The General Assembly of the International Tennis Tennis (ITF), which was held in Doha on May 27, 2025, witnessed presidential elections described as the most controversial in the history of the federation, which resulted in the announcement of the victory of Swedish Petra Surling over its Qatari rival Khalil Al -Muhannadi, by only two votes (104 versus 102), after which a storm of reactions and divisions in the national federations and bodies erupts Sports.
“Legitimacy of the Presidency of Al -Muhannadi”
In a mass move that reflects the size of the division, a group of national federations issued a joint statement declaring its full recognition of the legitimacy of the election of Mr. Khalil bin Ahmed Al -Muhannadi as President of the International Federation of the 2025-2028 session.
The statement stressed that the elections took place in the presence of a documented official from 201 union (185 attendees and 16 online), and it was done according to the declared agenda.
The most prominent of what was stated in the statement:
• The vote took place within the legal and constitutional frameworks of the Union.
• The results were officially announced and transparent inside the association hall.
• The General Assembly is the supreme authority, and its will must be respected.
• The signed federations are committed to full cooperation with the elected president.
“Your confused and biased statement”
On the other hand, the International Federation issued an official statement that observers described as “the ride of formulation and the weak content”, in which an explicit bias of Swedish candidate Petra Sorling appeared, without adhering to the minimum institutional neutrality due to an international organization of this size. The statement was not indicated to the legal complaints submitted, and no commitment to conduct transparent investigations into the five electronic votes that suddenly appeared in the voting results, which are the bottom line in the crisis of challenging the results.
This position sparked the dissatisfaction of many federations, which saw in the statement an attempt to preach artificial legitimacy on legally incomplete results, ignoring the most important rule in the elections: there is no legitimacy before resolving appeals.
“The false accusations”
In an official statement issued by the Qatar Tennis Tennis Federation, the Federation renewed its confirmation that:
• The electoral process was marred by clear procedural violations.
• Additional electronic sounds were not part of the approved official attendance.
• The General Assembly was not officially concluded, and the results were not approved by the election committee.
For his part, Mr. Khalil Al -Muhannadi rejected what he described as “systematic attempts to distort the facts”, confirming his full adherence to the legal and institutional path, indicating that the submitted appeal is not a defense of a person, but rather the integrity and transparency of sports.
“No to distorted legitimacy”
The Libyan Tennis Tennis Federation was one of the first to express its explicit rejection of what happened in the General Assembly, and sent an official message to the Secretary -General of the International Federation, Raul Calin, criticizing the announcement of legally incomplete results, and announced his support for the Qatari Federation in his official appeal on the election results.
The most prominent in the Libyan statement:
• The presence of 5 electronic votes that are not listed in revealing the attendees raises doubts and loses the electoral process.
• Announcing the results was hasty and illegal.
• The Libyan Federation will not recognize any results until the filed appeal will be decided.
The President of the Libyan Federation, Mohamed Abu Saif, stressed that what happened reflects a serious decline in the integrity of the International Federation, especially in light of the involvement of prominent personalities such as Thomas Bach in public support for one of the candidates, which is incompatible with the Olympic covenants.
“We do not want a sport of scandals!”
For his part, Abbas Waheed, Vice President of the Iraqi Tennis Tennis Federation, stated: “What happened in Doha cannot be tolerated … and the results of May 27 are not final until deciding on the appeals presented. There are clear violations, and practices that contradict sports ethics.”
He stressed that unacceptable interventions in the electoral process brought back to mind scenes from the past, but in a more dangerous version this time.
“What happened is a black stigma”
In an unprecedented statement, Vivek Kohley, President of the Commonwealth of Tennis Tennis Federation, detonated a resounding bomb at dawn on Thursday from Doha, leaving explicit and direct accusations of the head of the International Olympic Committee, Germany Thomas Bach, by overcoming his powers, and interfering in the international table tennis elections, which were held recently in the Qatari capital.
“Last Tuesday was one of the most difficult days in the history of table tennis … during the past few days I met the representatives of the participating countries in the world championship, we are talking about developing our sport, and our dreams to raise their level globally, but I was surprised that the president of the International Olympic Committee did not come just for follow -up, but came to exercise pressure on some countries to vote for a specific candidate.”
“Click on Federations”
“The presence of leadership figures such as Thomas Bach could have been a positive incentive, but unfortunately, the attendees were used for political purposes inside the game. The pressure to vote does not fall within any moral framework, and is not in line with the Olympic Charter.”
He continued: “The request for support is acceptable in the elections, but the direct pressure to change the positions of the federations is a betrayal of the brotherhood, and the destruction of the principle of integrity in sports.”
Kohli confirmed that his friend and election competitor, Khalil Al -Muhannadi, was among those who were subjected to repeated pressure from multiple parties, with the aim of forcing him to withdraw from the presidential race.
A black point in the history of the game
At the end of his statements, Kohli said with sorrow: “What we witnessed on the election day was a new black point in the history of table tennis … instead of celebrating the development of the game, here we are standing in front of an unfortunate and distorted reality.”
He stressed the need to restructure the election system within the International Federation, calling for a serious standing of “cleaning the system and ensuring the independence of sports decision.”
Where is the crisis heading?
With the continuation of the appeal submitted by the Qatari Federation, and several unions are waving to take legal steps, it is expected that the coming period is expected:
• Opening an official investigation in the added electronic sounds.
• Review the general assembly procedures and reconsider the approval of the results.
• An exceptional convening of the General Assembly to complete the suspended session.