The Effect of Fandom's Popularity on Chinese Table Tennis Players

Abstract

In sports, fandom is on the rise, which is mirrored in table tennis matches as well. The paper intends to analyze how the popularity of fandom impacts on Chinese table tennis players through some specific cases of social media, athlete brand image and sport environment. Taken together, these findings imply that social media can motivate sport fandom, which encourages players, promotes table tennis development but in turn exacerbates cyberbullying. Moreover, fans' support could enhance commercial value of athletes while fandom in sport environment may affect athletes' mentality and performance as well.