On 1st September 2025, the ITTF Tribunal issued its operative decision dismissing the appeals filed by the Qatar Table Tennis Association (QTTA) and Mr. Khalil Al-Mohannadi, and confirming the outcome of the ITTF Presidential election of 27 May 2025, in which Ms. Petra Sörling was elected President.

Since the QTTA and Mr. Al-Mohannadi have issued a statement qualifying the ITTF Tribunal’s decision as a “procedural ruling” and suggested that only the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has “the authority and independence to conduct a comprehensive review” of the matter, the ITTF wishes to clarify the following:

As the grounds will show, the ITTF Tribunal’s decision is the result of an extensive legal process initiated when QTTA and Mr. Al-Mohannadi filed their appeals on 17 June 2025, seeking to annul the result of the AGM election and that Mr. Al-Mohannadi be declared President of the ITTF. Throughout the past months, the ITTF Tribunal Hearing Panel received extensive written submissions and supporting evidence from all parties. Among the evidence submitted was, at the request of QTTA and Mr. Al-Mohannadi, the official LUMI report on online voting, including the certified tally of votes.

The process culminated in a full hearing held on 28 August 2025, which lasted approximately five hours. At the outset of the hearing, all parties accepted the jurisdiction of the ITTF Tribunal and confirmed the independence of the three-member Hearing Panel appointed to adjudicate the case. The parties had full opportunity to examine and cross-examine Mr. Abdulla Al Mulla, Chair of the ITTF Nominations Committee, who was called as a witness on behalf of QTTA and Mr. Al-Mohannadi. The parties were then allowed to make oral submissions and, at the end of the hearing, confirmed that their rights to be heard were fully respected.

At the end of the hearing, at the request of the ITTF and as provided for in Article 8.35.3 of the ITTF Statutes, it was agreed that the ITTF Tribunal Hearing Panel would render its operative decision upon deliberation and issue the reasoned decision separately at a later stage.

The substantive section of the operative part of the decision reads as follows:

• The Appeal of Mr. Khalil Al-Mohannadi is dismissed.
• The Appeal of the Qatar Table Tennis Association is dismissed.
• The decision of the ITTF Annual General Meeting of 27 May 2025 electing Ms. Petra Sörling as ITTF President is confirmed.

According to Article 8.35.3 of the ITTF Statutes, this “decision is enforceable immediately upon communicating the operative part to the parties”. The outcome of the ITTF Presidential Election of 27 May 2025 stands confirmed.

The Decision of the ITTF Tribunal Hearing Panel can be appealed before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). As provided for by Article 8.37.4 of the ITTF Statutes, “[u]nless ordered otherwise by CAS, the appealed decision remains in full force and effect pending the determination of the appeal”.

The full wording of the ITTF Tribunal decision is available here.