The post office at 1. FC Saarbrucken's table tennis club has already given up trying to keep up.

"We couldn't even count the mail yet," said Nicolas Barrois, team manager of the reigning Champions League winners, after the signing of Chinese superstar Fan Zhendong triggered unprecedented demand. "We might have to wait for the winter break to look at all the letters."

Season ticket requests from China and other countries have surged, hotel bookings are up, and organizers are considering moving matches to larger venues to handle the influx of fans. For the December 21 match against Borussia Dusseldorf, Saarbrucken will move to the 3,500-seat Saarlandhalle arena.

Fan Zhendong serves against Romain Ruiz during their Table Tennis Bundesliga first round match in Saarbrucken, Germany, Aug. 31, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhang Fan)

While Fan Zhendong mania sweeps the German league, rival clubs are also seeing ripple effects. TSV Bad Konigshofen manager Andreas Albert said his club sees Fan's arrival as a chance "to widen the bridge to China."

"We had to change the team hotel and book a secret place to ensure the players get a good night's sleep," Albert said.

Saarbrucken is already geared toward Chinese engagement, with coach Wang Zhi leading the first team. Konigshofen hired former German league coach Fu Yong to greet Chinese fans before its match against Saarbrucken.

League managers broadly view Fan's presence as an opportunity to deepen ties with China.

The impact is clear: 500 Saarbrucken season tickets sold out within two days, compared with just 50 in a normal season. The club's following on Chinese social network Weibo skyrocketed from 10,000 to nearly 300,000. Fan's jerseys are already a bestseller, and the club is preparing to launch a broader merchandising push in China.

Albert called it "a formidable moment" for his club and for German and European table tennis.

Fans from across Europe and China are booking flights "to see him once," Barrois said, describing the 28-year-old as a "humble and grounded man."

"We have installed a ticket resale platform to allow as many fans as possible to attend," Barrois said. "90 percent of the season tickets go to fans in China."

Local newspaper Saarbrucker Zeitung compared Fan to Lionel Messi, nothing that it was as if Saarbrucken's football team - last in the Bundesliga in 1993 and now in the third tier - had signed the Argentine star.

To protect Fan, Saarbrucken has kept his exact whereabouts under wraps.