Today, an interrupted tradition returns. The US National Table Tennis Championships, canceled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, start the Independence Day celebrations off with a bang in Las Vegas. While the Nationals represent a major step toward the resumption of life as we once knew it, there are some new twists on the old favorite. Among the innovations which are beginning to define the "Virginia Sung era" (she being the current CEO of USA Table Tennis) are a series of regional qualifier tournaments and round-robin qualifying rounds in each event. The biggest mystery is whether four-time defending men's singles champion Kanak Jha will be on hand. His name does not appear on the OmniPong page listing the tournament's entrants, nor that of his frequent runner-up, Nikhil Kumar. OmniPong does include a caveat, however, that "Unpaid entries are not being shown." It remains to be seen whether the frequent finalists will show up and pay their entry fees late or let someone else win one while they train for the Tokyo Olympics. One Olympian and defending champion who will be on hand is Lily Zhang. Winner of five women's singles to date, the 25-year-old Zhang is the top seed in women's singles, starting Tuesday at 9:00. While there are still many uncertainties swirling around our beloved sport, it is undoubtedly a positive sign to see the resumption of the storied US Nationals. Will a good time be had in Las Vegas? You can bet on it.

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