SPOKANE, Wash. – Jenson Van Emburgh and Zach Pickett are one of the best duos in world para table tennis.
The two friends make up a top-20 pair, working together over the past few years. One is a table tennis lifer, while the other is a newcomer to the sport.
“I was at one of my brother’s junior tennis tournaments when I was like 9 or 10 years old, and there was a table at the tournament, and I was playing with all the kids there, and I found I picked it up really good because I played tennis before,” Van Emburgh said.
“I started playing about five years ago, just casually, and then went to a tournament, played pretty well, and then got the opportunity to go and travel around the world to play ping pong,” Pickett said
The pair met through the sport, Jenson helping lead Zach more into table tennis, and their bond remains strong, needed for the high level of competition.
“We actually have the same exact birthday,” Pickett said. “I mean, we look a little similar. People tell us. So I feel like our relationship is continuing to get stronger and stronger. And we’ve been continuing to get better and better.”
They dropped just one game across the two morning matches, sweeping a pair of Canadians and staging a comeback to beat a higher-ranked Brazilian duo.
“As long as we stay calm and keep going and just trying to get the ball on the table more and just be more positive with each other, because once we start, once you start to be negative and especially in the doubles, one player becomes negative, then that energy kind of feeds off to the other person,” Van Emburgh said.
Coach Jeff Yamada leads these athletes to their success, eager to repeat as world para medalists.
“The best we can do is give them good energy and positiveness and good advice for the game,” Yamada said. “But the main thing is if they have a good attitude, I think that really helps.”
Now the pair look ahead to the 2028 Paralympic Games in Los Angeles, one close to home for Zach.
“I used to live a mile away from the venue that table tennis is being played out in LA when I was in college,” Pickett said. “And so to go back there and kind of, you know, be full circle would be awesome. And then obviously that’s going to take winning medals with Jenson along the way.”
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