25-Year-Record Set by Future Olympian Sarah Jalli
Samson Dubina Table Tennis Academy
Name: Sarah Jalli
Age: 13
School: Jackson Middle School
Sponsors: Nittaku and Paddle Palace
Goals: 2024 Olympic Team
Recent Titles: #1 Ranked Woman in Ohio
Local athlete Sarah Jalli just sent the 25-year record in Ohio by becoming the first female player to be ranked over 2300 on the USATT Rating system!
The last woman to be ranked this high was Insook Bhushan who dominated the state in the 80s and early 90s. Thirteen-year-old Sarah is following in her footsteps making steady progress both state-wide and nationally as she trains for the 2024 Olympics! She is now the #1 ranked woman in Ohio as well as the #1 ranked (u13) in the US, #3 ranked (u15) in the US, and #14 ranked woman in the US.
Sarah and her family moved to Ohio 6 years ago from New York. Shortly after moving to Ohio, Sarah began her career by taking lessons with US National-Level Coach Samson Dubina. For the first 2-3 years, Sarah took 1 lesson/week from Coach Samson and played occasionally at the Canton Table Tennis Club. As she began playing tournaments and realized the potential, both her and her parents have taken a much more professional approach to the game.
This year, the Samson Dubina Table Tennis Academy opened at 2262 South Arlington Rd Akron. Since opening, Sarah has had many more training opportunities. Her regular training program includes about 4-5 hours of lessons each week with Coach Samson and about 1.5 hours of lessons each week with Coach Chance as well as 2.5 hours of group training and 5 hours of league matches and 2 hours of match play with other club players and fitness and serve practice and Newgy robot practice at home. WOW! Does it really take that much practice? YES! The best players in the world usually train about 25-30 hours/week plus do daily stretching, running, and weightlifting. For their bodies to respond to high speed balls traveling back and forth across a nine foot table producing spins up to 8000 rpms takes excellent fitness.
Being ranked as the #1 girl 13-and-under in the US is a great accomplishment. Also, being the #14 ranked woman in the US, is also a big accomplishment. BUT, Sarah realizes that she still has a long way to go in confidence, balance, timing, consistency, shot selection, and tactical awareness. She is happy with her accomplishments, but knows that the work has just begun. She has 4.5 more years of very hard work she needs to do if she is going to make the 2024 Olympics. If you would like to come watch or cheer on a future Olympian during training, you can visit the local Samson Dubina Table Tennis Academy for free to watch or join in the action for just $5/person or $10/family. It is conveniently located near I-77.
Samson Dubina Table Tennis Academy
Address: 2262 South Arlington Rd Akron, Ohio 44319
Phone: 330-949-9230
E-Mail: tt@SamsonDubina.com
Website: www.SamsonDubina.com
Hours of Operation:
Mondays 4-10pm
Tuesdays 4-10pm
Wednesdays noon-6pm
Thursdays 4-10pm
Fridays 4-10pm
Saturdays noon-6pm