Five Continental Cups 28 Jan to 9 Feb kick off Macao qualification

The International Table Tennis Federation has put the Road to Macao into motion with five Continental Cups running across a packed window from 28 January to 9 February 2026. These tournaments will serve as qualification events for the ITTF Men’s & Women’s World Cup in Macao, scheduled for 30 March–5 April 2026, and they present the first major chance this season for players to lock up World Cup berths.

“The ITTF published a preview and viewing guide on 28 January 2026 describing how five Continental Cups (Americas, Oceania, Asia, Europe and Africa) will run from 28 January to 9 February as qualification events for the ITTF Men’s & Women’s World Cup in Macao (30 March–5 April 2026).” That guidance frames the calendar: the five named continental events are Americas Continental Cup, Oceania Continental Cup, Asia Continental Cup, Europe Continental Cup and Africa Continental Cup. For the ping-pong community, that means top-ranked regional contenders and dark-horse qualifiers will be competing in short, high-stakes formats designed to hand out spots for Macao.

One ITTF event listing provides concrete local detail. “Dates: 5 to 8 February 2026 · Venue: Salle Omnisport du Pierrier, Montreux, Switzerland · Players: Full list available here · Livestream: ETTU TV.” The Montreux dates fall inside the overall Continental Cups window and give fans at least one confirmed venue and broadcast: Salle Omnisport du Pierrier will host action from 5–8 February, and ETTU TV is lined up to livestream that block. The listing notes a full player list is available, but the names and nationalities were not included in the excerpt provided.

Several practical gaps remain for followers planning viewing parties or tracking specific contenders. The ITTF’s guide and the Montreux entry do not, in the supplied excerpts, tie the Montreux dates to a specific Continental Cup name, nor do they include full player lists, match times, or the number of World Cup qualification slots awarded by each continental event. Broadcast platforms beyond the Montreux ETTU TV livestream are not listed in the available material.

For communities hosting watch sessions or clubs tracking local qualifiers, the key actions are clear: follow the ITTF preview and viewing guide for updated schedules and check ETTU TV for the Montreux livestream between 5 and 8 February. Expect short-format, intense ties where regional ranking and match temperament decide who advances to Macao. The coming days should fill in player lists and precise draw details; once those are published, fans can pick the storylines to follow — emerging stars from Oceania, continental rivalries in Asia, and the fight for Europe's slots will all shape the road to Macao.