Wen Ruibo has won his first WTT Series Men's Singles title. (Photo WTT)
Chinese table tennis stars triumphed in all four of Saturday’s finals at WTT Contender Muscat 2026, with Wen Ruibo pulling off a stunning seven-game 11-5, 11-8, 16-14, 9-11, 8-11, 10-12, 14-12 victory over Patrick Franziska to secure his first WTT Series title.
Heading into the final at Sultan Qaboos Sport Complex, the match saw WTT Star Contender Doha 2026 finalist Ruibo come up against a player dubbed the Dragon Slayer, due to his notable victories over Chinese players, including Ma Long and Fan Zhendong.
But any sign that veteran Franziska would strike fear into Ruibo was not evident in the early proceedings, as the 19-year-old stormed to a 6-0 lead in the first game. Ruibo then overcame a mountain in the third game, where he missed and saved two game points before converting to come within touching distance of his first WTT Series men’s singles title.
The fourth match was another tight affair, with Wen and Franziska sharing 18 points before the German converted game point.
That set up a crucial fifth game, where Franziska overturned a 6-2 deficit to set up two game points, which he took.
Ruibo now knew why Franziska was known as the Dragon Slayer and looked nervous in the sixth game as the German went 7-3 up. But out of nowhere, as Ruibo looked down and out, the teenager scored five in a row to lead the game. Franziska went ahead again, only for Ruibo to be denied championship point, and the German to convert his game point to set up a final showdown.
The final game went down to the wire, with the momentum constantly shifting and changing. It was Franziska who got the first championship point in that game, only for the youngster to save it and force one of his own before sealing the victory.
The men’s doubles final saw two teams looking for their first title on the WTT Series in this discipline, as Lin Shidong-Huang Youzheng beat Franziska-Benedikt Duda 11-6, 11-6, 11-13, 11-5.
Shidong-Youzheng were electric in the first two games, setting up five game points before converting at the second attempt in each as they looked to finally claim their first title together.
Duda-Franziska became the aggressors in the third game, storming to a 4-1 lead. But the Germans called time-out when they suddenly found themselves trailing 4-5. That time-out proved crucial as Duda-Franziska kept themselves in the tie and saw them save three championship Points before winning the game.
At last year’s Europe Smash – Sweden 2025, Shidong-Youzheng made it to the final before losing to Hong Kong, China’s Wong Chun Ting-Baldwin Chan. They were also 2-1 up in that match before Chunting-Baldwin pulled off a miraculous comeback.
But Shidong-Youzheng showed how far they have come since then and were able to recover from the psychological blow of failing to convert those championship points. In the fourth game, they returned to the deadly form they showed early in this tie, hitting six consecutive winners to set up a staggering seven championship points.
The women’s singles final saw the defending champion Shi Xunyao retain her title with a stunning straight games 11-9, 11-8, 12-10, 11-9 victory over compatriot He Zhuojia..
Xunyao had not dropped a game since her round of 16 tie against India’s Manika Batra, and He tested her resolve by forcing game point at 10-9. Saving that game point felt like the tie’s knife-edge moment. Had Zhuojia converted, it might have given her the confidence to mount a comeback, but as Xunyao took the tie to 3-0, it looked to only be going one way.
Xunyao also won the 2025 final in straight games, beating Kuai Man in another all-China final.
Over in the women’s doubles final, 19-year-olds Qin Yuxuan-Zong Geman put together a stunning straight games 14-12, 11-8, 11-1victory over Doo Hoi Kem-Ng Wing Lam.
The first two games were very competitive, with Hoi Kem-Wing Lam, who were competing in the first WTT Series final together, failing to convert two game points in the opening game. They also stayed right on the coattails of Yuxuan-Geman in the second, where both teams shared the points up until 8-8.
But in the third game, Yuxuan-Geman, who won gold in the U19 Girls’ Team discipline at the ITTF World Youth Championships 2025, were in a league of their own, winning the match by scoring 10 points in a row.
