.
In Episode 1, viewers get to see Edwards duke it out against Zhang across the table, attempting to prove that a claim he made on their Opening Ceremony boat trip down the River Seine wasn’t just talk.
Steph Curry introduced Edwards to Zhang, and the conversation soon turned to the three-time NBA All-Star’s all-around athletic ability, and whether he could mix it with the U.S. Olympic ping-pong-playing women.
“Ant, they’re saying that they can smack you 21-nothing,” Curry told his teammate, and the challenge was promptly laid down.
In the episode, Edwards says he expects it would take him around 18 months of practice to become professional, before taking a match against former NFL running back Marshawn Lynch, who also fancies himself as a handy table-tennis player.
It’s the warm-up for the duel with Zhang, who is so confident enough of success that she gifts Edwards a 10-point advantage in a first-to-11 contest.
@sportsonprime #Olympic #TableTennis player Lily Zhang on #AnthonyEdward's #pingpong skills 😂 #NBA ♬ original sound – Sports on Prime
We won’t give away the result, but rest assured, Zhang is an amazing talent, as demonstrated by the fact that she recently became the first woman to hold the MLTT No. 1 Power Ranking spot since the league began in 2023.
“There are some incredible players out there,” she told TableTennis.tv, “so to be able to represent the girls, the women, it’s obviously such an honor and pleasure.”
Zhang, who plays for the Bay Area Blasters (one of 10 MLTT teams) has since dropped to fifth place in the rankings, but would climb back towards the top with a good showing in her home city in Week 8.
More than anything, she’s blazed a trail. “I just hope that a young girl is watching, and she believes that she can join the league and do the same thing,” said the 29-year-old.
And that’s not all, because she’s also providing welcome LGBTQ representation with Jessie on social media.
They became more public about their relationship in and around Paris 2024, quickly hitting ‘couple goals’ levels on TikTok and Instagram.
Jessie, who is from Sydney, Australia, and has “silly goofy tt WAG” in her Insta bio, has previously shared the background to their “Olympic Love Story” in a viral video that’s had more than a million views and is pinned to her TikTok account.
@funtimejess Replying to @Angel Princess ✂️🏳️🌈 you ask, we deliver. here is the start of our lil story! 👩❤️💋👩 #fyp #wlw @Lily #wlwcouple #lilyzhang #olympics #olympicscouple ♬ original sound – funtimejess
With their combined followers count steadily growing, and Zhang working towards a home Olympics at L.A. 2028, the logical pivot is to YouTube where Jessie is in charge of the camera and edits.
“I hope you stay for some chaotic good content with me and my BEAUTIFUUUUULLLL gf lily,” she writes in the channel description. “You can expect: wlw content, behind the scenes of table tennis WAG life (lily is an athlete!!), travel vlogs of places we go together, advice, stories, and everything fun!! KISSES!!!!!”
Well, consider us subscribed. The first episode might not get quite as much attention as “Serious Business with Anthony Edwards,” but it’s seriously cute, and we get to see that Jessie is a seriously talented player in her own right.
Any chance of a mixed doubles exhibition match — Zhang and Xiao versus Edwards and Lynch? Embrace the chaos and count the clicks!
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