The image of the World Table Tennis Championships is getting worse under the rule of World Table Tennis. We saw a disappointing organization in Durban, back in 2023. The tournament in Doha presented a similar list of issues that made the overall impression of this prestigious competition look bleak.
Pink tables, an absolutely unfair and disastrous draw system, traditionally bad camera angles, annoying commentating by Adam Bobrow, and an almost non-existent atmosphere and ambiance in the hall, unless the Chinese fans had someone to cheer for. WTT did not take any notes from the worst-organized World Championships in Durban. Zero interest in the growth of this tournament, just pure financial interest to sell it to some wealthy country. However, compared to football, bringing table tennis to Doha was a bargain for Qatar.
To expect any kind of progress or acknowledgment of their mistakes from World Table Tennis is completely useless at this point. So let’s look at the positives. More precisely, the sole positive thing this tournament brought was World-class talent and some truly exciting matchups on the way to the final.
One of the main surprises of this tournament was the Englishman – Tom Jarvis. He enjoyed a fine run, making it to the Round of 16, and beating the 2022 European champion Dang Qiu on the way. Jarvis showed some solid resistance to Liang Jingkun, and this tournament will be one to remember for the Englishman. But is he just a one-hit-wonder or someone, who will bring consistent late-round exits in the next World & continental championships – only time will show. Age-wise, the best years are still ahead of him.
The one who once again wrote his name in the history books was Liang Jingkun. He has been a medalist in the singles event for four consecutive World Championships. Only 8 players in history have been able to achieve this incredible feat. Liang Jingkun throughout the years has become the most reliable, consistent, and mentally strong Chinese player. His loss to Hugo Calderano in the semi-final was a hard-fought battle and by far the tournament’s most dramatic and quality match. Liang Jingkun might lack the singles gold medal on his resume, but this year’s achievement cemented his name on the list of table tennis all-time greats. We need to value consistency more.
PLAYERS WITH 4 OR MORE CONSECUTIVE MEDALS IN THE WTTC SINGLES EVENT
 Viktor Barna6 times | 1930  | 1931 | 1932 | 1933 | 1934 | 1935 |
 Ma Long6 times | 2009 | 2011 | 2013 | 2015 | 2017 | 2019 |
 Bohumil Vana5 times | 1938 | 1939 | 1947 | 1948 | 1949 | |
| Guo Yuehua 4 times | 1977 | 1979 | 1981 | 1983 | ||
  Richard Bergmann | 1936 | 1937 | 1938 | 1939 | ||
 Jan-Ove Waldner4 times | 1987 | 1989 | 1991 | 1993 | ||
| Wang Hao 4 times | 2007 | 2009 | 2011 | 2013 | ||
| Liang Jingkun 4 times | 2019 | 2021 | 2023 | 2025 |
Of course, the main heroes of this event were the finalists Wang Chuqin and Hugo Calderano. The Brazilian was able to maintain his excellent form from the World Cup run and get past Liang Jingkun in the semi-final. Wang Chuqin did not face much resistance on the way to the final, losing no more than two sets in a single game. In the final, the Chinese star looked confident and was always a step ahead of his opponent. Calderano had an exhausting semi-final both, physically and mentally, and it probably played some part in his bleak final’s performance. Nevertheless, it was a historic run for the Brazilian. His name will be in the history books of the sport for sure.
The players outside Asia have definitely shortened the gap between them and the Chinese leading players. At the same time, Team China faces the change of generations and two monumental players retired at the start of this year. Wang Chuqin and his teammates had a lot of pressure on them, and while they failed to cement their dominance in the doubles events, the singles event did not disappoint.
In conclusion, the World Championships has clearly lost its appeal and true sense under the WTT rule. In the past, it was a tournament for the World. Every nation had a chance to participate and enjoy the atmosphere of this massive event. Now it moves towards being an elitist tournament with zero chance for the athletes from small nations (except Oceania and its absurd promotion) to get a taste of taking part in the World Championships. This concept is wrong in its core. But no organization is eternal. One day World Table Tennis will be replaced with some new organization, and hopefully, it will bring back the glory to this tournament. Currently, the hashtag #ShameToWTT is all that this incompetent organization deserves.
MEDALISTS OF THE 2025 WORLD TABLE TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS
| SINGLES EVENT | ||||
| Player | Age | WR | 2023 WTTC Performance | |
| Wang Chuqin | 25 | 2 | |
|  Hugo Calderano | 28 | 3 | R128 |
| Liang Jingkun | 28 | 5 | |
| Truls Moregardh | 23 | 7 | R32 |
| DOUBLES EVENT | ||||
|  Shunsuke Togami Hiroto Shinozuka | 23 21 | 30 28 | R16 DNP |
|  Lin Yun-ju Kao Cheng-jui | 23 20 | 12 24 | DNP R64 |
|  Felix Lebrun Alexis Lebrun | 18 21 | 6 8 | R16 R16 |
| Esteban Dorr Florian Bourrassaud | 25 25 | 99 134 | DNP DNP |
| MIXED DOUBLES EVENT | ||||
| Wang Chuqin Sun Yingsha | 25 24 | 2 1 | |
| Maharu Yoshimura Satsuki Odo | 31 21 | 73 8 | DNP DNP |
|  Wong Chun-ting Doo Hoi Kem | 33 28 | 47 38 | |
|  Lim Jong-hoon Shin Yubin | 28 20 | 44 10 | 1/4 FINAL 1/4 FINAL |
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