"You must spend money to make money," wrote the Roman playwright Plautus over 2200 years ago. Indeed, money seems to be the missing ingredient in the recipe for table tennis' success on the global stage. While a handful of the world's top players are living comfortably, the money in table tennis lags embarrassingly far behind the other major sports of the world. Consider, for example, reigning Olympic and World Champion Ma Long. According to TheRichest.com, "In 2013, he earned roughly $250,000 in one season, just from his wins at all the competitions he attended." By comparison, the league minima for the NFL and MLB have risen past half a million dollars, and NBA rookies start the bidding at $900,000. Granted, the legendary Ma has other sources of income, including endorsements and a Chinese Super League contract. The inescapable point, however, is that the best table tennis player in the world, and arguably of all time, earns less for playing than the rookie bench-warmers in other major sports. To rectify these injustices, the world turns to legendary Chinese player and coach Liu Guoliang. More specifically, the newly formed World Table Tennis (WTT) Council have just installed Liu as their Chair. WTT is the new commercial arm of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), created last August with the expressed sole purpose of elevating the sport on a massive pile of cash. Promising more than twice the prize money of the current (and currently suspended, cue to COVID-19) ITTF World Tour schedule, WTT maintains its aim of launching an entirely new tour structure in 2021. The biggest headline-grabber has been the quartet of "Grand Smash" tournaments on the yearly schedule. Modeled after the Grand Slam tournaments in tennis and golf, each Grand Smash will not only offer big money, but also big points toward a yet-to-be-determined new World Championship format. As a player, Liu Guoliang won everything the sport had to offer, completing the career "Grand Slam" of singles titles at the Olympics, World Championships and the World Cup. As coach of the Chinese team, he continued his winning ways. In 2018, he was elected president of the Chinese Table Tennis Association, with further uninterrupted success. Thus, the ITTF saw the internationally respected Liu as a natural choice to lead WTT. "Liu Guoliang is an undisputed table tennis legend," said ITTF Deputy President and WTT board member Khalil Al-Mohannadi. "His CV speaks for itself and we firmly believe that he is the perfect man to help deliver success to WTT and to table tennis for many years to come." While Liu Guoliang has thus far proven to have the Midas touch, he admits that leading WTT will be a "huge challenge." Nonetheless, he sees the necessity for change and embraces the task ahead of him. "I think WTT is a great platform and the ITTF's boldest reform in many years," says Liu. "WTT's four Grand Smashes starting next year will offer a better platform for players around the world. More high-caliber paddlers can earn the chance to shine and achieve at the highest level, also delivering the best matches for fans to enjoy." Of course, it is a leap of faith to abandon the cozy but confining comfort of familiarity, but all professional table tennis players will likely welcome the chance to rival the earnings of a backup long snapper for the Cincinnati Bengals. While the ITTF is suffering through lean times like so many in the world now due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they have already invested a great deal in WTT. In order to recoup their investment and launch table tennis into the realm of big money sports, they must not get stingy now when it matters most. After all, as Plautus' biggest fan, William Shakespeare, wrote in "The Merry Wives of Windsor," "If money go before, all ways do lie open."

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