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