The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) is breaking new ground. The body chaired by Sweden’s Petra Sörling has announced a new format for the next edition of the annual World Cup. Starting this year, it will feature mixed national teams competing in singles and doubles – men’s and women’s – and mixed doubles. The first edition of this new format will take place in December in Chengdu, in the southwestern Chinese province of Sichuan. As a bonus, the Chinese city has won the right to host the event for five consecutive years, between 2023 and 2027. The decision to relaunch the World Cup in a new mixed format was taken last week by the governing body’s Council, meeting in Bangkok on the sidelines of the ITTF Summit and General Assembly.
