It happened again. Wang Chuqin’s racket got damaged right before the match, at the biggest event of the year: the 2025 World Championships in Doha. The trauma from the Paris Olympics, when a photographer cracked his racket on court, came rushing back. It hit like a sudden PTSD flash.
I woke up to a friend’s message, and my stomach twisted. It wasn’t about concern for Wang’s performance. It felt like a wave of self-inflicted panic, like I was reliving a nightmare. If I felt that way just watching, I can’t begin to imagine how much heavier it must have felt for Wang Chuqin, especially with the umpire pushing him to start the match.
Yes, when Wang pointed out the rubber issue, the umpire said, “nothing (is wrong). It’s yours like that from the beginning. I’m sure. It’s good now, so we can start, please.”
How ridiculous is that? A professional umpire couldn’t recognize that a peeling rubber was a serious issue?
But the real ridiculous part was that the same racket had just passed inspection in the control room. It came out of a sealed bag handed over by the umpire. If it was already damaged before inspection, how did it pass? If it wasn’t damaged yet, then what happened after the inspection? Something clearly went wrong in that short window, and nobody’s explaining it.
People think China dominates the table tennis world and that CTTA controls everything like a puppet master. But the truth, at least in Wang Chuqin’s case, tells a different story. Since I started following table tennis last August and looked back on Wang’s career, I’ve never seen CTTA step in for him the way they do for other Chinese players. When umpires made bad calls against or mistreated Wang Chuqin off the court, no one from the system backed him up. No official complaints. No explanations. Even after probably one of the most disgraceful incidents in Olympic table tennis history, there was just silence.
So honestly, I expected the same silence again.
But this time in Doha, something was different. Coach Xiao stepped in right away, rather than telling Wang to calm down or saying “complaining is useless,” like he did in Paris. And CTTA, for the first time, filed a formal complaint with the ITTF, demanding an investigation. Even the media picked up on it, especially some Chinese outlets, which were known for criticizing their athletes first. I don’t think they suddenly care more about Wang Chuqin. It’s just that this incident was so public and absurd that there was no excuse to ignore it.
What stood out the most, though, was Wang Chuqin himself. Unlike in Paris, he didn’t freeze or blame himself. He stood firm and refused to play with the broken racket, despite the umpire’s attitude. He insisted on switching to his spare racket, and he did. After the match, he didn’t hold back. Wang said, “I don’t know why this keeps happening to me.” And then, “As a player who’s gone through this twice now at major tournaments, I’m really disappointed in the organizers and umpires.”
No kidding. That kind of honesty isn’t something you often hear from a Chinese player speaking publicly. It meant something.
Actually, I can’t help but feel like these repeated racket problems and the officials’ response might point to something deeper. Not just bad luck or sloppy officiating. Maybe something tied to race, nationality, politics, or even personal bias. I won’t go too far just yet. But I’ll keep watching and see what else turns up.
📌 Update on May 19: After the match, the ITTF and CTTA held an emergency meeting about the incident. CTTA filed a protest, requested surveillance footage, and called for a full investigation. They also pushed for several changes, including allowing staff to accompany rackets during inspection, using safer containers, and recording the entire process on video.
The ITTF agreed to some of the measures and promised to issue a written report after further investigation. However, whether the whole truth will come out remains unknown. For now, it’s a reminder of how fragile fairness can feel and how vulnerable players are when the system that is supposed to protect them fails to deliver.
📌 Update on May 21: Some fans dug up footage of the umpires handling rackets before the match, and something about it just felt off. Hard to believe a top-level world table tennis match could be treated like some routine, half-hearted task by the very people in charge.
📌 I’ll stay on it and update if anything new pops up.
More Reading
国际乒联关于王楚钦球拍检测受损事件官方声明 (ITTF’s Official Statement on Wang Chuqin’s Damaged Racket)
Wang Chuqin and the Mystery of China’s Coaching System Neglect
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