We can be proud of what we achieved, but recognise we still have a lot to learn. That is the assessment of Director of Performance Development Gavin Evans a month on from the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals London 2026 Presented by ACN.

England won only one team match – the men’s last-32 tie against Moldova – but that statistic obscures some good individual performances where athletes acquitted themselves well, and had some ‘near misses’ against some of the best in the world.

Examples include Connor Green going down 11-9 in the fifth against China’s top-10 player Liang Jingkun, and Tin-Tin Ho missing out narrowly in the fifth against Annett Kaufmann of Germany and Jia Nan Yuan of France.

England men reached the last 16, losing to Brazil, while the women were knocked out by Ukraine in the last 32.

Evans believes the experiences gained on and off the table can only stand the performance pathway in good stead for the future.

“I think we performed quite well,” said Evans. “We had a very, very tough ask – the men had a group that ultimately China finished third in – but when we played them, we performed really well, it was an exciting match.

“On the female side, they also played some really good stuff against formidable opposition. That was always going to be a tough ask.

“Then when we got into the last 32, the men had a fantastic match against Moldova, Tom (Jarvis) playing exceptionally well to win the match that he had to win, but also Connor picking up that match in the middle as well, so that was super.

“And then the women’s team playing Ukraine in the last 32, though it didn’t quite go our way. I think Tin-Tin played really well and the younger players in the team, Ella (Pashley) and Tia (Yu) played a good match.”

England men missed out 3-2 in their last-16 clash against Brazil, and Evans added: “We’re gutted we didn’t make the last eight in the men’s team. I really thought we had that in us, so that’s a tough pill to swallow.

“(Overall) we had some tough moments, tough matches where we weren’t quite good enough, but we took our learnings from that.

“We also had some matches that maybe we wish we had them again because we were that close from having extraordinary victories.

“If we look back in the grand scheme of things, I think we could be proud of what we did. But we’ve got plenty to work on.”

Evans says the “extraordinary experience” gained by the younger members of the squad, including Joe Hunter and Alyssa Nguyen, who were not called upon to play, will accelerate their learning curves.

Having been in the squad environment for several weeks before and during the event gave them an insight into what it takes to be successful.

“(It’s) the preparation, the behaviours that we expect in the senior team,” said Evans, “understanding what it takes when we’re recovering, the performance analysis that goes into before matches, all of the stuff that ultimately ends up with someone playing a good match on the table.

“Hopefully they learn from and enjoy the experience. If they follow the trajectory they’re on, they’re likely to be leading an England team in the future. And all of the learnings that they took, I hope they can really come to fruition in years to come.

“I think that whole team cohesion, that culture, that sense of everyone’s in it together and no matter if you’re number one in the team or number five, you’re all equal in the results that the team end up achieving.

“That for me was the biggest learning that although we take players who don’t play, they add so much value to the team and the culture that we built over those five weeks together.”

With big events on the horizon, including the European Games in Istanbul next year and of course the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028, that can only help the performance pathway.

“What London also did was really help us get the exposure we needed in huge arenas and under that pressure,” continued Evans. “But I also think our individual rankings really improved, so our ability to now qualify is that much better and greater than it might have been previous to London.

“Tom Jarvis rose to 41 in the world, Tin-Tin rose to 100 in the world, Sam and Connor and everyone’s ranking went up, so that puts us in a great place for going into the back end of 2026 and the early part of 2027 to qualify for LA.”

Evans is also well aware of the bigger picture to create a performance and participation legacy from hosting the landmark centenary World Championships.

“It was it was an incredible spectacle, sports presentation was great, the crowd were phenomenal, particularly on those final days,” he said.

“So, I really hope that provides the inspiration for young children to think one day maybe I could be a part of that and maybe do better than the England team did.

“That’s what it’s all about, major events coming to England, inspiring the next generation, but also providing the opportunity for those who are currently in our England squad to do their very best and perform at the highest level.

“But also, I saw some of the ball boys and girls who are in our talent pathway, 10-to-11 years old, picking up the balls in the finals when the world number ones are playing. You can’t buy that experience.

“So from everything – the crowd, the eyeballs on the sport, the sports presentation, the young players who are in our England squad right now picking up the balls, the extraordinary volunteers that worked so diligently for so many days in a row – you can’t really put into context how important it is.

“A shout-out to everybody in our organisation, because the amount of work that putting on this event took was just absolutely out of this world, with people working above and beyond.

“Thank you to all of those people who enabled this event, and my big wish is that we continue to host major events in the future.”

On a personal level, Evans says it was a privilege to lead the England team at a home Worlds, something he can tell his children and grandchildren about.

And he also says he can look back without regrets about England’s preparation and performance.

“I normally have loads of regrets,” he said. “I’m a little bit meticulous and I’m always thinking ‘why didn’t I do that, why didn’t I do this?’

“But I really felt we put our best foot forward and we tried our absolute hardest. And it wasn’t through lack of effort, it wasn’t through lack of preparation, it wasn’t through the team not being together.

“I really felt like we hit everything we wanted to hit and on the day it didn’t quite go our way.”