Underspin

Challengers meets Whiplash in this intimate, bruising novel about the short and tumultuous life of a table tennis prodigy, as seen through the eyes of those pulled into his orbit.

'A staggeringly good debut, written with elan, compassion and wit' Kaliane Bradley, author of The Ministry of Time
'Challengers, but make it table tennis' Lit Hub, 'Most Anticipated Books of 2025'
'An eruption of a debut . . . with meticulous precision and tremendous heart' Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, author of Chain-Gang All-Stars
'A superior force to be reckoned with' Neel Mukherjee, author of The Lives of Others and Choice

Ryan Lo begins playing table tennis aged eight. His brilliant but ruthless coach sees a talent in him that might be nurtured into greatness.

Through an adolescence marked by hours of practice, matches away from home, clandestine relationships and a determination to win, Ryan ascends to the highest echelons of the game, just as he was supposed to.

But here he is now, dead before his twenty-fifth birthday, leaving grief and confusion in his wake.

Ryan Lo was meant to be great. What happened?

Underspin delves beneath the pressure that forges a champion, and the vulnerability that makes a coming of age- the crackling intensity of a match, the push and pull of first love, and the great injustices committed within our closest relationships.


'A kaleidoscopic novel . . . Zhao's prose is a marvel' Rob Franklin, author of Great Black Hope
'Leaves a trail of fire in its wake . . . An electric debut' Jenny Tinghui Zhang, author of Four Treasures of the Sky
'An unconventional and stylish portrait of a table tennis wunderkind . . . this book will immerse you in its high-stakes world until the very last page' Alina Grabowski, author of Women and Children First