(by Steve Hopkins, photo WTT)
The 2025 year ended with the WTT Finals, a solid conclusion to an exciting year – but with some key injuries late in the event that affected the outcome. World No. 1 Wang Chuqin had had a strong showing against Alexis Lebrun on his way to the Semifinals, but then withdrew due to back pain. In the Women’s event, World No. 1 Sun Yingsha had to withdraw in her Semifinal match against Kuai Man due to an ankle injury.
Both players have chosen not to compete in the opening event of 2026 in Doha, citing those injuries. There are some mixed signals with both players, as Sun played doubles with Chuqin in Hong Kong after her withdrawal in Singles, and Chuqin played through pain in the China Super League finals a few weeks ago. Regardless, events in the short term will be without the World No. 1 in both Men’s and Women’s singles.
The WTT has shown concern over player workload, something exacerbated with the top tier of players who regularly see more matches as they play deep into the draw of tournaments – and sometimes doubly an issue when organizers and fans also want to see the best players complete in doubles events that further extends the length of tournaments and the number of matches played at each venue.
With this in mind, the WTT has announced the following changes to the 2026 WTT Finals event. The next Final will be extended to six days. Mixed Doubles will now be strictly a knockout format, helping to limit matches in that event. The most direct effect will be in Mixed Doubles, where the number of teams will be limited – with the competition now limited to eight teams competing in a knockout format.
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