"To be the man," explained legendary pro wrestler Ric Flair, "you gotta beat the man." If we take the metaphorical concept of "the man" to mean the best at something, as exemplified by The Killers' song "The Man," then Lily Zhang is indeed the man. The reigning US national champion just reached her career-best world ranking of #26, thanks to consistently excellent showings on the world stage. Case in point: At the 2019 ITTF Women's World Cup, held this October in Chengdu, China, the 23-year-old Californian went on a historical rampage. At the time, she was ranked 48th in the world. In the qualifying rounds, she upset then-world #27 Adriana Diaz of Puerto Rico to advance to the main draw. Not content with the minor upset, Zhang proceeded to score a major one against Miu Hirano of Japan, then ranked ninth in the world. At this point, Zhang had everyone's attention. She did not wilt under the pressure, however, scoring yet another upset in the quarterfinals. Austria's Sofia Polcanova, then ranked 16th in the world, was next to fall by Zhang's blade. It took champion-elect Liu Shiwen to end Zhang's magical run in the semifinals, the best ever finish for any American player in the World Cup. Zhang backed it up with another solid outing at the ITTF Team World Cup this November in Tokyo, reaching the quarterfinals. Her teammate Wu Yue also played lights out, and was likewise rewarded with a career-best world ranking as a result (#33). Lily Zhang and Wu Yue have gone out and beaten "the man," i.e. some of the very best players in the world. Therefore, as Ric Flair could clearly corroborate, they are the man. Q.E.D. (Woo!)

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