Ryan Henry
Date and Place of Birth: 18/06/2000, Irvine
Hometown: Ardrossan
Currently lives: Sheffield
TT Class: 8
Current world ranking: 35
International debut: 2016, Spanish Open
Ryan’s story
Ryan’s love of sport developed at an early age playing a number of different sports with his brother, initially focusing on badminton and golf before taking up table tennis at the age of 11.
“My brother and I have always been very competitive,” he said, “particularly when competing against each other while growing up. I started golf when I was very young, having lessons and playing local courses with my dad and my brother. I played badminton every week with my family and at school and then started playing table tennis at North Ayrshire table tennis club. I really enjoyed it and I was soon playing several times a week and competing in local leagues and junior competitions. I love competing but with table tennis I love how unpredictable it is – every point is important and the game can change so quickly.”
Born with cerebral palsy that affects the limbs on the lefthand side of his body Ryan joined the British Para table tennis Pathway squad and made his international debut in 2016 at the Spanish Open. He won his first international medal the following year, taking team bronze in the Romania Open, and took his first singles medal in the Copa Costa Rica in 2021 with bronze in the men’s class 8 singles. The tournament also provided him with his first gold medal in the men’s class 8 team event.
After taking singles bronze and doubles silver in the European Para Youth Games in Finland in 2022, Ryan made the decision to take a break from studying for a degree in Sports Coaching and Development at the University of the West of Scotland and move to Sheffield to train full time with the British squad at the UK Sports Institute.
“I knew I had to move to get the training I needed,” he explained, “as it was too difficult to get quality training consistently at home compared to Sheffield. I plan to complete my degree when my table tennis career is finished. Training full time with the squad has helped me a lot. I feel sharper and have felt a lot of improvement in my game thanks to the coaches and the quality of the practice I’m getting now.”
In 2023 Ryan reached his first singles final, taking silver in the US Open and his steady progress and potential earned him promotion to the Performance squad in January 2025 with qualification for the 2028 Paralympic Games in Los Angeles his major target.
“Being part of the Performance squad means everything to me,” he said. “I love table tennis and being part of the squad gives me the best opportunity to reach my full potential. It’s always been a dream of mine to be a Paralympian especially after going to Paris with the Paralympic Inspiration Programme and witnessing the Games first hand. The Paralympics in LA are a huge motivation for me and to qualify would be a dream come true.”
Since moving to Sheffield Ryan has combined training with working part-time in local schools taking sports sessions for primary school children. Away from table tennis he loves watching movies, with the Lord of the Rings trilogy his favourite.
2024 Results:
French Para Open – L16, men’s singles (class 8); QF, men’s doubles (class 18)
Montenegro Para Championships – QF, men’s singles (class 8); QF, men’s doubles (class 18)
Kazakhstan Para Open – group stages, men’s singles (class 8); QF, men’s doubles (class 18)
2023 Results:
French Para Open – group stages, men’s singles (class 8); L16, men’s doubles (class 18); L16, mixed doubles (class 17)
US Para Open – silver, men’s singles (class 8); bronze, men’s doubles (class 18)
Montenegro Para Championships – group stages, men’s singles (class 8); group stages, men’s doubles (class 18); group stages, mixed doubles (class 20)
Greek Para Open – L16, men’s singles (class 8); QF, men’s singles (class 18); group stages, mixed doubles (class 14)
Costa Brava Spanish Para Open – group stages, men’s singles (class 8); group stages, men’s doubles (class 18); group stages, mixed doubles (class 17-20)
2022 Results:
Greek Para Open – QF, men’s singles (class 8); group stages, men’s doubles (class 18)
European Para Youth Games, Finland – bronze, men’s singles (class 8); silver, men’s doubles (class 16)
Copa Cristina Hoffmann, Mexico – bronze, men’s singles (class 8); bronze, men’s doubles (class 18)
2021 Results:
Para Copa Costa Rica – bronze, men’s singles (class 8); gold, men’s teams (class 8)
2019 Results:
Copa Costa Rica – group stages, men’s singles (class 8); bronze, men’s teams (class 6-8)
Czech Para Open – group stages, men’s singles (class 8); QF, men’s teams (class 8)
Copa Cristina Hoffmann, Mexico – QF, men’s singles (class 8); bronze, men’s teams (class 8)
Spanish Para Open – group stages, men’s singles (class 8); bronze, men’s teams (class 8)
2018 Results:
Czech Para Open – L16, men’s singles (class 8); group stages, men’s teams (class 8)
US Para Open – group stages, men’s singles (class 8); QF, men’s teams (class 8-10)
Spanish Para Open – L16, men’s singles (class 8); bronze, men’s teams (class 8)
2017 Results:
Belgian Open – group stages, men’s singles (class 8); group stages, men’s teams (class 8)
Czech Open – L16, men’s singles (class 8); group stages, men’s teams (class 8)
Romania Open – group stages, men’s singles (class 8); bronze, men’s teams (class 9-10)
Romania Junior Open – group stages, men’s singles (class 7-8)
Lignano Master Junior Open – group stages, men’s singles (class 7-8)
2016 Results:
Spanish Para Open – group stages, men’s singles (class 9); group stages, men’s teams (class 9-10)
Career Highlights:
2023 – US Para Open – silver, men’s singles (class 8); bronze, men’s doubles (class 18)
2022 – Copa Cristina Hoffmann, Mexico – bronze, men’s singles (class 8); bronze, men’s doubles (class 18)
2021 – Para Copa Costa Rica – bronze, men’s singles (class 8); gold, men’s teams (class 8)
2017 – Romania Open - bronze, men’s teams (class 9-10)
Detailed results are available at: http://stats.ipttc.org/en/profiles/5466/tournaments