A hundred years, and back to London

The World Championships began in London in 1926. In 2026 they returned for the centenary edition.

The first World Table Tennis Championships were held in London in 1926. A century later, from 28 April to 10 May 2026, the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals came back to the city for the centenary edition — the group stage at the Copper Box Arena from 28 April to 1 May, then the remaining groups and the whole knockout stage at the OVO Arena Wembley from 2 to 10 May.

Sixty-four men's teams and sixty-four women's teams entered, with England competing as hosts among the seeded sides. China took both titles, beating Japan in each final. Chinese Taipei and France shared the men's bronze medals.

What it meant locally

Search interest in table tennis across the UK roughly doubled during the fortnight of the championships and returned to its usual level within a month. National events move attention, not membership: the clubs that gain players are the ones running an open session people can walk into the following Tuesday.

The hardbat era

The 1950s are the period most people picture when they picture the sport — wooden bats with plain pimpled rubber, no sponge, long rallies and a heavy emphasis on placement. Marty Reisman, the New York hustler who became a five-time World Championship bronze medallist, was the emblem of that style, and kept playing with a hardbat long after sponge took over the professional game.

Sponge rubber changed the sport in the mid-1950s and made it faster than the hardbat game could answer. Plenty of clubs still keep a hardbat or two in the cupboard, and the style has a following of its own.

Where to actually play

Watching a world final is one thing. The nearest table is usually a community hall five minutes away — see the venues in this district, or the two open sessions that take players with no club.

Details checked 2026-09-17. Venues and session times change — if something here is wrong, tell us and it gets fixed and re-dated.