"Music is universal. Great musicians like Taylor bring us healing power and confidence," he said.

The intersection of China's pingpong and global pop culture perhaps hit its high note when Fan edged Japan's Harimoto Tomokazu 4-3 in a gruelling, see-sawing quarterfinal battle on Aug 1 — a date loaded with Swiftie superstition due to the star's hit song "August".

However, due to the demands and expectation of his fans, the sharing of his personal life on social media can sometimes end up not being much fun at all.

In March, Fan posted footage from Swift's Singapore leg of her Eras tour on his Weibo account just days before a World Table Tennis event, where he was eventually upset by 18-year-old compatriot Lin Shidong in the round of 32.