Tan plays for the BU club tennis team. Photo by Grant Bergmann

Sports

BU Table Tennis Player Headed to World Championships in Germany

Emily Tan (Questrom’28), previously a nationally ranked player, picked up the paddle at age 6

When it comes to athletics, BU is known for Division I sports like hockey, lacrosse, softball, and soccer. But this week, a Terrier is representing the United States in a sport you don’t often hear about at the collegiate level—table tennis.

Emily Tan (Questrom’28) is traveling to Rhine-Ruhr, Germany, to compete with the U.S. Women’s Table Tennis Team at the 2025 World University Games, being held July 16 to 27. She will join three other student-athletes on the women’s team, players from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and New York University. 

“I’m really excited for this competition,” says Tan, who started playing the sport at age 6. “We’re all around the same age, and I get to see old friends.”

First question—is it called “table tennis” or “ping-pong”? While the terms are often used interchangeably, Tan prefers “table tennis,” since that’s the name used by governing bodies like the International Table Tennis Federation and the Olympics. “Ping-pong” is used more casually, she explains.

Tan grew up in Milpitas, Calif., and was encouraged to pick up the paddle by her mom, who also plays. What began as a hobby quickly turned serious, and by age seven she was practicing at least an hour a day and training with a professional coach. She played for nine years as a USA National Team member on the women’s U15 and U19 teams and was the youngest woman to compete in Major League Table Tennis (for team Chicago Wind), the first professional table tennis league in the United States.

Her résumé includes a silver medal in the U15 singles event at the Panam Youth Championship in 2021 and a gold at the U19 team tournament at the 2023 event. (Tan couldn’t balance the US team’s national travel and practice schedule this year as a full-time college student, so she’d stepped back.)

Emily Tan (Questrom’28) facing off against an opponent at the 2022 U.S. Open Table Tennis Championships.

Here at BU, the accounting and finance major is a member (and treasurer) of the table tennis club (which practices three times a week at FitRec, and is one of 37 club sports BU offers). She is also a private coach at Ping Pod, which has two locations in Boston. She enjoys coaching, she says, because it helps her stay in condition and improve her own playing. 

“It’s a really hard sport,” notes Tan, who jumps rope for conditioning. “The speed of the ball is faster because the table is smaller, so you’re moving a ton.” 

Tan’s sister (who plays the sport at UCLA) saw a post from the US Team on Instagram and encouraged her to try out for the World University Games. She was selected to play in all of the tournament’s events: singles, doubles, mixed doubles, and team. Tan is realistic about her team’s chances—she doesn’t expect America to win gold, but is looking forward to competing and watching the matches of the “big” teams, like China, Japan, and South Korea. 

Held every two years, the FISU World University Games are organized by the International University Sports Federation. Since their debut in 1923, the games have grown into one of the most prominent global university sporting events. This year’s competition will bring together more than 8,500 athletes and officials from over 150 countries. In addition to table tennis, the summer edition will include sports like basketball, rhythmic gymnastics, diving, volleyball, water polo, and rowing.

After the competition wraps, Tan plans to travel to Amsterdam with friends for fun. She is no stranger to international travel—she estimates that she’s played in more than 20 international tournaments, most often in Sweden. 

Asked what she enjoys most about her sport, she reels off several answers. “I like it because it’s competitive. I can meet new friends and stay in touch with old friends. It’s really good exercise. 

“And it’s fun.” 

All 2025 World University Games games will be streamed live on fisu.tv. Find the schedule here.