The ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals London 2026 will be the biggest world championships ever.
Two iconic locations, 128 teams, hundreds of athletes, officials and volunteers – not to mention thousands of spectators at every session, creating an incredible atmosphere that inspires players to be the best they can be!
A total of 64 men’s and 64 women’s teams will compete. They have booked their places via the continental championships or the world rankings.
The men’s and women’s tournaments will run side by side – here’s our guide to the championship format.
Each match in the tournament is the best of five individual matches (first to three wins). The order of play is:
- Player A vs. Player
- B vs Y
- C vs Z
- A vs. Y (if necessary)
- B vs.
Each match is best of five games up to 11 points.
The tournament starts with groups of 4, played on a round-robin basis (three matches per team).
Stage 1a (OVO Arena Wembley, May 2-3)
The top seven ranked teams, plus England as hosts, were divided into two groups (Group 1 and Group 2). The purpose of this draw is to determine the seeding for the main tournament. All teams in phase 1a will advance to the main tournament.
Stage 1b (Copper Box Arena, April 28 to May 1)
The remaining 56 teams are divided into 14 groups (groups 3-16).
The teams finishing first in each of the 14 groups will progress to the main draw at OVO Arena Wembley. Six second-placed teams also qualify directly for the main draw, with selection based on the best ratio of wins to losses (first in team matches, then individual matches, then matches and points, as necessary to determine the order).
The remaining eight second-place teams will play one random knockout in the preliminary round, with the four winners advancing to the main draw.
A total of 24 teams of each gender will qualify from phase 1b to the main tournament.
Stage 2 (OVO Arena Wembley, May 4-10)
The 24 qualifying teams from Stage 1b will join the seven highest ranked teams, plus hosts England) in the main draw, which starts with the Round of 32 and continues in a straight knockout format until the final on May 10, when the World Champions will be crowned!
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