The sports director of the German Table Tennis Association, Dirk Schimmelpfennig was full of praise: “Patti has improved considerably during the last few months. He has made his way to the top step by step, as you can see when looking at the world ranking list.” In May 2009, at the end of the 2008/09 season, Patrick Baum was ranked 61. A year ago he was only number 135, that’s why he was so pleased. The left-hand player, however, is very ambitious. He is a player not easily satisfied, and even Schimmelpfennig’s praise after the World Championships in Yokohama (Japan) in May 2009 didn’t make him smile. Amongst the best 64, the DONIC star lost against the best defensive player in the world, the South Korean Joo Sea Hyuk, giving a hard time to the clear favourite when the score was 2:4. An excellent performance – but all Patrick Baum said was: ”I could have led 3:1.” The 21-year old isn’t a grumpy player, nor notoriously dissatisfied. He is simply someone who knows his own mind. He wants to reach the top – and this means the very top, as in 2005, when he became Junior World Champion. There is no limit to his ambition – this is the kind of ambition that drives all successful players, and Baum is on his way. It has been easier for him than for some other players to adjust his equipment since the speed glue ban, he found the optimum solution with DONIC. For how long, we have to wait to see, because Baum is constantly looking for progression, and that’s why he always needs the best possible.

He is aware that there is always room for improvement - any young player in the world can empathise with him saying:

I want to get to the top!