[Courage to Change and Resolve to Attack] Satsuki Odo (Part 1) "This year, I’m just making a point of stepping onto the court with confidence."

Satsuki Odo, who is aiming for a singles spot at the Los Angeles Olympics, spends more than 260 days a year overseas.

As she travels the world on tour, she made the decision to change herself and regained the attacking table tennis that is her natural game.

We take a close look at the resolve behind that leap forward.

ODO SATSUKI. Odō Satsuki
Born May 16, 2004, from Fukui Prefecture. She started playing table tennis at age 3, influenced by her father, who coaches a club team. She reached the podium at the All Japan Bambie, Kabu, and Hopes divisions, and won both the team event and Singles at the junior high national championships in her second year at Shitennoji Junior High. She won the All Japan Junior Championships two years in a row in 2020 and 2021. She finished 3rd at the 2024 All Japan Championships. She won the 2024 WTT Champions Montpellier. At the 2025 World Table Tennis Championships, she finished runner-up in Mixed Doubles with Maharu YOSHIMURA. Right-handed shakehand grip, two-winged inverted attacking style, plays for MIKI HOUSE, world No. 11 (as of August 24, 2026)

A crushing loss to Wang Manyu in her first match of the year awakened the attacking play that had been lying dormant

In 2025, she struggled through uncertainty and nearly lost sight of her own table tennis. But because she went through that experience, Satsuki Odo changed significantly this year.

By completely revamping her training environment and rethinking her physical conditioning, she gained a stable level of fitness and regained her naturally aggressive style. That change is reflected in her victory over Wang Manyu (China), who had gone unbeaten against Japanese players for six years and four months, as well as in her four WTT titles this year.

As the race for Japan’s spots at the Los Angeles Olympics intensifies, how does the 22-year-old, now up to No. 11 in the world rankings, view the factors behind her breakthrough and the challenges she still faces on the road to even greater heights? Looking back on the first half of 2026, we asked her to share her thoughts.

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●─The first half of 2026 is over as well. Looking back on it, how do you feel about it yourself?

Satsuki Odo (hereinafter Odo)　Looking at the big picture, I’m really competing in the best possible shape.

In 2024, I was able to produce results, including winning WTT Champions Montpellier, but there was a period last year when I started to lose sight of my own play, my thinking, and the direction I should be aiming for. This year, I was able to reset all of that properly, and mentally I feel so much clearer. I’m really playing with a very good feeling.

●─What exactly do you mean when you say doubts arose?

Odo　I realized that just because I had good results, it didn’t mean everything would keep going well the following year too. I think I was naive to believe, “I’m in good form, so I can keep winning like this.” I also had too much confidence in the idea that if I could just bring out my own game, I would win. Opponents study you carefully, and I still didn’t have enough ability to adapt to that. Last year was a year in which I felt that reflection very strongly.