Tianjin
Tianjin swept the entire 2019/20 Super League, including the series of the playoff finals against Shanghai, to win the 12th national title, most in the history of the competition.
The club based in the city on the shore of the Bohai Sea beat Shanghai in Game 3 of the finals by a 3-1 (22-25, 25-16, 25-14, 25-19). Li Yingying and American Destinee Hooker top-scored for Tianjin with 18 points apiece. This was the first domestic league title for the superstar Zhu Ting. The German international Louisa Lippmann, who left Shanghai during the playoff semifinals to compete at the European Olympic Qualifier, returned to the team and scored game-high 22 points despite entering the court less than 48 hours after the final match in Apeldoorn (the Netherlands) and having to adjust to a different time zone.
Tianjin became the first-ever team to win the Chinese league without conceding a single match the whole season (15-0)! This fact is truly worth of admiration knowing the strength of the competition in a country whose female national team is the reigning Olympic winner.
2019/20 Super League, playoff finals
Game 1
January 7:
Tianjin – Shanghai 3-0 (25-11, 25-17, 25-14)
Game 2
January 11:
Beijing – Tianjin 0-3 (23-25, 19-25, 17-25)
Game 3
January 14:
Shanghai – Tianjin 1-3 (25-22, 16-25, 14-25, 19-25)
