A year ago, the time came to #RESTART international table tennis. As the world was still disrupted by the pandemic, table tennis became one of the first sports to hold international activities as ITTF and WTT successfully delivered the #RESTART series in November 2020, hosting three events in a bubble format in China and recording zero cases of COVID-19.

A year later, as the pandemic continues to challenge sport event organisers, ITTF and WTT announced today their decision to bring forward the start of the WTT Feeder Series to December 2021 in order to provide more players with an opportunity to compete internationally in these challenging times.

Originally scheduled to be launched in 2022, the two inaugural WTT Feeder Series events will take place in Düsseldorf, Germany. Featuring Singles and Doubles competitions, they will be open to all Member Associations (MAs) and more than 256 players are expected to participate. For each of the events, WTT will be offering USD 20,000 in prize money.

“Our teams have worked incredibly hard to deliver more than 20 international table tennis events around the world this year, from Middle East and Europe to North Africa and South America,” said Steve Dainton, ITTF Group CEO. “It can be challenging, the service level can be somewhat different, entry requirements can change very fast and it requires great flexibility.

“Ultimately, we take great pride in enabling the players to compete. It is crucial that we support them in these uncertain times, and that all of them can play, earn prize money and accrue World Ranking points.

“These efforts will culminate in the 2021 ITTF World Table Tennis Championships Finals in Houston at the end of the month. Our teams and the local organisers worked incredibly hard, and I am grateful for that. This is of even greater significance when the 2020 World Championships had to be cancelled. We are very excited to experience the first ever American-hosted World Championships.”

As the table tennis community starts looking beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, ITTF and WTT will remain focused on giving all players as many opportunities to compete as possible. The first part of the 2022 calendar will be released soon and more parts of the year will be unveiled as events are confirmed.

Watch “#RESTART, the Return of Table Tennis”