Aditya Sareen, Mendy Wang win Northeast regional table tennis titles

Aditya Sareen and Mendy Wang won the headline singles titles at the 2026 Northeast Regional Table Tennis Championships, turning a high-stakes weekend at Westchester Table Tennis Center in Pleasantville, New York into a clean statement about the Northeast’s competitive order.

Sareen’s men’s singles run carried the sharpest edge. He beat longtime Westchester standout Kai Zhang 3-1 in the final, taking down the reigning champion after dropping the opening game and then controlling the match with his backhand and placement through the next three. Zhang had been the familiar benchmark in the region, and Sareen’s win ended that title defense on Westchester’s own floor. In a field that USATT had flagged as deep with names such as Aryan Jha, Ryan Lin, Lucas Wu and several Lily Yip Table Tennis Center players, Sareen emerged as the player who handled the pressure most cleanly when the bracket tightened.

Wang’s women’s singles victory fit a different script, but it mattered just as much in the regional hierarchy. Listed in USATT’s preview as the No. 7 woman nationally, she entered as the favorite and backed that status with a win over Evelyn Ma in the final. The title confirmed that Wang’s return to table tennis this year has already pushed her back into the upper tier of U.S. women, and it should strengthen her position heading into the second and final U.S. National Adult Ranking Tournament in June.

The Northeast Regional Championships had more than title trophies at stake. The event ran May 16-17, 2026 as a 4-star USATT-sanctioned tournament with $6,050 in prize money, and the draw was part of the selection procedure for the 2026 Junior National Team. USATT previewed more than 150 participants before the first ball was struck, underscoring why this regional event remains one of the most valuable ranking-point opportunities outside the U.S. Nationals and U.S. Open. Will Shortz and Rawle Alleyne were listed on the local tournament committee, with Wilson Cheah serving as referee.

The junior results supplied the clearest score lines of the weekend and reinforced how deep the Northeast pipeline runs. Tanish Mamidyala edged Evan Dong 3-2 in the U15 boys final, winning 11-7, 11-6, 8-11, 9-11, 11-7 before returning to beat Charles Shen 3-1 in the U17 boys final. Emma Yang completed a sweep of the U13 and U15 girls titles, including a 3-2 win over Adela Huang in the U13 final. For a region that already produced 188 players from 14 states at last year’s Northeast event, the 2026 championships showed the same pattern again: the Northeast remains a critical proving ground, and the players who win there are positioning themselves for much bigger stages ahead.