By 2009, her record included finals appearances at several big junior events. By 2011, facing older players, she had won a Pan American Games bronze and a U.S. women's championship.
A figure skater or tennis player of similar talent might have attracted lucrative sponsorships; the most a young American table tennis player could hope for was free clothing and equipment.
Hsing figures he has spent $40,000 a year on coaches and travel. He quit his job at IBM to work from home, making time to ferry his daughter through her busy schedule.
"Every three months," he says, "we beg her to stop so we can get back to normal."
The family made a deal at the very start: Ariel could pursue table tennis only if she maintained high grades.
"Education comes first," her father says. "If she gets a B, she has to stop playing until she raises it to an A." So far, she has earned those A's.
Making sacrifices
Ariel does not see anything extraordinary about this balancing act; she describes it in the most practical terms.
"I can't make a living from table tennis," she says. "If I don't go to college, what's my career going to be?"
But this double life comes at a cost. She has no time to hang out with friends on weekends and concedes, "There are a lot of things I've missed out on."
After Ariel's last training session ends around 7 p.m., she returns home with no rest in sight.
"Dinner and studying," she says. "If I have a lot to do, I stay up late."
Her bedroom is decorated with posters of her icon, Zhang Yining, a table tennis legend. Zhang attended the Beijing Shichahai Sports School, where she could focus mainly on the game.
Life is very different for Ariel as she hunkers down to review English composition.
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