FAQ
Excitement is guaranteed at the Table Tennis Team World Championships in London from April 28th, also because the competition now has no group phase. What influence this has on the tournament and what Germany can achieve – an overview.
Which format is played?
The world association has completely revised the game mode. Unlike in previous years, there is no classic group phase where the best teams in the world rankings are seeded as group heads.
A total of 64 teams are taking part, but the field of participants is divided before the tournament begins. 56 teams play in the so-called “Stage 1B” for the round of 16. The top seven teams in the world rankings and hosts England automatically qualify for the round of 16. They only play the seeding position for the round of 16 in two groups in “Stage 1A”.
What does the German Table Tennis Association say about the new format?
The new mode caused little enthusiasm among the German Table Tennis Association (DTTB). The DTTB therefore wrote an open letter to the ITTF world association in which it explained its view and supposed disadvantages. “In the past, the world rankings were used before the tournament, but now it will be played out at the tournament. This means that in one or two days what we have worked out as a nation over the twelve or 24 months beforehand will be reduced to absurdity.”said sports director Richard Prause in the Sportschau interview.
Men’s national coach Jörg Roßkopf is also skeptical: “You can still become world champion with three defeats, it’s a very special system.” This is possible because the best eight teams are certain to reach the round of 16 even with three defeats in “Stage 1A”. Sports director Prause even sees the possibility of acting tactically to avoid certain opponents.
Critical view: national table tennis coach Jörg Roßkopf
Who are the favorites?
The new format doesn’t change anything: the favorite is China. The Middle Kingdom is the absolutely dominant team in table tennis, especially in the team area. The last non-Chinese victory in the men’s division at a team World Cup was 26 years ago, when Sweden, led by the then superstar Jan-Ove Waldner, achieved the big coup in the men’s category. Even now you have to have Sweden’s top player Truls Moregard on your list. France and Japan are also considered favorites.
In the women’s category, Singapore managed to counter Chinese dominance once in 2010. Otherwise, over the past 35 years, the world champion in women’s table tennis has always been China. Behind them, Japan should probably be considered the strongest team.
What are the German chances?
That’s very difficult to say. The German teams belong to the group of teams that are fighting for the other places behind China. “First of all, a good seeding is important in order to then orientate ourselves towards the quarter-finals. In the best case scenario, we will be playing for the medals”explained sports director Prause. The last time this happened was in Busan, South Korea, in 2024.
There it was over in the quarter-finals, the men lost to Taiwan and the women narrowly lost to France. Men’s national coach Roßkopf said: “We have an extremely balanced team.” Women’s national coach Tamara Boros explained: “Everyone is fit and we have a broad team” The women in particular can hope for a medal after winning the European Championship last year. Nevertheless, the expanded world leadership behind China currently appears to be wider than ever.
How is the German men’s team structured?
The fact is: among the men, the best four players Dang Qiu, Patrick Franziska, Dimitrij Ovtcharov and Benedikt Duda operate at the same level and on a good day each of them can beat the best players in the world. The fifth in the group is young player André Bertelsmeier, who is supposed to gain experience and atmosphere at a World Cup.
Already in the first “stage” we had a very strong group with France, Japan and Taiwan. “Everything is possible from 1 to 4”said national coach Ropkopf. Bertelsmeier is one of the younger people who are supposed to put pressure on the established ones. At the World Cup it will be a little more difficult with match practice: “We have to play at full speed with the new format. But he knows his role and you have to see that the top four are still a bit aheadd.”
How is the German women’s team structured?
Among the women, what particularly stands out is the development of Sabine Winter, who worked her way into the top ten of the world rankings after changing her playing system and was recently able to stand up to the Chinese women on several occasions. “Sabine is almost a miracle for me”said Boros about the development of the nominal number one of the DTTB team.
The return of Nina Mittelham, who has been plagued by injuries in recent years, strengthens the team at least across the board. There is also U19 world champion Annett Kaufmann, who got fit in time after an ankle injury and was in the spotlight at the 2024 Olympics, as well as the former world number six Han Ying. Number five in the team is Yuan Wan from TTC Weinheim.
In good shape: table tennis player Sabine Winter
What comes after the World Cup in London?
The next big international goal after the World Cup is the individual European Championships in Ljubljana, Slovenia in October. There are also three more standing Grand Smash-Tournaments: in the USA at the end of June, in Sweden in August and in China at the beginning of October. The tournaments are comparable to the Grand Slam-Tournaments in the tennis circus. The big long-term goal is the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028, qualification for which will be based on individual results and major tournaments in the coming years.
In addition, the DTTB will soon make a new attempt to become the host of a World Cup itself. The events until 2029 have been taken, the DTTB application for 2029 lost out to Brazil. “We will apply again”said Prause. The DTTB sports director also approves of an Olympic application for the years 2036, 2040 or 20244 in Germany: “I would say that it would be Germany’s turn to compete in the Olympics again. I would be very happy about that and it would be an exclamation mark for the entire sport. A bid for the World Cup could also inspire that.”
