World’s Top Stars Confirmed for Centenary Table Tennis Finals in London

The field alone tells the story: 19 of the world’s top 20 men and the majority of the top 20 women are headed to London, turning the centenary ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals into one of the deepest team events the sport has ever staged. With 64 men’s teams and 64 women’s teams entered, this is not a token anniversary gathering. It is a full-scale fight for world titles, ranking points and national bragging rights, with the strongest players in the sport arriving for a 13-day test that will barely give anyone room to breathe.

The championships will run from 28 April to 10 May 2026 across the Copper Box Arena and OVO Arena Wembley, with opening action set for Tuesday, 28 April and the title matches due to finish on Sunday, 10 May at Wembley. World Table Tennis has split the event into three stages, Stage 1B, Stage 1A and the knockout rounds, a format that should make the path to gold feel even harsher for teams trying to survive the first week. With the player lists now confirmed less than three weeks before the first ball is struck, coaches and supporters can finally map out the likely title paths and start circling the matchups that could decide the tournament.

That is what makes London 2026 more than a routine Worlds. The ITTF says 2026 marks 100 years since the federation was founded and since the first World Table Tennis Championships were staged in London in 1926, giving the event a rare homecoming feel. ITTF president Petra Sörling captured that mood when she said, “From London to London, we have come full circle.” She also noted that England has hosted the World Championships on seven occasions, but this edition carries a different weight because the sport is returning to where the global story began.

The centenary framing is being matched by a practical one. The draw was held at The Shard on 26 January 2026, and England has already named eight players for its home squad, with two wildcards still to be added. Tom Jarvis, Paul Drinkhall, Sam Walker and Connor Green are among the men confirmed so far, giving the host nation a clear local storyline inside an event built for a much wider audience. For table tennis, the significance is obvious: this is the biggest Worlds ever staged, and if the star-laden fields deliver the matches the rankings suggest they should, London could become the most visible global stage the sport has claimed outside Asia in years.