BY OJO SAMSON AYOMIDE
The Galaxy Arena in Macao, China, comes alive. The ITTF Men’s & Women’s World Cup Macao 2026 Presented by Galaxy Entertainment Group gets underway on Monday, 30 March, as Nigeria’s Aruna Quadri joins other 47 men’s and 48 women’s singles players begin their pursuit of the historic Evans and Hammarlund Cups. In the ITTF’s centenary year, 100 years since the federation was founded in 1926, the stakes have never felt higher.
The groups were drawn on Sunday, and the narratives are already set. In the men’s competition, world number one Wang Chuqin enters as one of the tournament favourites, but reigning champion Hugo Calderano will have something to say about that. The Brazilian who made history last year as the first player from the Americas to win the ITTF Men’s World Cup, comes into the tournament hungry to do it again. With Tomokazu Harimoto, Truls Moregard, Felix Lebrun and a cast of in-form challengers also in the mix, the race for the Evans Cup is as open as it has ever been.
In the women’s event, one question dominates: can Sun Yingsha make history? The two-time reigning champion arrives in Macao, China with the chance to become the first player ever to win three consecutive ITTF Women’s World Cup titles. She will not have it easy, with Wang Manyu, Miwa Harimoto, Kuai Man and Hina Hayata among a formidable field that will push her every step of the way.
This year also brings a new dimension to the competition, with Stage 1 group matches played as best of five games for the first time. The margin for error in the group stage is already razor thin, with only the group winner advancing to the knockout draw.
The draw has thrown up several compelling encounters to watch across the week. In the men’s competition, reigning champion Calderano faces Kristian Karlsson in Group 3, two players who know each other’s game well having met five times before. Dimitrij Ovtcharov and Liang Jingkun, who served up a five-game thriller at Singapore Smash earlier this year, meet again in Group 9, while Darko Jorgic and An Jaehyun renew a rivalry that produced one of the tightest matches of last year’s tournament in Group 13. In the women’s draw, Bruna Takahashi faces Bernadette Szocs in Group 16 having beaten her 4-0 here last year, and Elizabeta Samara, who came from two games down to beat Mima Ito at WTT Champions Montpellier last year, will be looking to repeat the feat when the two meet in Group 8.
The centenary celebrations extend beyond the court too. This year’s ITTF World Cup features a landmark collaboration with Warner Bros. Discovery, bringing the iconic Tom and Jerry IP to the Galaxy Arena under the theme “Chasing the Table Tennis,” with activations and content planned across the full tournament week. In that same spirit, earlier today Galaxy Entertainment Group and the Macau Special Olympics co-hosted the “Celebrating ITTF Centenary: GEG Macau Special Olympics Inclusive Table Tennis Fun Day 2026” at Broadway Macau, bringing together nearly 1,000 participants in a day of table tennis, community and inclusion. Held for the 16th consecutive year, and attended by ITTF Event Director Bart Vermoesen, it was a moment that captured exactly what 100 years of this sport represents.
With the centenary as its backdrop and the world’s best players on court, this promises to be a week of elite table tennis worthy of the occasion. Macao, China is ready.
