England Wildcards Hunter and Nguyen Complete 10-Strong London 2026 Squad

England's squad for the centenary ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals London 2026 Presented by ACN is complete, with Table Tennis England naming Joseph Hunter and Alyssa Nguyen as wildcard selections to round out a 10-strong roster for the April 28-May 10 event at home.

The pair were rewarded for standout performances at the Mark Bates Ltd National Championships, with selectors crediting both players for bringing "form, depth and tactical versatility" to a squad that already included Tom Jarvis, Sam Walker, Paul Drinkhall and Connor Green among the men, and Tin-Tin Ho, Tianer Yu, Jasmin Wong and Ella Pashley among the women.

Hunter, 19, made his case convincingly at the Nationals, reaching Finals Day for the first time in a singles competition. He knocked out fourth seed Connor Green in the quarter-finals before pushing eventual champion Tom Jarvis in the semis, dropping the match 4-1 (11-5, 12-14, 11-9, 11-9, 11-7). His recent international pedigree mattered too: last October at WTT Star Contender London, Hunter beat world No. 201 Abdulbasit Abdulfatai of Nigeria to register his first win at that level.

At 14, Nguyen is the squad's youngest member by some distance. She won the Under-17 Girls' Singles at the Mark Bates Ltd Cadet & Under-17 National Championships earlier this month, then demonstrated she could step up further by reaching the quarter-finals of the Senior Nationals, knocking out sixth seed Mari Baldwin on the way.

Gavin Evans, Table Tennis England's Director of Performance Development, described the pair's selection as "historic." "This selection was up for grabs and multiple athletes could have earned it," Evans said. "Joseph's performance at the National Championships and Alyssa there and at the under-17s were standout performances. This is an opportunity to experience something great as part of their long-term journey, which will help them develop into great athletes in the future."

The London event marks the centenary of the World Team Championships, and Table Tennis England has tied the home hosting to legacy programmes linking elite competition with grassroots outreach, including its Ping for the People initiative. With squads finalised, technical staff will now turn to finalising pairings, sharpening doubles strategies and running match-simulation camps before the opening match on April 28.