Tom Jarvis heads to the US Smash in Los Angeles in good form and on the back of one his best career victories.
England’s No 1, currently No 61 in the world, defeated Sweden’s world No 33 Anton Kallberg at the WTT Star Contender Ljubljana, before bowing out to China’s Wen Ruibo (WR 13) in four close games.
It means he heads to California, where he is seeded into the main draw, full of confidence – though he knows he could face one of the world’s top players as all of the world’s top 10 and most of the top 50 will be competing.
“I’m in pretty good form,” said Jarvis. “I had a bit of a break after the World Championships and I’ve had two tournaments to prepare myself.
“I had a good win against Anton and then played well against the world No 13, so I think I’m in a good place.
“A lot depends on the draw – I could be playing Wang Chuqin in the first round, so I don’t have any expectations, it’s just about looking to play well and take my chance.
“Beating Anton is definitely one of my very best wins. I’d been beaten quite badly twice by him in the last couple of months (including at London 2026) but I spent a lot of time with my German coach watching the matches and learning from those defeats, so when I played him again, it was good to see those learnings paying off. It was a really good one for my confidence.”
Tom looked to the heavens on winning that match – a dedication to his grandfather who passed away recently, and he added: “He watched every match I played and I know how much he would have enjoyed that one. I’d have been on the phone to him straight after. It was a nice time to get a win like that for my family.”
Jarvis will be joined in LA by Women’s No 1 Tin-Tin Ho, who will be playing her first Smash-level events since the Saudi Smash just over two years ago, and by the returning former England No 1 Liam Pitchford after his recovery from surgery.
Ho will be in the qualifying rounds, which start on Friday night UK time, with Pitchford receiving a wildcard to join Jarvis in the main draw beginning on Sunday.
Jarvis said: “It’s going to be nice having Pitch back, it’s been a year since he was on tour with us. I’ve been training with him and spending a lot of time with him, and he’s been getting better and better every time we play.”
Jarvis is also heartened by the recent strong performances of Connor Green, including his double medal-winning performance at the European Under-21 Championships, and said the squad had been expecting such a breakthrough.
He added: “Connor’s been coming up for many years and he’s been getting better and better. It shows he’s got a bright future and we’re going to be a strong team again in the coming years.”