Ortiz grew up in a small town in the Dominican Republic and said she was always athletic, first participating in track and field. She discovered table tennis at age 8 after seeing a cousin play at a local sports center, and something immediately clicked. Ortiz won her first tournament by age 9 and dedicated herself to table tennis full-time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But when she and her family moved to New York City when she was 18, her playing career, and the rest of her life, seemed upended.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\u201cI actually thought I was gonna retire, because I didn\u2019t know how I was gonna be able to continue my journey of playing table tennis,\u201d she said.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
Since then, Ortiz has done anything but retire. She won gold at the 2018 Caribbean Championship and bronze at the 2023 Central American Games, and she is currently training for this June\u2019s Central American Games, which will be held in her home country.<\/p>\n
From playing and coaching to appearing in a major film to helping kids discover the sport she loves, \u201cEverything that has been happening has been a dream,\u201d Ortiz said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Coming soon: talks of the first Bronx table tennis academy<\/p>\n
Despite what many may think, not just any frat boy who has played basement table tennis can hold his own against a champion like Ortiz.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
To play at a high level, the sport requires a strong foundation of technique, physical fitness and mental toughness, she said. \u201cA lot of people I know, they think you\u2019re not gonna move your feet, or you don\u2019t move your body a lot in table tennis. But they\u2019re wrong! It\u2019s actually the opposite.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
In tournaments, players compete for hours straight, often participating in five to ten matches with little recovery time in between. At that level, the sport requires strength, flexibility and lightning-fast coordination, according to Ortiz. \u201cAfter you know the technique, it\u2019s all about how you train your body.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
By chance, one New Yorker who foolishly challenged her to a match led directly to her start as a kids\u2019 table tennis coach.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
At a club event in 2019, Ortiz met a South Bronx school principal who thought he could take her on. After she beat him \u2014 \u201cI destroyed him,\u201d she said, laughing \u2014 he invited her to visit the school.<\/p>\n
That chance encounter happened at a critical point for Ortiz. She had completed her goal of finishing the college degree she started in the Dominican Republic, but she didn\u2019t know what to do next.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do I know how to do? What can I do?\u201d she remembered thinking. \u201cWell, I only know how to play table tennis.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
She took the principal\u2019s invitation to visit P.S. 1X at East 152nd Street and Courtlandt Ave. and was pleasantly surprised to see three brand-new tables \u2014 and the idea for Spin & Learn<\/a> was born.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The principal became a mentor to Ortiz and hired her to instruct kids after school. She became a DOE vendor and created a program centered around physical fitness, academic and social growth and professional table tennis skills.\u00a0<\/p>\n Spin & Learn caught on quickly and expanded to other District 7 schools by 2021. By 2023, it had reached 10,000 public school children and has now served more than 45 schools, mostly in the Bronx.<\/p>\n Ortiz said she was amazed at the opportunity. \u201cI was like, what? I can work and make money by teaching table tennis?\u201d\n<\/p>\n Parents constantly asked if she had her own space so their kids could continue in the program, Ortiz said.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n In response, she launched the nonprofit Spin & Learn Foundation just this month, with a goal of opening the Bronx\u2019s first table tennis academy.\n<\/p>\n Though Ortiz said \u201ccreating a nonprofit from scratch\u201d has been challenging, her goal of bringing table tennis to more Bronx kids seems within reach.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n Other boroughs already have dedicated clubs, and the equipment is relatively affordable compared to many other sports, she said. Yet many kids who look like her lack the opportunity to learn and grow in the sport. \u201cThat\u2019s something that I really want to change.\u201d<\/p>\n A growing sport<\/p>\n Table tennis is having a major moment, thanks to \u201cMarty Supreme,\u201d which opened on Christmas Day, starring Timoth\u00e9e Chalamet and Gwyneth Paltrow. Chalamet\u2019s character is loosely based on Marty Mauser, a 1950s-era American table tennis player who would stop at nothing to become a champion.\u00a0<\/p>\n Following the film\u2019s release, David Silberman, co-founder of PingPod, told The Guardian<\/a> that his business saw an immediate 20-40% spike in new reservations, calling it \u201ca catalyst\u201d for new and renewed interest in the sport.\u00a0<\/p>\n Ortiz said she thought she missed the chance to appear in \u201cMarty Supreme.\u201d After friends sent her a link to apply, \u201cI actually started that application, but I stopped, because it was really long.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n But even after applications closed, Ortiz managed to land a role as one of few female professional players on set.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n She accepted the role without knowing how big the movie would be \u2014 and without fully realizing who Chalamet was. When she Googled him, she thought, \u201cWait a minute, this is huge!\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Participating in filming was \u201can amazing experience\u201d that turned into a mini-reunion of fellow players from around the world, said Ortiz. She and others were especially thrilled to meet the famous German player Timo Boll, who won multiple Olympic medals and other world championships.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe were more excited to see Timo Boll than Timoth\u00e9e,\u201d Ortiz said.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n Throughout her \u201cMarty Supreme\u201d experience, she still kept her work bringing a wider community into table tennis front of mind.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n The overwhelming majority of the players on set were male, given the time period \u2014 and yet, Ortiz said she was still driven by the question, \u201cHow can we bring and provide this opportunity to more girls?\u201d<\/p>\n To that end, she had already authored a children\u2019s book, \u201cYasi the Champion: A Table Tennis Tale,<\/a>\u201d illustrated by Nina Pelykh. She is now working on a second book, \u201cYasi the Champion: The Art of Winning.\u201d<\/p>\n Working with kids, Ortiz said she always begins by telling the story of how she went from a kid playing in the Dominican Republic to living in New York and traveling the world for championships. The book shares her experiences while introducing young readers to the equipment, skills and discipline needed to become a top-level professional player.\u00a0<\/p>\n What comes next for someone an athlete has already accomplished so much? As for whether she has her sights set on the Summer Olympics, Ortiz said her work with New York City kids comes first for now.\u00a0<\/p>\n Training for the Olympics would require her to quit all other work, including her brand-new foundation \u2014 and that\u2019s not about to happen, she said.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \u201cWith the work that I\u2019m doing in the community here, it takes a lot of time and effort,\u201d said Ortiz. Helping Bronx kids find their love for table tennis is \u201ca dream I have that\u2019s as big as going to the Olympics.\u201d<\/p>\n Reach Emily Swanson at\u00a0eswanson@schnepsmedia.com<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0(646) 717-0015<\/a>. For more coverage, subscribe to our\u00a0newsletter<\/a>\u00a0and follow us on\u00a0Twitter<\/a>,\u00a0Facebook<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Instagram<\/a>!<\/p>\n \t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_5539.jpg\")
Ortiz\u2019s program Spin & Learn combines academic study, physical fitness and emotional learning. Photo courte==][\u2018;\u2019.But there was one catch: since the program was only contracted for certain school buildings, there was no way to continue with kids once they moved on to another school.\u00a0<\/p>\n