Be the first to find out who is in the England teams for London 2026 – and win a money-can’t-buy World Championships experience – by getting your tickets to the Mark Bates Ltd Senior National Championships.

That’s right, we will be announcing the Men’s and Women’s squads for the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals on court on Finals Day at David Ross Sports Village in Nottingham!

This is your chance to witness this exclusive moment first-hand as well as seeing the players competing for national titles just weeks before the Worlds get under way!

What’s more, if you enter our Nationals raffle, you will have the chance to win an exclusive prize giving you an unrivalled experience at the World Championships!

Among those in contention for the squads are Tin-Tin Ho, who will be aiming to win a record-breaking eighth national Women’s Singles title, and Paul Drinkhall, who is going for a record-breaking 16th Men’s Doubles title, partnering Sam Walker.

Whoever is selected has a massive incentive of representing their country at a home World Championships in some of the biggest matches seen in this country for years.

England Men and Women will each play THREE massive matches at OVO Arena Wembley in Stage 1a:

Session 9, Saturday 2 May: England Women vs Japan (10am); England Men vs China (12.30pm); plus six other matches.

Session 10, Saturday 2 May: England Women vs Germany (5pm); England Men vs Sweden (7.30pm); plus six other matches.

Session 11, Sunday 3 May: England Women vs France (12.30pm); plus three other matches.

Session 12, Sunday 3 May: England Men vs Korea Republic (5pm); plus three other matches.

The results of Stage 1a will determine which seeding position the nations will take in Stage 2, which begins on Bank Holiday Monday 4 May with the round of 32.

England are guaranteed at least one more match once Stage 2 gets under way, though the round of 32 continues into Tuesday 5 May and the schedule cannot be confirmed until after Stage 1a. But there are sure to be some sensational matches as the knockouts begin!

What else is happening at the Nationals?

Be sure to tune in to our YouTube channel for the live draw for the Men’s Singles and Women’s Singles at 7pm on Thursday 19 March.

The draw will confirm who the players that make it through the qualifying stage on Friday will face when the knockout rounds get under way on Saturday.

Spectators will also have an exclusive chance to meet and chat with Table Tennis England CEO Sally Lockyer and Chair Clare Briegal during the event.

On Saturday 21 March from 10 am until 11.30am in the conference room on the first floor, members or ticket holders are welcome to join Clare and Sally for a tea or coffee and chat or ask questions. Any players, officials or volunteers who are free around that time are also welcome.

In addition to the packed competition schedule, there are a number of attractions in the FanZone:

• Speed Gun
• Table Tennis Robot, including the interactive games successfully used at the Star Contender event
• Therapy Tables, featuring a white Butterfly table with side panels and a round T3 Foundation table
• Polybat, available for participants to trial
• Charity and health representation, with Parkinson’s UK, Parkinson’s Table Tennis, and Alzheimer’s Society attending to discuss and promote the health and wellbeing benefits of table tennis
• 2pong paddles, available to trial and compete with
• Target Board 
• VR Table Tennis, with a top-level VR player recruited to take part in challenge matches within the zone
• Mini tables and starter tables to support engagement and first-time participation
• Bat testing area

To get you in the mood for this year’s Nationals, you can now watch back the full finals from 2025, as well as highlights from all age groups of the National Championships, on our YouTube channel.

Click here to go to the Nationals Playlist.

What is the event format?

The Mark Bates Ltd National Championships will be an even bigger and better occasion for players and spectators in 2026, with a refreshed format that brings qualifying and the main draw together under one roof.

For the first time in recent years, the opening day of the Nationals will see the Men’s and Women’s Singles qualifying rounds.

Competitors will go head-to-head to be one of 24 players in each gender who will progress to the main draw on Saturday, where eight players invited on the basis of rankings will be waiting in the Round of 32.

Doubles remains a central part of the flagship competition, with the early rounds adding to the spectacle on Friday and continuing into Saturday.

Sunday is Finals Day, when the venue is transformed to the ‘Show Court’ set-up where a day of thrilling matches will see the titles decided.