The ITTF World Table Tennis Championships Finals 2025 has officially commenced, with Saturday’s opening sessions delivering competitive table tennis across both venues. The international event is now underway with players from around the globe beginning their championship campaigns.
The honour of recording the first victory at the Doha went to Poland’s Kulczycki and Wielgos, who defeated Ly and Chan with a convincing 3-0 scoreline (11-4, 11-9, 11-6) in Mixed Doubles. This first result set the tone for an active opening session.
The Mixed Doubles draw produced several compelling contests, including a thrilling five-game encounter between Omotayo and Ayoola against Helmy and Fathy. The Nigerian partnership prevailed 3-2 (9-11, 11-6, 11-7, 10-12, 11-7) in one of the day’s most closely contested matches.
The morning session also saw our first upset of the event. The unseeded Italian partnership of Stoyanov and Piccolin (pictured at the top) produced a remarkable upset against the 12th seeds Ionescu and Szocs. The Italian pair controlled the encounter throughout, securing a 3-0 victory (15-13, 11-7, 11-3) to advance to the Round of 32.
The Women’s Singles draw also commenced with several accomplished performances. Japan’s seventh seed Satsuki Odo began her championship with a confident 4-0 victory (11-5, 11-10, 11-8, 11-5) against Paulina Vega.
Korea Republic’s Shin Yubin delivered a similarly decisive 4-0 (11-5, 11-7, 11-3, 11-3) result against Lisa Gear, while Li Yu-Jhun defeated Daniela Fonseca 4-0 (11-7, 11-8, 11-5, 11-5).
In a more competitive encounter, Andreea Dragoman overcame Jinnipa Sawettabut 4-1 (11-5, 6-11, 11-6, 11-3, 11-7), to kickstart her campaign.
With the first few matches now complete, the tournament continues with more compelling matches scheduled throughout the day. The early results suggest a competitive and technically impressive tournament lies ahead as the world’s premier players begin their pursuit of table tennis’ most prestigious titles.
The action is just getting started at both the Lusail Multipurpose Hall and Qatar University Sports Complex, with several high-profile matches still to come in today’s programme. Follow all the live action on the WTT YouTube channel and stay updated with results here.
