
The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) and the world's best players are going at it again. Chinese table tennis stars Fan Zhendong (pictured above), Chen Meng and Ma Long, all multiple Olympic champions, announced their withdrawal from the world circuit a few days ago. The cause: the fines set by World Table Tennis (WTT), the commercial and events arm of the ITTF, for table tennis players who do not participate in its tournaments.
"I can't afford this", commented Fan Zhendong. The decision has the effect of a bomb as table tennis now finds itself deprived of several of its leading figures. "We are losing icons of our sport because of these 'rules'. We can't ignore the fact that this is not helping the players. It's time for REAL change", supported the Frenchman Simon Gauzy. Last July, the Nigerian Quadri Aruna had also raised his voice against these sanctions. A revolt to which the ITTF is trying to provide a start of response.
Make way for dialogue
The world circuit includes no less than 21 events in 2025, without taking into account the world championships. An intense pace, not appreciated by the athletes, who generally prefer to manage their calendar and prepare their objectives according to their own program, rather than being obliged to show up at all the tournaments on the calendar.
Chen Meng openly cited the inability to reconcile her physical and mental integrity and this new rules as the reason for her decision.
"The rules that Fan Zhendong and Chen Meng mentioned are not new. These rules, which provide for automatic registration of players ranked in the world rankings, have been in effect since the creation of the WTT four years ago, replied World Table Tennis, eager to ensure that the best players are represented at major events”.
Ensuring the presence of the highest ranked table tennis players means offering competitions of a higher level, better visibility and therefore more income.
How to please everyone? On January 3, the ITTF announced the establishment of a task force to collect feedback from athletes. A sign of openness, which suggests a possible evolution of the much-criticized rules. A players' forum will also be organized during the Singapore Smash (from January 30 to February 9) to continue discussions.
“The ITTF is fully committed to creating an environment that supports player welfare and encouraging open dialogue across the table tennis community”, assured the governing body of world table tennis. Enough to bring the stars back into line? The first stage of the world circuit is being held this week in Doha (until January 11). Three table tennis players from the men's top 10 and four from the women's top 10 are among the registered players.