The ITTF Men’s and Women’s World Cup Macao 2026 held its first day of matches at the Galaxy Arena on 30 March, with a total of 32 games played on the opening day – 16 each in the men’s and women’s draws.
In the women’s draw, last year’s champion, Sun Yingsha of China, emerged victorious, defeating Taipei’s Li Yu-Jhun in straight sets (11-3, 11-4, 11-9). “Li’s serve has its own distinctive features, but I stuck to my usual rhythm in preparation and executed according to my tactics,” Sun told Chinese media after the match.
World number two Wang Manyu also dominated her competitor, earning a straight set win for China against Fu Yu of Portugal (11-5, 11-3, 11-6).
[See more: Macao table tennis star Zhu Yuling says her comeback was ‘driven by love and unfinished business’]
Despite going head-to-head with an opponent 24 years her junior, New Zealand’s 64-year-old Li Chunli won the opening game against France’s Yuan Jianan before ultimately losing 3-1.
In the men’s draw, China’s Zhou Qihao defeated Japan’s Ryuusei Kawakami while Chen Yuanyu earned a 4-0 victory in his match against New Zealand’s Timothy Choi, with wins of 11-9, 11-4, 11-8 and 11-3.
Two Macao players featured on the opening day. Mak Tin Ian fell to Japan’s Shunsuke Togami 1-3 (8-11, 13-11, 4-11, 9-11), while Leong On Na lost to Chinese Taipei’s Cheng I-Ching 1-3 (7-11, 11-6, 6-11, 9-11).
The tournament runs until 5 April. Tickets remain available in limited quantities via Galaxy Ticketing and Damai.
