FRANZISKA Patrick

Grip
Shakehand (tischtennis.de, 2016)

Style of play
Attack (tischtennis.de, 2016)

General
FRIENDSHIP WITH TIMO BOLL
He comes from the same region as fellow German tennis player Timo Boll, and was coached by Boll's father in his youth. "Of course, being compared to Timo is always a great honour for me. But I never really thought I deserved that. His success and all he has achieved over such a long time is outstanding. So I never actually accept these comparisons. Unfortunately, Timo does not share all his secrets [when we train together]. If he had, I might have been number one in the world. We have a lot of fun together. In the hall, Timo is 100% concentrated, but outside of it, we laugh a lot and talk about anything, not just table tennis." (ikz-online.de, 04 Sep 2019)

'PERFECT' MIXED DOUBLES PARTNER
He and mixed doubles partner Petrissa Solja secured a qualification spot for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo with their gold medal at the 2019 European Games in Minsk, Belarus. They first competed together in mixed doubles at a major tournament at the 2013 World Championships in Paris, France, before teaming up again from 2018 onward. He describes their partnership as 'perfect'. "We have known each other for a very long time and everything works well. We harmonise well in terms of play. She is left-handed and can read the game really well. She plays at the opponents so well that I only have to finish the job. It is really very easy to play a match with her. Peti and I obviously also get along outside of the hall. We have a lot of fun, and I think that ensures that we are a perfect match." (DTTB YouTube channel, 20 Aug 2019)

SHOE COLLECTOR
He admits to being obsessed about shoes. "About two years ago [2018], I became somewhat obsessed with shoes. It started when Kanye West came out with really cool sneakers and I told my girlfriend that I really wanted those shoes, but they were so hard to get in Germany. I did some research and since then buying cool shoes or sneakers has become a little hobby for me. I still watch what shoes are about to hit the market and at times I will get up early in the morning to try to get the shoes because they are often not available for long." (DTTB YouTube channel, 18 Feb 2020)