Annett Kaufmann has been the rising star of the German table tennis world since the Olympics. At the World Cup in Sweden, she is part of the extended favorite group – but the 18 -year -old is struck.
She was one of the Olympic shooting stars, the table tennis surprise from Paris. Because although the 18-year-old Annett Kaufmann had only moved into the German Olympic team for the injured Nina Mittelham in summer, she just missed a medal. Kaufmann delighted with her nimble wrists on which pearl and gold chains hung. The fist, which she clapped on important points, became her trademark. Since Paris 2024, the athlete of the DJK SV Kolbermoor has even been the successor to the Great Timo Boll traded. “I distance myself from the comparison,” says Kaufmann. She wanted to go her own way.
This path led her to the European Championship to the Olympics, where she sensationally won bronze, then to the Junior World Cup, in which she put the competition in the shade and cheered over gold. And now the big world championships in Sweden are pending (May 17th – 25th).
Struck to the World Cup: “Was a little shock”
Kaufmann wants to compete in all three competitions – in singles, mixed and doubles. But preparations are currently being difficult. The 18-year-old recently injured his foot during training. “Sure, at the beginning I had a little shock, I was also afraid that it was something bad,” she reports.
However, the reigning junior world champion is not worried, but she can even train with tapes and bandages. Although the exact investigations with the team doctor of the German Table Tennis Association are still standing, the 18-year-old does not believe in a World Cup.
She wants to “enjoy the tournament and gain a lot of experience”. The 18-year-old is now, since the best known German professional Timo Boll enjoys the well-deserved table tennis pension, one of the figureheads in the German team. Your awareness has risen sharply since the Olympics – Not only in Germany, but also in Asian space. “I am recognized more often outside on the street,” she says.
Annett Kaufmann struggles with media hustle and bustle
On the one hand, Kaufmann describes the hustle and bustle around her person as “very positive”. She has the feeling that she could also inspire other people for table tennis sports and increase interest: “Of course I am pleased that I can advertise for women’s table tennis. Simply because table tennis is a marginal sport,” said Kaufmann in “Blickpunkt Sport” on BR television. “But of course it also has its negative sides.”
She discovered articles in which she was “depicted differently and where my words were twisted.” With situations like this, the rising star had to learn to deal first.
It will certainly not have been the last headlines, because now Kaufmann knows: she wants to continue with the professional table tennis sport. A decision that she only made after the Olympics. In addition to her successes, her attitude also helped her. She wanted to hide the expectations from the outside and only focus on herself and her way: “People around me know how I work and it is only relevant to me.” She also wants to take this newly gained looseness to Sweden – and fulfill the dream of a World Cup medal.
Table tennis player Annett Kaufmann as a guest in “Blickpunkt Sport”
Source: BR24Sport 07.05.2025 – 6:30 p.m.
