Recap: World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals London 2026

We look back on the World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals London 2026, which saw memorable moments for both Australia's Men's and Women's Teams at one of the year's biggest tournaments.

Nicholas Lum, Finn Luu, Aditya Sareen and Hwan Bae were the four men selected to represent the Green and Gold in London, along with Yangzi Liu, Jiamuwa Wu, Connie Psihogios and Sanaya Buddhadasa, who would take part in the Women's tournament. National Head Coach Ricardo Oliveira, Performance and Pathways Lead Simon Gerada, AIS Gen32 Scholarship Coach Melissa Tapper and Rob Gomm, TTA's General Manager: National Olympic Program also made the trip to the British Isles for the tournament.

Team Australia made the long journey to the UK in advance of the event, taking in an important training camp in Sheffield, England, with important training time, and also time spent together ahead of the event. 

The tournament got underway on April 28 at the Copper Box Arena, Stratford, with the Men's Team cruising to a 3-0 win over Morocco in Group 10, with Sareen beating Salim Karam 3-0 (11-9, 11-7, 11-1), whilst Lum also defeated Yassine Theophile in straight sets (11-4, 11-8, 11-6). Luu had to battle his way past Marius Benchat, which he did, coming from 2-0 down to win 3-2 (7-11, 9-11, 11-6, 11-7, 11-7). 

The Men's good start was continued, with a comfortable 3-0 win over New Zealand, with Lum, Luu and Sareen defeating Eli Ho, Dean Shu and Timothy Choi respectively, dropping only one set in the process.

A tie against Korea DPR would decide the winner of Group 10, and who would automatically qualify for the next stage at Wembley Arena. The result would go against the Australians, who were inflicted a 3-0 defeat, however, due to the close nature of the matches (2-3, 2-3, 1-3), Australia's Men did secure their spot at Wembley as one of the six best second-placed teams, cementing their place as one of the top 32 teams in the world. 

It was at Wembley Arena however where the tournament would come to an end for the Men's side, who put up a valiant fight against World #1 Team, and eventual champions China, but a 3-0 defeat meant that it was the end of the road in London.

Australia's Women's side also got off to a blistering start at the Copper Box, with two straight set wins from Liu and one from Psihogios meant that they were too strong for Uzbekistan. Wu also fought bravely against Adelina Khasanova, but was unable to get the better of her opponent.

On April 29, it became back-to-back 3-1 wins for the Women's Team, with Liu and Psihogios again winning two and one matches respectively to secure the victory against Nigeria. Sanaya Buddhadasa gave it her all against Ajoke Ojomu, but fell just short in a 3-1 defeat (3-11, 8-11, 11-8, 9-11).

It came down to a winner takes all meeting with Wales to decide who would top the group, and despite wins from Liu and Wu, Wales did prove too strong for the Australians, as Anna Hursey won both matches, before Charlotte Carey triumphed in the decisive fifth match against Psihogios. 

Due to the second place finish in the group however, Australia had another chance to make it to Wembley with a preliminary round match against Croatia, but were sadly edged out by a score of 3-2 to end their tournament, but could leave with their heads held very high.

There was however, more Australian involvement at the tournament with Marie Pinkewich, who was the sole umpire from Oceania at the Championships, and flew the Australian flag with great pride throughout the tournament. Well done, Marie!