Welcome to the draw for the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals London 2026!
We’re live in London’s tallest building, The Shard – a fitting location as the 64 women’s and 64 men’s teams discover who they will face in the group stages of the tournament.
Stay here for live updates when the draw starts at 12pm and watch the draw live on the ITTF YouTube channel below.
Live updates
That’s the end of the draw – check out our social media for more great content! Thank you to everyone involved and to our hosts at the Shangri-La Hotel in The Shard.
KEEP AN EYE ON OUR CHANNELS FOR DETAILS OF WHICH SESSIONS ENGLAND WILL PLAY AT OVO ARENA WEMBLEY ON MAY 2-3.
It’s China, Sweden and South Korea (South Korea) for England!
1.25: Position 4 in Group 1: ENGLAND; position 4 in Group 2: Chinese Taipei.
1.25: Position 3 in Group 1: South Korea; position 3 in Group 2: Germany.
1.24: Position 2 in Group 1: Sweden, ; position 2 in Group 2: Japan.
1.19: So it’s Japan, Germany and France for England!
1.18: Position 4 in Group 1: Romania; position 4 in Group 2: ENGLAND
1.18: Position 3 in Group 1: Chinese Taipei; position 3 in Group 2: France
1.17: Position 2 in Group 1: South Korea; position 2 in Group 2: Germany.
1.16: The first task is to place top seeds China in Group 1 and second seeds Japan in Group 2.
1.15: The draw for phase 1A women is first. Who will Jill Parker pull out to face England?
That concludes the draw for the Stage 1B men’s team. We now have a short break before the draw for Stage 1A – when we will find England’s opponents!
1.09: Fourth positions in pools 3-5: Bahrain in pool 5. . . Uzbekistan in group 4 and Mongolia in group 3.
1.08: Wrong positions for groups 6-8: Guatemala in group 7. . . Greece in Group 6. . . and Qatar in Group 8.
1.07: Fourth positions in groups 9-12: Peru in group 9. . . Moldova in Group 12. . . Korea DPR in Group 10. . . Turkiye in Group 11.
1.05 On to fourth place in group 13-16: Togo in group 13. . . Fiji in Group 16. . . Saudi Arabia in Group 15. . . and Angola in Group 14.
1.04: Third positions in pools 13-16: South Africa in pool 15. . . Malaysia in Group 13. . . Ivory Coast in Group 14. . . Cameroon in Group 16.
1.03: Third positions in groups 9-12: Benin in group 9. . . Morocco in Group 10. . . Tahiti in Group 12. . . Thailand in Group 11.
1.01: Third positions in groups 6-8: Tunisia in group 7. . . Cuba in Group 8. . . New Caledonia in Group 6.
1.00: Third positions in groups 3-5: Puerto Rico in group 4. . . Spain in Group 5. . . Mexico in Group 3.
12.59: Australia vs New Zealand and Croatia vs Serbia in the group stage – interesting!
12.58: Second positions in group 3-5: Czech Republic in group 5. . . Hungary in Group 4. . . Madagascar in Group 3.
12.56: Second positions in groups 6-8: Serbia in group 8. . . Algeria in Group 6. . . and Slovakia in Group 7.
12.55: Second positions in groups 9-12: Kazakhstan in group 11. . . Argentina in Group 9. . . New Zealand in Group 10. . . and Chile in Group 12.
12.54: Second position in group 13-16: Austria in group 13. . . Nigeria in Group 15. . . Belgium in Group 16. . . and Singapore in Group 14.
12.52: Once again the first positions will be filled with the countries placed as follows: 9 to 22:
Group 3: Denmark; Group 4: Brazil; Group 5: Slovenia; Group 6: Portugal; Group 7: India; Group 8: Croatia; Group 9: Romania; Group 10: Australia; Group 11: Egypt; Group 12: Poland; Group 13: Iran; Group 14: USA; Group 15: Hong Kong China; Group 16: Canada.
12.49pm: This is followed by phase 1B for men, with Paul Drinkhall pulling the balls from the bowls.
12.47 pm: The draw for phase 1B ladies has been completed. Wales will play Australia, Nigeria and Ukraine in Group 11.
12.46: Fourth positions in group 3-5: Macau China in group 4. . . Mongolia in Group 5. . . and Syria in Group 3.
12.45: Fourth positions in groups 6-8: Benin in group 8. . . Rwanda in Group 6. . . and Sri Lanka in group 7.
12.43: Fourth positions in groups 9-12: Wales in group 11. . . Guatemala in Group 10. . . Congo Democratic in Group 9. . . and Dominican Republic in Group 12.
12.42: Now on to fourth position, starting with groups 13-16: Turkiye in group 13. . . Angola in Group 14. . . Nauru in Group 16. . . and Ethiopia in Group 15.
12.40: Third positions in groups 13-16: Madagascar in group 16. . . Cook Islands in Group 15. . . Argentina in Group 13. . . and Ghana in Group 14.
12.38: Third positions in groups 9-12: Cuba in group 10. . . Tahiti in Group 12. . . Korea DPR in Group 9. . . and Ukraine in Group 11.
12.36: Third positions in group 6-8: Iran in group 8. . . Uganda in Group 6. . . and Tunisia in Group 7.
12.35: Third positions in group 3-5: South Africa in group 3. . . Kazakhstan in Group 5. . . and the Netherlands in Group 4
12.34: Second positions in group 3-5: Mexico in group 4. . . Algeria in Group 3. . . and the Czech Republic in Group 5.
12.32: Second positions in groups 6-8: Canada in group 7. . . Serbia in Group 8. . . and Ukraine in Group 6.
12.30: Second position in group 9-12: Spain in group 9. . . Luxembourg in Group 10. . . Malaysia in Group 12. . . and Nigeria in Group 11.
12.28: Second position in groups 13-16 as follows: Austria in group 14. . . Italy in Group 13. . . Slovakia in Group 16. . . and Hungary in Group 15.
12.26: Jill Parker MBE is on the podium and will help bring out the balls that will determine the groups for the teams ranked 23-64. She starts by talking about her own bronze in the women’s doubles alongside Beatrix Kishazi of Hungary in 1973.
12.25pm: The first part of the Phase 1B women’s team draw is ceremonial and involves placing the teams ranked 9-22 in the top spots in groups 3-16. The slots, with each continent represented among the seeds, are:
Group 3: Egypt; Group 4: Hong Kong China; Group 5: Brazil; Group 6: India; Group 7: Sweden; Group 8: Thailand; Group 9: Poland; Group 10: Portugal; Group 11: Australia; Group 12: USA; Group 13: Croatia; Group 14: Puerto Rico; Group 15: Singapore; Group 16: Chile
12.20pm: The opening formalities are over and our MC Ellie Scarlett talks about the two trophies: the Swaythling Cup for the winning men’s team and the Corbillon Cup for the women’s team champions. It is the women’s draw that we will start with in a few moments.
12.16: Esther Britten MBE from UK Sport has taken to the microphone to speak about the importance of the National Lottery in helping to fund major events that bring people together and inspire them to play sport.
12.14pm: Table Tennis England chairman Clare Briegal MBE says standing in London’s tallest building makes her feel on top of the world as we prepare to welcome the world.
12.10: ITTF chairman Petra Sörling takes a seat at the lectern. She begins by referring to the birth of the ITTF in a very different London landscape 100 years ago, and to those first World Championships in 1926. And while much has changed, the passion for the sport is still the same. Returning to where it all started makes this centenary celebration truly special, she says, promising the championships will be unforgettable.
12.04: These are of course the centenary World Championships. We’re just taking a video tour of the past 100 years in 100 seconds. It’s fair to say that the sport has changed a bit since then, as this article explains.
12:00: Here we go – some welcoming VTs, speeches and an explanation of the draws. After that, the first draw is the women’s phase 1B, with the Welsh women figuring out who they will compete against.
11.58: Also with us are two medalists from the English World Championships who will help with the draws. Table Tennis England President Jill Parker MBE, 1973 women’s doubles bronze medalist, will pull the balls from the bowls for the women’s draws and Paul Drinkhall, 2016 men’s team bronze medalist, will assist in the men’s draws.
11.55: The guests take their seats and we are just minutes away from the draw! Today we are joined by ITTF President Petra Sörling, WTT Group CEO Steve Dainton, Table Tennis England Chairman Clare Briegal MBE, representatives from UK Sport, the City of London and Table Tennis International Events.
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