National Championships – Czech Republic   The city of Teplice in Northern Bohemia will host the Czech Republic National Championships from 1st to 3rd March. Last year winners Pavel SIRUCEK and Hana MATELOVA will be on duty and they want to claim the titles once again.   Pavel SIRUCEK (Dartom Bogoria Grodzisk Mazowiecki) si currently in a very good shape two weeks ago he reached the quarterfinals stage at ITTF Challenge Plus Portugal Open.   „I’m really looking forward to play the National Championships. There will be all best players from our country so it will be very tough and interesting tournament. I think that first eight players or maybe even somebody else could won the title ” said SIRUCEK.   In the men’s singles event entries are also other members of Czech national team like Lubomir JANCARIK (Post SV Mühlhausen) Tomas konecny (PKS Kolping Frac Jaroslaw) Tomas Tregler (TTC Ostrava 2016) and young guys David REITSPIES (TV 1879 Hilpoltstein) and Tomas POLANSKY (1. F.C. Saarbrücken) reigning European champion in U21 men’s singles.   The biggest favorite in the women’s single is Hana MATELOVA (Etival ASRTT 1) who won in Teplice also six years ago and took part at this years’ European Top 16 Cup. Her biggest rivals are Dana CECHOVA (MSK Breclav) or Renata STRBIKOVA (S. S. Dielttantistica A.R.L. ANSPI) who will say farewell to her successfull international career during the tournament.   The Czech National Championships will be also a very important test before the World Championships in Budapest later this spring.

The 37-year-old 12-time champion of Germany will play last time for the national title this weekend (March 1-3) in Wetzlar. BOLL: “Participating in the German Championships has always been an honour and an obligation for me”   The upcoming German National Championships scheduled for this weekend in the city of Wetzlar will be special one as 12-time national champion Timo BOLL announced his last participation on this event.   “It’s my farewell to the national title fights my last participation in this tournament which was always very important to me. Participating in the German Championships has always been an honour and an obligation for me ” stated actual world no. 5 Timo BOLL for tischtennis.de.   Of course this is not the end of Timo BOLL career as 37-year-old (actually his birthday comes on March 8th) still has many big goals on both stages internationally and as a member of the reigning TTCLM champion Borussia Dusseldorf. For sure his presence at the 87th German National Championships will mark the end of one era of this prestigious event. In the rest of his career BOLL will be focused on several big events including LIEBHERR 2019 ITTF World Championships in Budapest and 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.   “The ITTF demands more and more from us. To be well placed in the world rankings you have to play so many tournaments. In addition I have many goals with Borussia Dusseldorf… I want to play as long as I enjoy and the body can cope. That may take a few more years” stated current European champion BOLL who has three more years of his contract with the best German club.   Defending champion Timo BOLL is the clear favourite at the German National Championships which to be held at Rittal Arena (5 000) bearing in mind that 2013 champion and actual Europe Top 16 Cup winner Dimitrij OVTCHAROV cancelled his participation. HAN Ying will defend her title in the Women Singles event faced with few big challengers including recent Europe Top 16 Cup champion Petrissa SOLJA. Actual men’s world no. 15 Patrick FRANZISKA could be the hardest obstacle on BOLL’s way to the 13th title (first one he took in 1998).   On the eve of the National Championships German Table Tennis Association has announced Timo BOLL and Kristin LANG as the national players of the 2018 year.

National Championships   The 2019 Slovak National Championships will be held this weekend in the city of Bratislava March 2-3rd as Barbora BALAZOVA is set to defend his Women’s Singles title reached last year. The main favourites in the Men’s Singles event (WANG Yang was 2018 winner) are Lubomir PISTEJ Samuel NOVOTA Samuel KALUZNY Alexander VALUCH and Thomas KEINATH while Tatiana KUKULKOVA should be the biggest threat to BALAZOVA in the women’s competition.   Alongside WANG and BALAZOVA the 2018 winner were Peter INGEMAR/Alexander VALUCH (Men’s Doubles) Ema LABOSOVA/Simona HORVATHOVA (Women’s Doubles) and Lubomir PISTEJ/Barbora BALAZOVA (Mixed Doubles).   In the same time U21 Slovak National Championships will be held. Qualification tournament is scheduled for Friday March 1st.  

National Championships – Luxembourg Last weekend Luxembourg organised national championships in the Coque/Kirchberg   Men’s SINGLES: For the first time Christian KILL has won the national title men’s simple. He beat three former national champions on the way to his first title. In the semi-finals the 27 year old player could reach the final after an exciting full distance contest with five matchballs and six matchballs of his opponent Eric GLOD. In the final Christian KILL has beaten the runner up of last year Luka MLADENOVIC 4-1.   Men’s Doubles: First title for Luka MLADENOVIC and Eric THILLEN after they lost the final last year. The 20- and 18 years old players decided the final against Traian CIOCIU/Arlindo DE SOUSA with a 3-2 victory.   Women’s Singles: For the 7th time in row Sarah DE NUTTE is women’s champion in Luxembourg. She could defend her title after she has won in the final against Tessy GONDERINGER 4-0.   Women’s Doubles: Once again a victory for Sarah de NUTTE and Tessy GONDERINGER. For the 9th time in the last 10 years they have won the title after a 3-1 victory against Egle TAMASAUSKAITE/Carole HARTMANN.     Mixed: Luka MLADENOVIC/Sarah de NUTTE are the winners of the Mixed-Competition after a 3-1 –Victory against Eric GLOD/Martine SIMON. That day it was the third title for Sarah de NUTTE and the second for Luka MLADENOVIC.  

Less than six months from now history will be made when the very first ITTF World Veterans Tour event kicks off on 8 August in Shenzhen China.   Following a bidding process which initially saw 16 cities shortlisted a total of six events are confirmed to run through 2019 in the following locations across the globe:   Shenzhen (Guangming District) China – 8-11 August Innsbruck Austria – 21-25 August Townsville Australia – 11-15 September Fort Lauderdale Florida – 17-20 October Doha Qatar – 7-10 November Cardiff Wales – 13-16 December   The 2019 ITTF World Veterans Tour represents the first professionally organised series of events to link the global community of table tennis players aged 40 and over including:   First ever Veterans World Ranking system; Consistent playing formats; Dedicated ITTF World Veterans Tour website section including event-specific pages; Enhanced marketing and social media programmes for Tour operators; Much more! “This is the ITTF’s initiative to bring together a group of players aged 40 and over from across the world in a professionally organised marketed and operated Tour. “This is not simply an opportunity for mass participation in an ever-growing veteran players community but also for host cities to put on an international sporting event with visibility boosted through the support of the ITTF’s Marketing Team ” said   Thomas Weikert ITTF President.  “The launch of the ITTF World Veterans Tour will provide all table tennis lovers with the platform for playing and promoting the culture of the sport worldwide ”  added Frank Ji Founder of Sportsmaster and Special Advisor to the ITTF President for Commercial and Business.   Player entries for the 2019 ITTF World Veterans Tour are due to open by the end of March while further cities may still be added to the current event schedule.   With seven age categories on offer and match formats including Men’s and Women’s Singles and Doubles events this is very much a Tour open to anyone and everyone who continues to show their passion for the sport.  Click here to find out more about the 2019 ITTF World Veterans Tour!

Latvian Individual Championships 2019   Latvian Individual Table Tennis Championships 2019 preliminary round already finished. Final Tournament will take place this weekend 2-3 march for first time it will take place in Saldus. Best 32 men and 16 women will compete for the titles in Men’s Singles Women’s Singles Men’s Doubles Women’s Doubles and Mixed Doubles competitions.   There are a lot of young players like Daniels KOGANS Deniss VASILJEVS Aleksandrs PAHOMOVS and girls Sabina MUSAJEVA Diana AFANASJEVA and Rezija MELKE who booked their place in Final tournament.   In the Men’s Event at the top of the list this time and main favorite is Arturs REINHOLDS who won his title in Men’s Singles event in 2018 of course Olegs KARTUZOVS Sandijs VASILJEVS and Igors SIDOROVS are also at the list of favorites. In the Women’s Event favorite is young rising star Sabina MUSAJEVA who won her title in Women’s Singles event in 2018 and Inta ZDANOVSKA Baiba BOGDANOVA and Natalija KLIMANOVA are also at the list of favorites.   See more on www.lgtf.lv and www.galdateniss.lv.     Video Broadcast of 2-3 of March you are welcome to watch on:   Youtube Live: https://www.youtube.com/user/Galdatenisslv2010   Facebook Live: https://www.facebook.com/galdateniss.lv

The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) is today releasing preliminary information ahead of issuing a Commercial Rights Tender this March as it seeks a long-term Strategic Partner to support the ITTF’s ambitious vision for Table Tennis.   The new partner will be key to driving revenue increases whilst further building the professionalism in Table Tennis creating a compelling structure of events and improving the promotion of a sport in ever-increasing demand and brimming with untapped potential.  THE ROAD AHEAD   The ITTF has set out to achieve comprehensive Strategic Plan objectives by 2024 but for now the focus is on 2021 which will mark the dawn of a new commercial era for Table Tennis.   This is when the ITTF will go to market with all of its commercial rights to finally unlock the full potential of Table Tennis so that it can compete among the highest-profile sports in the world.   The road to 2021 is already under way since all of the ITTF’s commercial rights were brought back in-house in 2017 and the ITTF Strategic Plan was launched in 2018.   Significant progress has already been made to improve competition structures and commercialise international events assisted by the ITTF’s close collaboration with the Sports Business Group at Deloitte.  “The Commercial Rights Tender will set out the significant flexibility available to prospective partners with regards to the commercial models that will be considered the properties included and ultimately the way they are sold. Innovative models and proposals will be welcomed.”   Steve Dainton ITTF CEO  THE OPPORTUNITY   From 2021 all commercial rights to all major international ITTF properties will be available and the ITTF want to remodel the way in which these rights are monetised.   The comprehensive range of commercial rights available include the following areas: Sponsorship; Media; Digital Social and TV; Gaming and Data; Event Hosting; Licensing; Players; CSR; Future Products.   Played by over 300 million people worldwide and attracting 291 million viewers across 140 different countries (in 2018) the commercial potential of Table Tennis is enormous.   The sport already boasts a strong presence in many high-growth Asian countries (forecast annual sports market growth of 8% over the next 5 years) and considerable untapped potential in several rapidly growing markets including India Brazil and the USA.  NEXT STEPS   Preliminary information has been made available today. Please click here to download.   Additionally in order to express your interest in receiving the full tender documentation immediately upon release please click here and complete the Expression of Interest form.   The tender process is being supported by the Sports Business Group at Deloitte. If you have any queries related to the tender process please contact the Deloitte team at ittf2021tender@deloitte.co.uk.

National Championships – Wales   Callum EVANS and Charlotte CAREY will have to defend their National titles which they won in the city of Swansea in May 2018 this coming weekend.   The Aspire 2Be Championships are back in the capital city Cardiff and players will gather from all corners of the country to participate in the 95th Edition. The first event staged was in 1924.   CALLUM who is twice champion will have to battle against Josh STACEY Marc CASTRO Ryan OWEN Dean CUNDY Benedict WATSON and Cade SHORT for the title. Charlotte (winner 4 times previously) will compete against Anna HURSEY Chloe THOMAS Lara WHITTON Beth ROBERTS Danielle KELLY and Beth RICHARDS to try and make it 5.   Other events on the weekend are U11 U13 Cadets Juniors U21 Vets 40 Vets 50 Vets 60 Vets 70 and doubles/mixed doubles. It’s a full weekend with all our players in action.   The Championships will be at Sport Wales National Centre CF11 9SW Cardiff. Play starts at 9am each day. The cost to attend as spectator is free. The competition is sponsored by our digital partners Aspire 2Be – https://www.aspire2be.eu/  

National Championships – Bulgaria   Bulgarian National championships will be held from 28th of February until 3rd of March 2019 in Panagiurishte.   There are close to 150 participants in Men’s and Women’s Events. Last year champions are Stanislav GOLOVANOV and Polina TRIFONOVA in Singles Event. Crowned champions in Doubles are Teodor ALEXANDROV and Denislav KODJABASHEV whilst in Women’s Doubles Maria YOVKOVA and Polina TRIFONOVA clinched the title. In mixed Doubles Denislav KODJABASHEV and Maria YOVKOVA will defend their titles.