Timo Boll facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Timo Boll
Boll in 2022
Personal information
Born	(1981-03-08) 8 March 1981 (age 44) Erbach, West Germany
Playing style	Left-handed, shakehand grip
Equipment(s)	Butterfly Timo Boll ALC blade; Butterfly Dignics 09c (Black, FH); Butterfly Dignics 09c (Red, BH) Early career = Donic
Highest ranking	1 (January 2003)
Club	Borussia Düsseldorf
Height	1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight	72 kg (159 lb)
Medal record Men's table tennis Representing  Germany Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 0 2 2 World Championships 0 6 3 World Cup 2 3 2 Olympic Games Silver 2008 Beijing Team Silver 2020 Tokyo Team Bronze 2012 London Team Bronze 2016 Rio de Janeiro Team World Championships Silver 2004 Doha Team Silver 2005 Shanghai Doubles Silver 2010 Moscow Team Silver 2012 Dortmund Team Silver 2014 Tokyo Team Silver 2018 Halmstad Team Bronze 2006 Bremen Team Bronze 2011 Rotterdam Singles Bronze 2021 Houston Singles World Cup Gold 2002 Jinan Singles Gold 2005 Liège Singles Silver 2008 Liège Singles Silver 2012 Liverpool Singles Silver 2017 Liège Singles Silver 2018 Paris Singles Bronze 2010 Magdeburg Singles Bronze 2014 Düsseldorf Singles European Games Gold 2019 Minsk Singles Gold 2019 Minsk Team Gold 2023 Kraków–Małopolska Team European Championships Gold 2002 Zagreb Singles Gold 2002 Zagreb Doubles Gold 2007 Belgrade Singles Gold 2007 Belgrade Doubles Gold 2007 Belgrade Team Gold 2008 Saint-Petersburg Singles Gold 2008 Saint-Petersburg Doubles Gold 2008 Saint-Petersburg Team Gold 2009 Stuttgart Doubles Gold 2009 Stuttgart Team Gold 2010 Ostrava Singles Gold 2010 Ostrava Doubles Gold 2010 Ostrava Team Gold 2011 Gdansk-Sopot Singles Gold 2011 Gdansk-Sopot Team Gold 2012 Herning Singles Gold 2017 Luxembourg Team Gold 2018 Alicante Singles Gold 2019 Nantes Team Gold 2021 Warsaw Singles Silver 2000 Bremen Team Silver 2002 Zagreb Team Silver 2003 Courmayeur Team Silver 2014 Lisbon Team Silver 2023 Malmö Team Bronze 2003 Courmayeur Singles Bronze 2005 Aarhus Doubles Bronze 2009 Stuttgart Singles Bronze 2016 Budapest Singles

Timo Boll (born March 8, 1981) is a famous German table tennis player. He is known as one of Germany's best table tennis players ever. Timo has won many medals at big events like the Olympic Games, World Cups, and World Championships. He was even ranked the number one player in the world in 2003, 2011, and again in March 2018.

Early Life and Training

Timo Boll was born in Erbach im Odenwald, Germany. He started playing table tennis when he was just four years old. His father was his first coach. When he was eight, a coach named Helmut Hampel noticed his talent and helped him improve.

In 1990, Timo began training at a special center in Pfungstadt. Four years later, he joined a team called FTG Frankfurt. He played in the Second Division and caught the eye of other table tennis clubs. In 1995, TTV Gönnern recruited him. The team even moved 170 kilometers closer to Höchst so Timo, who was 14, could train daily. He played very well, helping his team move up to the top national league.

Amazing Career Highlights

Junior Success

At 14, Timo Boll was one of the youngest players in the national league. He achieved his first international wins at the Table Tennis European Youth Championships in 1995. There, he won three gold medals! He continued to win, taking the singles title in 1997 and 1998, and the doubles title in 1998.

Early International Wins

In 2002, Timo Boll made history. He became the first German player to win the Europe Top-12-Tournament. He also became Germany's top-ranked player. At the European Table Tennis Championships in Zagreb, he won both the singles and doubles titles. Later that year, he won the Table Tennis World Cup in China. He beat two world champions, which helped him become the world's number one player by the end of 2002.

Challenges and Comebacks

Timo faced back problems in 2004, which affected his performance at the 2004 Summer Olympics. However, he soon bounced back, winning tournaments in Poland, Austria, and Germany. In 2005, despite more back issues, he won a silver medal in doubles at the World Championship. He also won the Champions League with his team and the Table Tennis World Cup in Belgium.

Joining Borussia Düsseldorf

In 2006, Timo Boll signed with Borussia Düsseldorf, a very successful table tennis team. He joined them in 2007. This move allowed him to train more easily with his doubles partner, Christian Süß. His contract with Borussia Düsseldorf was later extended until 2022.

Reaching World No. 1 Again

In 2007, Timo won three gold medals at the European Table Tennis Championships (singles, doubles, and team). At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, his German team won a silver medal, losing to China in the final. In 2008, he successfully defended his three European Champion titles.

At the 2012 Summer Olympics, Timo's team won a bronze medal. He also won a bronze medal in singles at the 2011 World Table Tennis Championships. He was back at the top of the world rankings in early 2011.

Injuries and More Success

Boll in 2016

In 2015, Timo had knee surgery, which kept him from playing for a while. But he recovered and competed in the 2016 Summer Olympics. There, he and his teammates won another bronze medal in the team event.

He continued to achieve great things, winning silver medals at the World Cup in 2017 and 2018. He also added eight more titles at the European Table Tennis Championships between 2009 and 2018.

Recent Years (2021-2024)

In 2021, Timo Boll won his eighth European Championship title. He said he was surprised and happy to be back on top. Later that year, he faced a hip injury before the Tokyo Olympics. At the Tokyo Olympics, he helped Germany reach the men's team finals, where they won a silver medal.

In 2021, at 40 years old, Timo won a bronze medal at the 2021 World Table Tennis Championships in Houston. This was a huge achievement, as it was only his second singles medal at a World Championship or Olympic Games.

Starting in 2022, Timo dealt with more injuries, including a rib and shoulder problem. These injuries made it hard for him to train and compete. He could not play in the 2023 World Championships. Because of this, his world ranking dropped to 182nd in early 2024.

However, 2024 started much better for Timo. He won the WTT Contender event in Doha in January. He beat several top-ranked players, which helped his world ranking jump from 182 to 45.

In May 2024, Timo Boll announced that the Paris 2024 Olympics would be his last competition before he retired from the sport.

Playing Style

Timo Boll is a left-handed player. His strongest shot is his forehand topspin. He is also known for his very fast backhand loop. He uses a "Timo Boll ALC" blade with Dignics 09c rubbers on both sides of his paddle. His doubles partner is Patrick Franziska.

Timo's playing style was quite advanced for his time. He was one of the first players to use both sides of his paddle for powerful loop shots. He also uses a "spin-block" instead of a simple block, which puts more pressure on his opponents. He is famous for putting a lot of spin on the ball, especially with his first topspin shot. This is possible because of his low stance, quick movements, and how he uses his wrist.

In recent years, with the change to plastic balls (which get less spin), Timo has focused more on his "counter-topspin" technique. This means he hits the ball back with spin from both his backhand and forehand. This style helps him save energy, but it requires him to be very good at guessing where his opponent will hit the ball.

Club History

Timo Boll has played for several clubs:

• TSV Höchst (1986 to 1994)
• FTG Frankfurt (1994 to 1995)
• TTV Gönnern (1995 to 2007)
• Borussia Düsseldorf (2007 to 2025)

Personal Life

Timo Boll married Rodelia Jacobi on December 31, 2002. They have a daughter named Zoey Malaya, who was born on December 4, 2013.

Sponsorships

Timo Boll has been sponsored by Butterfly table tennis since 1993. He extended his sponsorship until 2015 and still uses their equipment today. He even has his own line of racquets with the company.

Awards and Titles

Awards

• 1997 Table Tennis Junior Player of the Year
• 1998 German Table Tennis Player of the Year
• 2005 Bambi Sport Award
• 2005 German Sportspersonality of the Year – 3rd place
• 2006 Sportsman of the Year in Hessen
• 2007 Fair-Play-Award
• 2007 German Sportsmen of the Year – 2nd place
• 2008 Sportsman of the Year in Hessen
• 2010 Sportsman of the Year in Hessen
• 2010 German Sportspersonality of the Year – 2nd place
• 2017 ITTF Male Table Tennis Star

Major Titles

• World Cup: Gold in 2002 and 2005. Silver in 2008, 2012, 2017, and 2018. Bronze in 2010 and 2014.
• European Champion (Singles): 2002, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2018, and 2021.
• European Champion (Team): 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2017, and 2019.
• Europe Top-16: 2002, 2003, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2018, and 2020.
• European Super Cup: 2007, 2008, and 2009.
• ITTF World Tour/Pro Tour (Singles): 19 titles, including the Grand Finals in 2005.
• European Championship (Doubles): 2002, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010.
• Olympic Games (Team): Silver in 2008 and 2020. Bronze in 2012 and 2016.
• World Championship (Team): Silver in 2004, 2010, 2012, 2014, and 2018. Bronze in 2006.
• German Championship (Singles): 13-time winner (1998, 2001–2007, 2009, 2015, 2017–2019).
• Champions League: Winner in 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2018, and 2021.
• First German player to be ranked number one in the world (January 2003).

See also

In Spanish: Timo Boll para niños

• List of table tennis players