2020 has been the most challenging year in living memory as the COVID-19 pandemic brought the international table tennis event calendar to a grinding halt early in the year. Many players coaches and fans were confined to their homes or their local communities unable to play or watch their beloved sport in the electric international environment that has lit up so many table tennis careers and engaged a captive worldwide audience over the years. Ever since the pandemic struck the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) has been working tirelessly to bring table tennis back to the global community in a safe and secure manner. While it has not been an easy journey the ITTF would like to express its heartfelt gratitude towards all the stakeholders for their support in these challenging times. After months of grit hard work and preparation we are proud to finally announce the return of table tennis into the international arena. Welcome to #RESTART! #RESTART is a special series of events scheduled for November 2020 taking a regional approach to ensure a smooth transition from national to international activity for players. #RESTART will feature three of the most prestigious ITTF events (the Uncle Pop 2020 ITTF Women’s World Cup the Liebherr 2020 ITTF Men’s World Cup and the 2020 ITTF Finals) all of which will be held in China with support from the Chinese Table Tennis Association (CTTA). Therefore the Women’s and Men’s World Cups will no longer be taking place in Bangkok Thailand and Düsseldorf Germany as originally planned. “Ensuring a safe return to international table tennis has been our utmost priority ever since the pandemic broke out and so I am delighted that with the fantastic support and hard work carried out by everyone at the ITTF over several months we have managed to get events back up and running before the end of 2020 ” said Thomas Weikert ITTF President “It is very significant that the ITTF has chosen China as the host to restart competitions after what has been an extremely challenging year for our sport. CTTA is honoured to be able to help bring international table tennis tournaments back into action. Thanks to many months of hard work carried out by the ITTF and CTTA we are able to come out from the darkness and to celebrate our return to the table. This is a moment of immense joy for all members of the international table tennis family. We are working closely under the guidance and in cooperation with relevant authorities in China and doing everything possible to make the events a resounding success and to keep the players safe at the same time ” stated Liu Guoliang CTTA President “After many months away from the table it is extremely important for us to get international table tennis events back running again and so we extend our thanks to China and CTTA President Liu Guoliang for helping us to make this happen. We are also very grateful to our friends in Thailand and especially Germany who were committed to hosting the Women’s and Men’s World Cups respectively and have been fully cooperative in handing them to China given the very tough circumstances. We therefore thank them for all their hard work and dedication to the cause during this difficult period ” said Steve Dainton ITTF CEO   After many months spent apart #RESTART will be bringing together many of the world’s biggest table tennis stars for some much-anticipated mouth-watering action! The World Cups will feature 20 female and 20 male athletes including the World Champion qualified players from all completed continental events (Africa Europe and Pan America) and players selected by world ranking from the other continents (Asia and Oceania) as well as the whole world according to the provisional World Cup playing system. For each World Cup event there will be maximum two players per national association. Meanwhile the top 16 world-ranked male and top 16 world-ranked female players will lock horns in men’s singles and women’s singles competition at the ITTF Finals where a cap of four players per national association will ensure an exciting spread of star talent from across the globe. #RESTART provides players with the opportunity to battle it out for highly sought-after world ranking points to all participating players. The ITTF rankings have been frozen since April 2020 when all ITTF activities were suspended due to the pandemic but now players have an indispensable opportunity to climb the world ranking charts before the end of 2020. Players competing at the events will be announced shortly. Stay tuned! The ITTF is in close collaboration with CTTA to employ due diligence in ensuring that safety measures are in place to protect athletes coaches officials and supporting staff within the ‘bubble’. The ITTF has issued a set of guidelines with mandatory requirements and recommendations to allow athletes and fans to continue to enjoy and participate in our sport during the pandemic.   More information on the ITTF’s COVID-19 updates can be found at ITTF.com/covid-19   Click here to #RESTART!

  It seems unbelievable but it’s true. The grace of table tennis has reached mountain Olympus. Or to put it another way the Olympic sport climbed the highest mountain in Greece. The 12 gods of Olympus were not there to watch the small show but it is a fact without a mythological dimension that a table was set and a game was played at about 3 000 meters.   Two old Greek table tennis champions Giannis KORDOUTIS and Diana ZERDILA climbed the impressive peaks of the famous mountain in August and carried a mini ping pong table! They had the original idea for a long time and implemented it at the top of Skala when they opened the table and exchanged balls at 2 882 meters! Then they reached without it to the highest peak Mytikas at 2 918 meters.   The organizers made a relevant video almost 4 minutes entitled “Table Tennis on Olympus” and those interested can find it at the link Επιτραπέζια Αντισφαίριση στον Όλυμπο – Table Tennis in Olympus   Kordoutis and Zerdila climbed Olympus on August 2 exactly 107 years after the first ascent of climbers on August 2 1913. They made a sticker for this action and put it on the table wore ping pong T-shirts and of course had all the necessary equipment as this is not an easy process. The table was specially made of Ocume wood so that it was light and had dimensions of 50 by 90 cm. Zerdila put it on her back starting from a shelter at 1 100 meters and Kordoutis was holding the stage and other equipment. At the top where a little table tennis was played there was no air and the ball bounced almost normally.

The ITTF’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be taking place on 28th September 2020 and for the first time ever it will be held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Physically distanced but digitally united the ITTF aims to keep its delegates fully up to date across all key areas with six interactive video conferences organised in the build-up to the AGM according to the following schedule: 1) ITTF Foundation:                                                                 1st September 13:00 CEST2) High Performance and Development:                                 4th September 13:00 CEST3) Governance: Propositions and Resolutions to AGM:         7th September 13:00 CEST4) Finance Forum:                                                                   10th September 13:00 CEST5) World Table Tennis:                                                             14th September 13:00 CEST6) World Championships 2023 bids:                                       21st September 13:00 CEST7) ITTF Annual General Meeting:                                            28th September 13:00 CEST During the conference on 21st September 2020 the cities of Düsseldorf (Germany) and Durban (South Africa) will present their bids to host the 2023 World Table Tennis Championships. In order to ensure the best possible experience for its delegates the ITTF has already conducted a first rehearsal for the proposed video conferences attended by over 150 participants.  “We are pleased to see the level of response shown during the AGM rehearsal. People from all corners of the world joined us and this shows their commitment. We look forward to making September a month enriched by multiple digital experiences culminating in our first ever virtual AGM which we want to ensure that our members can truly enjoy.” – Raul Calin ITTF Secretary General During the coming weeks further rehearsals will be conducted to test the interpretation software and the electronic voting system which will be used at the AGM on 28th September as best efforts are made to ensure that the ITTF’s first ever online-held AGM is a success. Furthermore the ITTF plans to complement these formal video conference sessions with two or three more presentations focusing on Equipment Governance and the International Competitions Calendar in order to keep all stakeholders fully up to date on all current topics. 

Baltic Youth Top-10   On 29th of August the Baltic Youth TOP-10 championships took place in Vilnius. Each player had to play 9 matches on 8 tables in one day. All safety recommendations regarding Covid-19 were followed in the competition.   The winner in the boys’ group was Lithuanian Lukas LAKETCENKO (born in 2005 coach Viktoras FRIZELIS) the second place was won by Oskar PUKK (born in 2002 coach Vladimir PETROV) from Estonia. The third place winner was Lukas RIMKUS (born in 2003 coach Arturas ORLOVAS).   In the girls’ group the first place was won by Kornelija RILISKYTE (born in 2003 coach Jolanta PRUSIENE) the second – by Vitalia REINOL (born in 2003 coach Vladimir PETROV) from Estonia and the third place winner was Emilija RILISKYTE (born in 2003 coach Jolanta PRUSIENE).   The President of the Lithuanian Table Tennis Association Inga NAVICKIENĖ and the President of the Latvian Table Tennis Federation Ina JOZEPSON came to the Baltic Youth TOP-10 Championships. Both presidents congratulated winners and athletes with cups diplomas and sweet gifts from sponsors UAB Meskenas.   Baltic Youth TOP-10 participants from Estonia: Arseni FARFAROVSKI Oskar PUKK Markkos PUKK. Girls: Anastasia MELNIKOVA Alina JEGNENKOVA Vitalia REINOL. Coach Vladimir PETROV.   Participants from Latvia: Arturs SPALIS Deniss VASILJEVS Aleksandrs PAHOMOVS. Girls: Daniela KUCINSKA Linda LADUSE. Coaches: Viktors TOLKACEVS and Aleksandrs SUTKA.   Lithuanians who participated in the Baltic Youth TOP-10 Championships: Lukas RIMKUS Lukas LAKETCENKO Gytis KNEZIUS. Girls: Kornelija RILISKYTE Auguste MELAIKAITE Emilija RILISKYTE Gerda SISANOVAITE Laura ABARAVICIUTE.   “We are glad that this event which symbolizes the friendship of the Baltic States took place this year despite the fact that it was postponed from 13 June to August 29 because of COVID-19. Athletes had the opportunity to compete with each other after a long break. We thank the Estonian and Latvian national teams for not escaping the pandemic and for coming to us. We want to thank the competitions referee Kazimieras GAIGALIS secretary Darius STANKEVICIUS table judges for a well-conducted competition” said Eglė KAŽYTĖ.   Winners:   Girls                                                                              Boys Kornelija RILISKYTE (Lithuania)                             1. Lukas LAKETCENKO (Lithuania) Vitalija REINOL (Estonia)                                       2. Oskar PUKK (Estonia) Emilija RILISKYTE (Lithuania)                                3. Lukas RIMKUS (Lithuania)

The twelve-part tournament series Duesseldorf Masters ended today with the victory for Berlin’s Nina MITTELHAM. The number 39th in the World prevailed against her national team colleague Kristin LANG (Kolbermoor) in the duel of the 2018 European doubles champions in the second Women’s Masters. One week ago DANG Qiu from Gruenwettersbach secured the overall victory in the Men’s final edition. Whether there will be a continuation of the successful tournament format introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic is still open at the moment.   In a new edition of the final game of the German Championships 2020 Nina MITTELHAM again prevailed. However the ARAG CenterCourt today was not as exciting as the meeting in Chemnitz at the beginning of March when MITTELHAM recovered from a 3-0 deficit with four set wins in a row to win a match. At 11:8 11:9 6:11 11:5 and 11:8 the top-seeded 23-year-old had the match under control with the exception of the third game.    After winning the title the MITTELHAM was satisfied: “At the Masters I had my first competitions in a long time. But the level was quite okay. Playing against Kristin is always uncomfortable for me anyway because she is always very stable throughout the match. So I’m a bit surprised that it was so clear today but I’m very happy about it!”   Kristin LANG was not satisfied with her final performance but with the tournament in general: “In the final match I couldn’t call up my form as I did in the semi-final. But it’s always hard against Nina when she’s in a good shape. Nevertheless after six months without competition I am satisfied with the tournament: It was a good start to the season.”   Although MITTELHAM only lost her only set in the final she almost lost it in the semi-final against Talent Annett KAUFMANN. The 14-year-old player from Boeblingen who surprisingly defeated the world number 178th Marie MIGOT (France) yesterday could not keep up with the top favorite over the full distance as expected but delivered a remarkable performance and brought the nine years older world number 39th repeatedly with good balls in distress. In the second game the left-hander even managed to take four set points with a 10:6 lead but did not score a point afterwards.   The later tournament winner Nina MITTELHAM said after the match against the second of the 2019 European Cadet Girls Ranking Tournament: “It was the first time I played against Annett. I was a bit surprised by her playing system but solved the task solidly.”   Kristin LANG won in the round of the best four against the world rankings-51. Hana MATELOVA (Czech Republic). In the end LANG who had been leading 3-0 in the meantime deservedly won in six games after she had already eliminated the number three in the seeding list yesterday Sarah de NUTTE from Luxembourg.   LANG was happy about the victory: “I am actually satisfied with the game. Last time I lost 0-4 so I’m glad that I played well this time and that I’ll be in the final”.   MATELOVA was not satisfied with her start: “In the beginning I didn’t find my way into my game and made many mistakes. Only from the fourth game on I started to play well. That’s why I’m annoyed by the fast 0:3 deficit but I’m quite satisfied with the last three games”.   The twelve-part tournament series Duesseldorf Masters came to an end with the success of MITTELHAM. At the Duesseldorf Masters from the beginning of June to the end of August the young national players of the DTTB surprised the spectators again and again against established world-class players but in the end eight prominent names prevailed in all twelve tournaments with German stars and international guest players. First to enter the winners’ list was Timo BOLL (Masters I) followed by Dimitrij OVTCHAROV (Masters II Masters III and Masters IX) Benedidkt DUDA (Masters VI and Masters X) DANG Qiu (Masters VII and Masters Final) Bastian STEGER (Masters IV) as the only foreign winner the Swede Anton KÄLLBERG (Masters VIII) as well as at the women’s tournaments HAN Ying (Masters V) and Nina MITTELHAM (Masters XII).   Whether the Duesseldorf Masters organized by Borussia Duesseldorf with the support of the German Table Tennis Federation will continue will depend not least on the further course of the Covid 19 pandemic. The tournament series was created in order to enable the stars practicing in Duesseldorf to play in times of a completely cut down tournament calendar in addition to training.   Borussia Duesseldorf spokesman Alex SCHILLING said: “Bringing the Masters into being was the right decision. Since it was well received we are naturally discussing whether and how there could be a sequel. But from September on the Bundesleague will be played again and we have to see what the world association ITTF does. If things really get rolling again in the tournament calendar it will be difficult with a time window. But if things remain quiet internationally then I could imagine that we might see another Duesseldorf Masters at the ARAG CenterCourt this year.”   Duesseldorf Masters XII (August 29-30)   Final August 30 Nina Mittelham GER – Kristin Lang GER 4:1 (8 9 -6 5 8) Semifinals August 30 Nina Mittelham GER – Annett Kaufmann GER 4:0 (8 10 8 6) Hana Matelova CZE – Kristin Lang GER 2:4 (-6 -5 -7 7 6 -8)

On the opening day of the second Women’s Duesseldorf Masters Annett KAUFMANN was the youngest participant in the field but made one of the top four seeded players stumble and reached the semi-finals completely unexpectedly. Her next opponent is title aspirant Nina MITTELHAM. Afterwards double European champion Kristin LANG and the Czech Hana MATELOVA will play for the second participant in the final (12.30 pm). All matches can be seen live on Sportdeutschland.TV Borussia-TV and on tischtennis.de.    Annett Kaufmann who is 14 years old for two months showed strong nerves and playful class in a match against Marie MIGOT that was fiercely contested from the start and dramatic in the final phase. The runner-up in the European School Girls’ Ranking Tournament 2019 won 11:5 11:13 11:8 9:11 and 12:10 against the six-year-older Frenchwoman who is currently ranked 178 in the world. Two hours earlier left-handed KAUFMANN had already won the duel of the DTTB talents against Yuki TSUTSUI in the round of sixteen.   The girl from Boeblingen said: “Well I am very satisfied. I would not have thought that I play so well. In the beginning it was a very high speed match against Marie which I had to get used to. But in the course of the match I discovered a few weaknesses in her game which I could always take advantage of. I am happy to be in the semi-finals. I definitely didn’t expect this before. I played quite well in my first singles match today although I was too hectic at times and didn’t move well.”   As expected KAUFMANN’S next opponent World Rankings 39th and Double European Champion Nina MITTELHAM had no trouble at all in the quarter-finals with team European Youth Champion Franziska SCHREINER who had stood her ground against 15-year-old Laura KAIM in the morning. However MITTELHAM does not like playing against the talented Bavarian with whom she won the German championship in doubles in 2019.    “For the first match in the tournament my performance was okay today. But to play Franzi it is always unpleasant for me I have already lost against her. That’s why I’m quite satisfied with the 3-0 today.”   Third DTTB ace in the final round is Kristin LANG. The two-time German champion who was placed fifth in the Masters defeated Bavaria’s young talent Naomi PRANJKOVIC in the round of sixteen without being challenged. In the round of the best eight the European Champion in doubles then remained without a game loss thanks to a strong performance against the third placed Luxembourg player Sarah de NUTTE.   Lang was surprised by the result of 3-0: “My first singles match today was my first competition after six months and not so good yet. But my second match was much better and I felt better. I noticed that Sarah wasn’t really in the match at the beginning and I was able to take advantage of that. I had prepared myself for a difficult match because the previous comparisons were always 50:50 but Sarah wasn’t in top form today either.”   LANGS opponent in the semi-final will now be Hana MATELOVA on Sunday at 10:45 am. The second seeded Czech player did not let the Chinese player SHI Qi who plays for Anroechte win a game in the quarter finals.   Matelova confessed after the match: “I was a bit nervous at the beginning because it was my first match in half a year. But then I solved it quite well. The Masters is a great preparation for the next month when hopefully the season games will start again”.   In the morning 33-year-old Shi had held Sophie KLEE’S in check in the round of sixteen on the edge of the knife with 11:8 in the deciding game. The 17-year-old German talent KLEE had caused a stir at the first Ladies’ Masters at the beginning of July with her victory over the German champion Nina MITTELHAM. Duesseldorf Masters XII 2nd ladies’ tournament (August 29/30) Final August 30 12.30 pm Semifinal August 30 Nina Mittelham GER – Annett Kaufmann GER 10 am Hana Matelova CZE – Kristin Lang GER directly after but not before 10.45 am Quarterfinal August 29 Nina Mittelham GER – Franziska Schreiner GER 3:0 (7 10 9) Marie Migot FRA – Annett Kaufmann GER 2:3 (-5 11 -8 9 -10) Sarah de hooker LUX – Kristin Lang GER 0:3 (-6 -11 -8) Hana Matelova CZE – Shi Qi CHN 3:0 (5 10 5) Round of 16 August 29 Nina Mittelham GER bye Franziska Schreiner GER- Laura Kaim GER 3:2 (5 -9 10 -6 9) Yuki Tsutsui GER- Annett Businessman GER 1:3 (-6 5 -5 -4) Marie Migot FRA free ticket Sarah de hooker LUX bye Kristin Lang GER – Naomi Pranjkovic GER 3:0 (6 7 8) Sophia Klee GER – Shi Qi CHN 2:3 (-6 9 -4 10 -8) Hana Matelova CZE bye  

At the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic Borussia Düsseldorf founded the aid program “Borussia Düsseldorf helps – Together through the crisis” to support people in need. Since then the table tennis record holder in champions titles has been looking after numerous families and seniors and providing them with groceries or running errands and driving services for them.   The Stadtsparkasse Düsseldorf has now joined Borussia and made 2 500 euros available for the aid project. Karin-Brigitte GÖBEL CEO of Stadtsparkasse Düsseldorf presented a check to Düsseldorf’s player Timo BOLL. The 2016 Olympic flag bearer who already brought home food to those in need thanked them in return with a mini table tennis table for their support.   “I’m proud of my Borussia that they have been socially committed and responsible for many years ” says Boll. “And especially in these times there are many people who need help. So it is all the better that the Stadtsparkasse is now supporting us.”   Karin-Brigitte GÖBEL: We were happy to support the Borussia campaign. It sets a noticeable sign of help solidarity and civic engagement. These are values fit perfectly with our company. “   “We are very happy about the generous willingness to help the Stadtsparkasse Düsseldorf” explains manager Andreas PREUSS. “That helps us a lot to continue our commitment at least until the end of the year. Even if the feeling of returning to normal arises in many places many people in our city are still not doing well.”