Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha dominate historic ITTF World Cup in Macao

Wang Chuqin did more than win his first World Cup title in Macao. He answered the one question that had hung over him for two straight editions, then did it under real pressure, surviving Japan’s Sora Matsushima 4-3 in a final that went to 9-11, 18-16, 11-8, 11-13, 8-11, 11-4, 11-8.

At Galaxy Arena, with 48-player men’s and women’s singles draws, 1,500 world ranking points for the champions and a USD 1 million prize pool on the table, the stakes were bigger than a trophy. This was the ITTF’s centenary year, 100 years after the federation’s founding in 1926, and the Macao World Cup was staged with a special celebration at Senado Square to match the occasion.

For Wang, the result carried a different kind of weight. He reached the semifinals in both 2024 and 2025 and fell short each time, so his third World Cup appearance finally ended with the title that had eluded him. The final showed exactly why the world No. 1 remains the standard in men’s singles, but it also showed how much resistance is left in the field. Matsushima pushed him to seven games and forced Wang to win the hard points late, not cruise through on ranking alone. That matters heading into the next stretch of the season, because it suggests Wang still owns the baseline of the event, but he no longer gets easy margins against the best challengers.

Sun Yingsha’s run said something even louder. Her 4-1 win over teammate Wang Manyu, by scores of 11-9, 11-8, 13-11, 8-11, 11-7, made her the first woman in history to win three consecutive Women’s World Cup titles. Fan Zhendong is the only other player to manage three straight singles titles in World Cup history, and he did it from 2018 to 2020. That puts Sun in a very small club and pushes her status beyond simple dominance. This is not just a title defense anymore. It is a streak that is starting to define an era.

The all-Chinese women’s final also reinforced the current balance of power. Wang Manyu made Sun work in the third game and took the fourth, but Sun’s control in the tight openings and her ability to close the fifth left little doubt about the hierarchy at the top. The message from Macao was straightforward: China still sets the pace in both singles draws, yet the men’s final showed cracks that opponents can test and the women’s final showed a champion who has turned repetition into history.

With the World Cup now over, the bigger question is how this form carries into London later in the month. Wang Chuqin left Macao with a first crown and a release from old baggage. Sun Yingsha left with something rarer, a record no woman had ever reached. Both results confirmed China’s grip on the sport, but they also sharpened the expectation that the next major event will have to be earned point by point.