WTT’s “Destruction” and “Creation.” Will WTT Yokohama become a hotbed of excitement once again?

Yokohama Cultural Gymnasium, where the Japan Open, Asian Cup, and Grand Finals were once held, has been reborn as BUNTAI and was the stage for WTT in 2025. Table tennis fans who knew it back then would be stunned to see this event.
Is this a criticism of the destroyer, or praise for the creator?

With people in their 20s and 30s at the center, the fan base is changing dramatically

　A large number of spectators are being drawn into summer Yokohama BUNTAI. Step inside, and you find a cool, purple space. Then come the cheers and screams of excitement. WTT Champions Yokohama, which reached its final day on August 11, 2025, was a stage from another world.

　WTT, which launched in 2021, has continued to evolve as a Table tennis event that truly embraces “destruction and creation.”

　While operating under the ITTF (International Table Tennis Federation), WTT is a new organization that commercializes Table tennis as entertainment, links it to world rankings, and also oversees youth competitions. Today, the ITTF is limited to hosting a few events such as the World Championships and World Cup, while WTT has come to handle many of the major events. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the structure of the global Table tennis world has changed dramatically.