Winfred Addy and Maria Tran win the 2023 USATT Oklahoma State Champions

The 2023 USATT Oklahoma State Championships, held this past weekend at Essential Table Tennis Club, kicked off the brand-new series to crown women and men’s champions in all 50 states. USATT member clubs from around the country will host State Championships over the next ten months for state residents, which will include championship events as well as juniors, seniors and doubles events which are meant to accommodate players of all ages, genders and skill level in order to develop and grow table tennis at the state level.

USATT State Champions (Men’s and Women’s Singles) will receive a recognition award as well as an invitation to the “Dinner of Champions” which will be held at the 2023 US Open. Champions will also be listed on the USATT website, as part of efforts to create a database that throughout the years will reflect the history of best players at the state level.

At the USATT Oklahoma State Championships, over 50 players from all over Oklahoma competed in 9 events in a well-run 2-day sanctioned USATT event.

In the Men’s Singles events, it was Winfred Addy and Dylan Garland who battled in the top half of the bracket. The former international player managed to win 3 games straight. In the bottom half, US Para Developmental Team member Logan Watson and Essential TTC’s Jeffrey Waters went 5 games in a match that could have gone either way, both players having match points throughout the game. It was Jeffrey Waters who clinched the semifinal match and went on to the chance to play for the State Champion Title. The State Championship Finals was won by Addy Winfred 3 games to 1, in a match where Winfred’s experience played a big part in the result.

Men's Singles Semifinal between Logan Watson and Jeffrey Waters during the 2023 Oklahoma State Championships held at Essential Table Tennis Club. February 2023.

In the Women’s Singles event, Maria Tran breezed through her competition, winning against all five opponents in straight games. Aged 17, Maria was excited about her accomplishment “It’s a really nice opportunity and I’m quite grateful for being able to participate and win this title. I hope this will encourage more women and young girls to play table tennis.”

David Correa, President of Essential Table Tennis and long-time table tennis promoter in the Oklahoma area was “really happy with the great turnout of the first USATT State Championships! It was really nice seeing players I haven't seen playing tournaments and hopefully it will motivate more players to play table tennis.”

Clubs around the country are still able to apply to host the 2023 USATT State Championship. Please click on the following link to learn about the process. https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Table-Tennis/News/2023/January/20/USA-Table-Tennis-Initiates-Tournament-Series-to-Crown-USATT-State-Champions