Could table tennis conquer the US? How ping pong’s fate in the country might rest with one man

As the table tennis final unfolded during the 2020 Summer Olympics at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, Chinese athletes Ma Long and Fan Zhendong, the two biggest names in the sport, faced off for the gold medal.

Those tuning in to the English commentary were treated to another star of the game, American Adam Bobrow, who with equal parts knowledge and pizazz, has helped the sport reach new, Western audiences.

“Fan Zhendong has shown up to the party,” quipped Bobrow, after the Chinese star lost a number of points in the first set. “Fashionably dressed and fashionably late but it is a best of seven and we’ve seen it before, so many back and forths where someone dominates, and then the next game gets dominated.”

The former actor, with his splashy shirts and infectious personality, has injected the sport with some much needed colour. Bobrow’s chatty commentary, which includes Americana one-liners you might hear on a car racing show or a comedy set, has become the stuff of legend since he officially took the position, winning a contest in 2014 to be – get this – the official commentator for the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF).

“It’s crazy to think that between all of the sports I grew up playing, the one that I played with my dad on the driveway for fun would become my profession,” says Bobrow, a California native who now calls Taiwan home, “and that it would eventually take me around the world.”

A player of some repute himself, Bobrow’s YouTube channel has 749,000 subscribers and his video called “A Year of Ping Pong” is closing in on 20 million views. Travelling the world playing against both regular folk and professionals, and dazzling audiences with trick shots and colourful outfits, Bobrow – who speaks conversational Mandarin – stands out in a sport that has, up until now, lacked showmanship.