Have you ever traveled great distances to a regional or national tournament to play some exciting new competition, only to get matched up in the first round with someone from your home club? While not exactly the same thing, a similar situation awaits reigning US women's champion Lily Zhang at the 2020 ITTF Women's World Cup. Commencing tomorrow in Weihai, China, the prestigious Grand Slam event will see 21 of the top women from around the world competing for immortality in the ITTF's first official #RESTART event. Last year was something of a debutante ball on the international stage for Zhang, ranked 27th in the world. She swept all four gold medals at the Pan Am Games, qualifying her for the World Cup. There, she defied the seeding to reach the semi-finals, the best-ever finish for an American. These and other exploits earned Zhang recognition as the ITTF's "Breakthrough Star" of 2019. Now, at 24, Zhang is an established threat, and none of her first round opponents is likely to take her lightly. In order to advance to the main draw, she must secure a top-two finish in round-robin action against Adriana Diaz (Puerto Rico), Zhang Mo (Canada) and Margaryta Pesotska (Ukraine). Pesotska, who twice took silver at the European Championships, will be crashing the North American party. Diaz, Zhang and Zhang all know each other all too well from yearly battles at the Pan Am Games. It remains to be seen, however, whom such familiarity shall favor.

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