Chopper, who keeps on fighting, Yuto Muramatsu: “I don’t think of myself as a genius, but I do think I showed a lot of patience.”

Vol. 3　The Interview of MURAMATSU Yuto

Time moves fast when you’re on the path of a Player. Especially as a top Player, and as a professional pouring yourself into Table tennis, the days fly by in the blink of an eye. Yuto Muramatsu will turn 30 on October 14. Even for someone once hailed as a “genius boy,” the time he can devote to Table tennis as an active pro is by no means long.
This long interview with Yuto Muramatsu, once called a “genius,” will end with the question of what he should do next.

Yuto Muramatsu ● Muramatsu Yuto
Born October 14, 1996, from Yamanashi Prefecture. Won the U8, U10, and U12 titles at the All Japan Championships. Won a silver medal at the Youth Olympic Games. From 2023, he played four seasons in the first division of Germany’s Bundesliga with Mainz and Saarbrücken. In the 2026–27 season, he will play for Shizuoka Jaded in the T-League and in the Polish league, among others.
*Photo: T League　

Honestly, I keep asking myself how much longer I can keep going. If I can, I want to keep playing as long as possible.

In spring 2026, Muramatsu returned from Germany, gave up the apartment he had been renting in Tokyo, and moved to Shizuoka. He now seems to have grown accustomed to pro life based out of his new home base.
As of October 10, he was in excellent form in the T-League, with five wins in five matches. On November 2, he will head to Poland to join the local league, and he is expected to return to Japan before Christmas.

Muramatsu says he had always felt uneasy about the future ever since his days in the Bundesliga. That may be a struggle every professional athlete faces at least once. In this interview, he spoke candidly about what was really on his mind.

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●ーWhen you first went to Germany’s Bundesliga, you were around 20, and now you’re 29. Has your way of thinking changed since then?

Yuto　My thinking about Table tennis has changed too, and honestly I keep asking myself how much longer I can keep going. If I can, I want to keep playing as long as possible. I also want to win, so if I can keep winning, I want to keep going as long as I can. Right now, I have an environment where I can do that, so I’m playing with gratitude for that.

●ーHow does it feel to be back in the T-League after so long? I imagine the atmosphere of the matches is different from the Bundesliga and the T-League.

Yuto　I train in Shizuoka, with players like Shinto Ishiyama and Asuka Machi, and the other Shizuoka members. In Germany there were more teammates, so it felt like I was playing with all sorts of people, but in Japan my practice partners are stronger. Well, I actually prefer things the way they are now.

Even in Germany, in the end they didn’t really let me practice much against strong players, so toward the end I was training with players from the second division and the like. That was one of the reasons I felt there wasn’t much point in being in Germany. Now I’m practicing with my Shizuoka teammates almost every day, so we’re pushing each other to improve as we prepare for the league.