Midwest Regional Championships Make Beloit Debut This Weekend

The USATT Midwest Regional Championships make their Beloit debut this weekend, bringing many of the region's best players to Wisconsin.

Fox Valley Table Tennis Club is set to welcome 225 athletes to the Beloit Memorial High School Fieldhouse from June 13–14 for the final USATT Regional of 2026. It will be the final opportunity to earn regional bragging rights and National Team Ranking Points before the U.S. National Championships.

"What I want players to take away from this tournament is that our sport can be run smoothly," said Swavek Larenc, tournament director of the 2026 Midwest Championships. "I want it to be as frictionless an experience as possible. The fewer things players have to come to the control desk for, the more time we can spend taking care of them."

Illinois accounts for nearly half the field, with 106 registered players from the Prairie State. The move to Wisconsin has once again attracted many of the Midwest's top players.

In men's singles, Shuaibo Hua of Fox Valley Table Tennis enters as the local favorite and top seed. The former 4x National Collegiate Champion Chance Friend comes in as the No. 2 seed representing Ohio’s Match Point Table Tennis.

Friend is expected to pose the biggest challenge to Hua for the title in what could be the tournament's marquee matchup.

In women’s singles, Jiaxin Ren leads the field. Ren arrives at the tournament after helping the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign women's team achieve regional success ahead of the 2026 National Collegiate Championships. She was also ranked No. 5 nationally in women's singles entering the event.

Right behind Ren in the seedings is Amina Batkhuyag of Chicago Table Tennis Club, the defending Midwest Regional Women's Singles champion.

In both men’s and women’s singles draws, the second seeds bring significantly more USATT tournament experience than their top-seeded counterparts, adding another layer of intrigue to the championship races.

Batkhuyag returns as a slight underdog on paper. The 16-year-old Illinoisan trails her opponent by 64 rating points, though the difference is far from insurmountable.

Batkhuyag's résumé also includes two gold medals at the 2022 ITTF Junior Pan American Championships, giving her the experience and credentials to contend for another championship this weekend.

Beyond the singles favorites, the Midwest Regional Championships will also feature several nationally ranked junior players looking to improve their standing in the National Team Ranking system.

Among the top-ranked entrants are Kyler Chen, currently ranked No. 2 nationally in U15 Boys, Aaron Li, ranked No. 4 in U11 Boys, and Olivia Yang, ranked No. 4 in U11 Girls.

As the final Regional Series event of 2026 gets underway, competitors, especially the juniors, will have one last chance to earn ranking points and finish on a high note before the 2026 Junior National Teams are finalized at the U.S. National Championships next month.