TEHRAN – The Worlds 
Table Tennis (WTT) has praised Iranian national team table tennis player for three consecutive victories and her advancement to the main draw of the WTT Contender Istanbul.
WTT said that the impressive performance of Iranian national team player Elina Rahimi at the WTT Contender Istanbul has received significant coverage from the sport’s official global body (WTT). 
In a report titled ‘Elina Rahimi: The First Iranian Woman to Reach the Main Draw of a WTT Contender Event’, the WTT highlighted the 21-year-old’s significant accomplishment, describing her advancement into the top 32 of the women’s singles competition as a historic milestone for Iranian table tennis.
Rahimi, who entered the qualifying stage with a world ranking of 650—placing her among the lower-ranked players in the qualifiers—navigated a challenging path, defeating three opponents to secure her spot in the main draw.
The talented Iranian representative first defeated Katarina Stražar of Slovenia 3–1. She then delivered an exceptional performance to overcome the renowned Swedish player Filippa Bergand—the tournament’s sixth seed and world number 122—with a 3–0 victory. In her third match, Rahimi defeated Valeriia Kotsiur 3–2, securing a significant and historic advancement.
The magnitude of this achievement is underscored by the WTT, which notes that Elina Rahimi is the first Iranian woman to reach the main draw of a Contender series event through the qualifying rounds. Furthermore, she becomes the second Iranian woman—following Neda Shahsavari—to reach the top 32 in a WTT event; a milestone that holds a special place in the history of Iranian women’s table tennis.
In its report, the WTT also highlights the valuable opportunity Rahimi has earned to compete against the world’s elite, identifying her opponent in the main draw as Joo Cheon-hui—a prominent South Korean player ranked 17th globally.
The feature of this report on the homepage of the official WTT website, combined with the global table tennis community’s focus on the young Iranian national team player, underscores the significance of this success and the international recognition garnered by this promising Iranian table tennis talent.