diff --git a/packages/google-cloud-bigquery/docs/conf.py b/packages/google-cloud-bigquery/docs/conf.py
index df1c18b68e31..4b940ce04693 100644
--- a/packages/google-cloud-bigquery/docs/conf.py
+++ b/packages/google-cloud-bigquery/docs/conf.py
@@ -24,9 +24,9 @@
 # All configuration values have a default; values that are commented out
 # serve to show the default.
 
-import sys
 import os
 import shlex
+import sys
 
 # If extensions (or modules to document with autodoc) are in another directory,
 # add these directories to sys.path here. If the directory is relative to the
@@ -37,6 +37,24 @@
 # See also: https://github.com/docascode/sphinx-docfx-yaml/issues/85
 sys.path.insert(0, os.path.abspath("."))
 
+# TODO(b/559711363): Propagate table formatting fix across all google-cloud-* libraries.
+try:
+    import sphinx_markdown_builder.markdown_writer as _smb_writer
+
+    _orig_depart_paragraph = _smb_writer.MarkdownTranslator.depart_paragraph
+
+    def _table_safe_depart_paragraph(self, node):
+        if getattr(self, "table_entries", None):
+            return
+        return _orig_depart_paragraph(self, node)
+
+    _smb_writer.MarkdownTranslator.depart_paragraph = _table_safe_depart_paragraph
+    _smb_writer.MarkdownTranslator.depart_compact_paragraph = (
+        _table_safe_depart_paragraph
+    )
+except ImportError:
+    pass
+
 __version__ = ""
 
 # -- General configuration ------------------------------------------------
diff --git a/packages/google-cloud-bigquery/tests/unit/test_docs.py b/packages/google-cloud-bigquery/tests/unit/test_docs.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..4fd1f9f76a87
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/google-cloud-bigquery/tests/unit/test_docs.py
@@ -0,0 +1,97 @@
+# Copyright 2026 Google LLC
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+
+import pathlib
+import runpy
+import sys
+import types
+from unittest import mock
+
+import pytest
+
+
+def test_docs_conf_executes_successfully():
+    docs_dir = pathlib.Path(__file__).parent.parent.parent / "docs"
+    conf_path = docs_dir / "conf.py"
+    if not conf_path.exists():
+        pytest.skip("docs/conf.py not found")
+
+    res = runpy.run_path(str(conf_path))
+
+    assert res.get("project") == "google-cloud-bigquery"
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def fake_translator_and_mock():
+    docs_dir = pathlib.Path(__file__).parent.parent.parent / "docs"
+    conf_path = docs_dir / "conf.py"
+    if not conf_path.exists():
+        pytest.skip("docs/conf.py not found")
+
+    mock_orig_depart = mock.MagicMock(return_value="original_output")
+
+    class FakeTranslator:
+        depart_paragraph = mock_orig_depart
+        depart_compact_paragraph = mock_orig_depart
+
+    fake_module = types.ModuleType("sphinx_markdown_builder.markdown_writer")
+    fake_module.MarkdownTranslator = FakeTranslator
+
+    with mock.patch.dict(
+        sys.modules,
+        {
+            "sphinx_markdown_builder": types.ModuleType("sphinx_markdown_builder"),
+            "sphinx_markdown_builder.markdown_writer": fake_module,
+        },
+    ):
+        runpy.run_path(str(conf_path))
+
+    return FakeTranslator, mock_orig_depart
+
+
+def test_depart_paragraph_suppresses_newlines_inside_table_cells(
+    fake_translator_and_mock,
+):
+    FakeTranslator, mock_orig_depart = fake_translator_and_mock
+    translator = FakeTranslator()
+    translator.table_entries = ["cell"]
+    node = mock.MagicMock()
+
+    res_paragraph = FakeTranslator.depart_paragraph(translator, node)
+    res_compact = FakeTranslator.depart_compact_paragraph(translator, node)
+
+    assert res_paragraph is None
+    assert res_compact is None
+    mock_orig_depart.assert_not_called()
+
+
+def test_depart_paragraph_delegates_outside_table_cells(
+    fake_translator_and_mock,
+):
+    FakeTranslator, mock_orig_depart = fake_translator_and_mock
+    translator = FakeTranslator()
+    node = mock.MagicMock()
+
+    res_paragraph = FakeTranslator.depart_paragraph(translator, node)
+    res_compact = FakeTranslator.depart_compact_paragraph(translator, node)
+
+    assert res_paragraph == "original_output"
+    assert res_compact == "original_output"
+    assert mock_orig_depart.call_count == 2
+    mock_orig_depart.assert_has_calls(
+        [
+            mock.call(translator, node),
+            mock.call(translator, node),
+        ]
+    )