Well, we did it. We promised you that we would take our obsession with wif-waf, parlor tennis, PING-PONG!, to the next level and here it is, SPiN Standard, LA's first professional ping-pong club where players of every conceivable ability can come to enjoy the thrill of slapping around a small plastic ball.
Located on the second floor of the historic Standard, Downtown LA SPiN Standard, a most holy union between the ping-pong titans at SPiN Social and us – titans of good times and fierce forehands – kicked things off with an epic tournament hosted by Susan Sarandon and André Balazs.
Jake lets-have-a-kiki Shears DJ'd along with Atlanta de Cadenet. There was an Olympian exhibition match followed by an epic smack down tournament. A slew of bold faced names (Chelsea Handler, Topher Grace, Vincent Gallo, Emily Mortimer, Jacqui Getty, Gia Coppola, Kate and Laura Mulleavy of Rodarte, Monique Péan, Doug Ellin, Jay Duplass, Keegan Allen, Whitney Cummings, Melissa Etheridge to name a few) paired up with professional ping-pong players in a battle for the history books. In the end, the baron of backhands, Mr. Balazs, and New York Times Crossword puzzle guru, Will Shwortz defeated Vincent Gallo and Nikki Haskell. BUT, in a gracious turn of events, the champions deferred the title to their worthy and talented opponents who had played with such aplomb. The trophy, it should be noted, was the same size as its proud recipient, Ms. Haskell. (Check out more pics here.)
16-year-old Olympian Erica Wu dazzled the crowd with an exhibition match.
A Night of Champions
You wouldn't believe the incredible players we had on hand for the event. For example, Erica Wu,
2012 US Olympic team member and 16-year-old ping-pong prodigy, was the youngest member of the US Olympic team and is currently finishing high school in Southern California and preparing to attend college, oh, yeah and training night and day for the next Olympic Games.
Soo Yeon Lee is a former top rated international junior player from South Korea. Not only a world class ping-pong player, Soo Yeon is a fashion model and actress (this is LA after all) and has been featured in magazines around the world. Soo Yeon has pretty much single handedly changed the face of ping pong.
Mikhail Kazantsev is a former U.S Men's National team member, and is known to fight off opponents with his unique paddle grip, the 'Kazantsev Klaw'. He has represented the United States at the World Championships and numerous Junior Competitions. Some of his past titles include being the U.S Men's National U-22 Champion and U.S Junior National Champion.
You might already be a member:
Guests of The Standard, Downtown LA are automatic members during their stay which means you play for free until six and then it's half price after that. If your interested in a regular membership head to SPiNStandard.com for details.
Food and Drink
There's a tasty menu created by Chef Micah Fields accompanied by an appropriate list of cocktails, named with ping pong pluck (The Drop Shot, The Spinlini etc. etc.)
Hours
Monday – Thursday, Sunday: 12pm - 2am
Friday- Saturday –12pm - 3am
