Published 3rd of May, Inside the games – the inside track on world sport
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The Swede became the federation’s first female president in 2021, with a promise to unite the ITTF family, strengthen governance, foster commercial growth and carve a sustainable future for the sport. Today, the global governing body boasts the largest sports network with 227 member associations, a packed global competition calendar for both table and para table tennis and is at the forefront of sustainability and technology adoption.

“When I have seen the result of what we have done in the first term, I mean having seen more or less a full four years, I feel that we are on track. We have momentum. We have to keep table tennis ahead,” Sörling stated.

The sport’s packed stands and packed calendar are proof of its growth. Seats were sold out at every session in last year’s Paris Olympics, drawing over 230,000 spectators. Sörling highlighted that table tennis and its Paralympic counterpart have one of the highest requests from broadcasters, and the venue had to be modified to factor in the cameras.

“That’s also a positive problem to have. And I’m extremely happy for all our para-athletes because they deserve it,” Sörling said.

Para table tennis’s success has prompted the federation to launch a three-tier Para Circuit this year, and the sport’s commercial arm, World Table Tennis, is set to expand to the US this summer.

Sörling said that growing the US market is high on the ITTF’s priority and noted that while the sport is popular as a leisurely pastime, the federation is looking to its professional circuit in the country with the introduction of the WTT Smash.

“The Smash event is every year… Like the world championships or the World Cup. The plan is to have the smash in Las Vegas. [The] challenge we have is if we want to stay in Vegas or go to LA. “We will try now and see how it ends in July, how it is in Vegas, but it’s a priority market..” Sörling stressed.

While the sport is enjoying its worldwide appeal, players will have to travel more, which poses an issue for the federation’s sustainability goals and for its athletes’ well-being.

“The biggest challenge is travel in the end of the day. But what we are trying and, and more and more to see if we can have clusters of events so that when you are in Asia, you play many events in a row in the same region at least so you don’t have to go back and forth. It’s about the climate, but it’s also about the well-being of the athletes because for the athletes it’s really tough with the different time zones,” she revealed.

During Sörling’s term, the ITTF became a signatory of the UNFCCC Sport for Climate Action Framework and one of the founding organisations to support the Sport for Nature Framework. As part of Sörling’s commitment, she created a head of sustainability, currently held by Karine Teow.

The federation has also made sure their events are in line with best practices, with special chapters on sustainability and legacy that need to be delivered in their event manuals. Sörling highlighted that their manufacturers created a sustainability working group and were present in the inaugural Sustainability Forum.

Sörling aimed to develop the sport in every market. PRO SPORT DEVELOPMENT X
Sörling aimed to develop the sport in every market. PRO SPORT DEVELOPMENT X
“When we started in ’21 to focus on this area, the manufacturer they saw it as a threat. Now they have created, and they’re very proud that they have a working group. There will be some good surprises during this year with good initiatives in regard to our equipment, which will be produced and recycled,” Sörling hinted.

ITTF’s sustainability stats will soon be presented at the general meeting and she expressed that the report was “very positive.” The federation’s baseline report was done in 2022 by One Carbon World, and covers everything from travel, office spaces and waste.

Aside from a legacy in sustainability, Sörling has also seen the federation through technological advances. Artificial intelligence was used for the first time at the Paris Olympics, helping audiences clearly view the rotation direction and landing point of table tennis balls. The ITTF also held its first World Esports Championships and crowned France’s Antonin Landreau as the very first title holder.

Sörling is no stranger to the sport, and said she has her own VR glasses at home and said it was “very fun”. The ITTF hopes the sport will be included in the Olympic Esports programme when it debuts in Riyadh in 2027. While the next ITTF World Esports Championships aren’t on the schedule yet, Sörling said it will happen before the year ends.

Aside from being one of the first on the Olympic Esports Games, Sörling hopes to elevate traditional table tennis to one of the top eight in the Olympics. Its popularity has already earned it a new medal event at the next one, with the addition of mixed teams.

“We are on that journey. If that takes one year, two years, three years…maybe five. But we have to have a goal and that’s the goal,” she underlined.

Sörling is set to release the rest of her goals in her manifesto next week as she campaigns for re-election. Her contenders include ITTF senior vice president Khalil Al-Mohannadi and Mohamed El Hacen Ahmed Salem, who is currently the Mauritanian Table Tennis president. The ITTF election is scheduled to take place during the Annual General Meeting on 27 May 2025.