The weight of history is against the ‘underdogs’ as they aim to prevent two China versus Japan finals at the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals London 2026 Presented by ACN.

We’ve reached the semi-final stage at OVO Arena Wembley, with the two women’s matches in the first session today and the two men’s in the second.

Here’s statistician Matt Solt’s look at previous meetings. Photo above by Michael Loveder.

First on court are second seeds Japan and fourth seeds Germany, with the Asian powerhouse aiming to reach its sixth successive Women’s Team Final.

Up against them are Germany, and Japan hold a 13-3 overall record against them, including a 3-1 victory in Stage 1a a few days ago, when Germany’s Sabine Winter put her team ahead with a 3-2 win over Honoka Hashimoto.

Their previous meeting was a 3-0 victory for Japan in the semi-finals four years ago, and they also won 3-0 in the quarters in 2016.

Germany’s last victory came earlier in the 2016 tournament when they won 3-2 in the group stage.

The second semi-final has an even more one-sided record as top seeds China head third seeds Romania 16-3. Again, there is a precedent from Stage 1a, a 3-0 win for China without dropping a game – though Romania did not select Bernadette Szocs or Elizabeta Samara, their two leading players.

Most of their previous meetings have been in the group stage, though they met in the semi-finals in 1995, a 3-1 win for China.

Romania’s wins were all during their powerhouse era in the 1950s and 1960s, when they won five Women’s Team titles. They won three of the first four meetings between the nations, including in the semi-finals in 1957 and 1963. They went on to lose the final to Japan on both occasions.

When the men take to the table from 5pm, history is against Chinese Taipei and France, though their performances at this event so far will give them plenty of hope of upsetting their opponents and taking a place in tomorrow’s final.

Japan versus Chinese Taipei is on first as fourth seeds take on eighth seeds. The head-to-head record is 8-1 in favour of the former. Chinese Taipei notched their only victory 3-2 in 2006 in the play-offs for 13th and 14th positions.

Apart from that, it is all Japan, including a 3-0 triumph in Stage 1a and a 3-1 win in the group stage in Busan in 2024. They have never met in the semi-finals but Japan have won two quarter-final meetings, in 2000 and 2008.

The final match might have been the final itself as China take on second seeds France, meeting at this stage due to China’s unexpected position as fifth seeds.

Historically, there is no encouragement for France in previous results and it is 12-0 to China overall – with No 13 be lucky for the Europeans?

The two nations met in the final in Busan, a 3-0 win for China, and you have to go back to another meeting in a final, in 1997, for the last time France took a match. They have never met in a semi-final, but did cross paths in the quarters in 2006.

One area which may count in France’s favour is the time spent on court so far at this event – they have seen 10 hours, 10 minutes and four seconds of playing time, as against China’s 13hr 6min 54sec. It is rare to see China with more time on court than their opponents, but will it count for anything if the match gets tight?

In the other men’s semi, Chinese Taipei have also dispatched opponents more efficiently, having been on court for 10:59:49, as against 13:31:56 for Japan.

In the women’s competition, Japan (9:31:42) have the advantage against Germany (12:10:37) and China are ahead of Romania, at 8:04:12 compared with 13:53:47. Romania have played three matches of close to three hours each, but when they met China in Stage 1a, it was done in 1hr 9min.