Coventry rallies with table tennis stars as China sweep team titles

Kirsty Coventry’s presence at OVO Arena Wembley gave the centenary finals a charge that went well beyond protocol. The IOC president stepped straight into the sport’s spotlight on the last day of the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals London 2026 Presented by ACN, exchanging rallies in the practice hall with Ma Long, Xu Xin, Liu Shiwen, Elizabeta Samara and Paul Drinkhall before pressing the button to start the session in front of a packed crowd.

That sequence mattered because London 2026 was never just another world championship. It marked 100 years since both the ITTF’s foundation and the first World Table Tennis Championships in London in 1926, and the federation framed the event as a return to the sport’s birthplace. Coventry’s highly visible role, alongside ITTF President Petra Sörling, signaled that table tennis still has a place close to the center of the Olympic movement, not only as a medal sport but as a global property with real political and commercial weight. “From London to London, we have come full circle,” Sörling said as the centenary was unveiled, and the final day played out exactly that way.

China then did what China so often does on the biggest stages, converting the symbolic occasion into another hard-edged reminder of its dominance. The women came from 2-1 down to beat Japan and reclaim the Corbillon Cup, while the men shut out Japan 3-0 to lift the Swaythling Cup for a record 24th time. The women’s victory was their 24th world team title as well, a number that underlines how deeply China still controls the championship ceiling in both draws.

The route to that finale had already shown how unpredictable this team event could be. Sweden’s 3-2 upset of reigning men’s champions China in the group stage was one of the tournament’s defining shocks, a result that briefly opened the draw and proved the gap can be narrowed in the right conditions. Japan’s runs to both finals added to the sense that the sport’s competitive map is widening, even if China still closed the deal when the trophies were on the line.

The guest list reinforced the message. Dame Katherine Grainger, Nick Webborn, Clare Briegal and ITTF secretary general Stefan Bergh were among the senior figures in attendance, and the timing of the ITTF Summit 2026 and centenary AGM in London turned the city into more than a host venue. It became a staging point for the sport’s next chapter, with the Olympic movement, federation politics and elite competition all meeting under one roof.