10 U.S. Players Move on to Day 2 Prelims of 2026 ITTF Americas Cup
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by Joshua Dyke
Singles: Nikhil Kumar advanced through the first two men's preliminary rounds at the ITTF Americas Cup San Francisco 2026 at 888 Table Tennis Center. Burlingame, Calif. January 29, 2026.
Burlingame, Calif. – Preliminary competition commenced on the first day of play at the 2026 ITTF America’s Cup at 888 Table Tennis Center. 10 American’s (5 men and 5 women) succeeded in hard fought matches to advance to the second day of preliminary competition. They will compete in a single elimination format for four spots per gender in the main draw.
Among the Americans advancing, Nikhil Kumar stood out in the day’s first matches by defeating Jamaica’s Logan Royas in three games. In his return to international play, he bested Alexis Orencel of Argentina 3-1 (6-11, 11-6, 13-11, 11-9) to build on his earlier success.
“It’s been a while since I've played internationally so it’s kind of just getting back in the groove of it and seeing how I feel. I played free honestly, given that I'm coming in and there's nothing to lose,” commented Kumar on his successful day.
Kumar was enthusiastic by the overall performance of the United States. In addition to praising the younger generation of American players for "putting a lot of pressure on many of the South American players," Kumar expressed appreciation for the country's current top players for their strong results.
In round three of the men's singles preliminaries, Kumar will be accompanied by Jishan Liang, Nandan Naresh, Ved Sheth, and Sean Zhang from the United States.
Amber Liu made a strong impression for the U.S. in women's singles, defeating Argentinian and frequent Pan American competitor Ana Codina. "[Codina] has a lot of experience, so I was surprised that I was able to win in the end; she has very good quality, but I was able to counter pretty well," Liu stated after the match.
Against the talented Argentinian, Liu won 3-2 (13-15, 11-8, 11-6, 8-11, 11-8) and now proceeds to the final women's singles qualification round, where she will face Brazil's Karina Shiray.
Satya Aspathi, Tiffany Ke, Sally Moyland, and Irene Yeoh will join Liu in the final preliminary round for the U.S. in women's singles.
The competition began with 36 men and 10 women representing countries across the Americas. Following the conclusion of the preliminary rounds, the final four competitors per gender will advance during the live main draw ceremony on January 29 at 5:30 p.m. Pacific Time.
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