We’re all set for the gold medal matches at the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals London 2026 Presented by ACN!

Upsets, thrilling comebacks, dominant performances – we’ve seen them all over eight days at OVO Arena Wembley and the four days before that at the Copper Box Arena.

A total of 64 men’s and 64 women’s nations were in the draw when the first ball was struck and now we are down to just two in each gender – and it’s China and Japan in both finals.

First up is the women’s final at 11am as the top two seeds tackle each other for the six final in succession, China having won all five previous encounters.

In total, the head-to-head record is 16-5 in China’s favour, though you have to go back to 1971 for the last Japanese triumph, although that was in the final. Japan in fact won five of the first six meetings between the nations, going back to the first in 1956. The two nations also met in finals in 1965 and 1983.

China have been very efficient, spending just 9hr 23min on court at these Championships, while Japan have played 11hr 23min.

There are, however, plenty of unbeaten individual records being put on the line. World No 1 Sun Yingsha leads the Chinese charge, having on seven from seven, while Wang Yidi, Wang Manyu and Chen Xingtong are unbeaten with five, four and one victory respectively. Only Kuai Man has tasted defeat, with one loss out of four, against Natalia Bajor of Poland in the Round of 32.

For Japan, Miwa Harimoto has won nine out of nine, while Hina Hayata has won six. Honoka Hashimoto has four wins and one defeat. Miyu Nagasaki won her only match, while Rin Mende won one and lost one.

The men’s final – somewhat surprisingly – sees fourth seeds take on fifth from 4pm. China’s lowly (for them) ranking a result of two defeats in Stage 1a, to Korea Republic and Sweden.

The head-to-head record is even more one sided – 20-1 to China. Japan won their first clash in 1957, 5-1 in the semi-finals. Since then, it is all China, including four finals in the 1960s and 70s and another in 2016. Japan did come close in a 3-2 defeat in the 2022 semi-finals.

In terms of time spent on court so far in London, China have seen just over an hours’ more play, at 16hr 4min, compared with Japan’s 15hr 2min.

World No 1 Wang Chuqin hs won all nine of his matches for China, but there have been plenty of defeats elsewhere in the squad. Lin Shindong has five wins and four losses, while Liang Jingkun has four wins and three defeats – though he did win the spellbinding and crucial clash with Alexis Lebrun of France in the semi-fonals. Zhou Qihao lost his only match and Xiang Peng has not played.

Japan’s Tomokazu Harimoto has been busy, playing 12 matches and winning nine. Sora Matsushima has won five and lost four, while Shunsuke Togami has five wins and two defeats. Yukiya Uda and Hiroto Shinozuka have not played.

With both women’s teams looking secure and both men’s (Wang excepted) looking fragile, two fascinating finals await before the Corbillon Cup, and then the Swaythling Cup, are lifted.

Stats by Matt Solt.

How to watch

The ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals London 2026 Presented by ACN could be watched by up to 1.3 billion people in more than 110 countries – including viewers watching talkSPORT and the BBC in the UK.

Both networks will carry live coverage from OVO Arena Wembley of all four semi-finals and both finals. The BBC will be live on iPlayer, with talkSPORT showing coverage on the talkSPORT YouTube channel.