China favourite for ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships
Table tennis is set to take over central London later this month, with the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals 2026 bringing the sport back to its birthplace for a landmark centenary edition.
China is expected to be the dominant team in both the men’s and women’s events, but international betting sites are yet to open markets for the event, which will run from April 28 to May 10.
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The tournament will include fan-focused activations and street-level engagement ahead of competition at the Copper Box Arena and OVO Arena Wembley. The tournament will feature a record 128 teams, making it the largest edition in history and a celebration of 100 years of the championships.
The expanded format is designed to boost global reach, with around 80 nations represented and hundreds of players competing for the Swaythling and Corbillon Cups.
China is widely expected to open as a dominant favourite in both men’s and women’s events, though the men’s competition has tightened up in recent years, with Japan, Brazil and France all having players in the top five.
The ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals begins with a group stage, where teams are divided into pools and play round-robin matches to determine standings. The top teams from each group then progress to a knockout bracket, with single-elimination ties deciding the eventual champions.
In each tie, teams contest up to five singles matches, with players rotating through the lineup, with the first team to win three matches named the winner.
The Chinese have got four out of the top five female players, highlighting just how strong their grip on this event is.
