Joseph Hunter and Alyssa Nguyen have been given wildcard places in the England squad for the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals 2026 Presented by ACN.

The duo are rewarded for impressive performances at recent events, including the Mark Bates Ltd National Championships.

Their selection completes the England men’s and women’s teams for the Championships, the other four athletes in each gender having been announced at the Nationals on Sunday.

Full England squads

Men: Tom Jarvis, Sam Walker, Paul Drinkhall, Connor Green, Joseph Hunter

Women: Tin-Tin Ho, Tianer Yu, Jasmin Wong, Ella Pashley Alyssa Nguyen

Hunter, 19, made it through to Finals Day at the Nationals for the first time in a singles competition, knocking out fourth seed Connor Green in the quarter-finals and then giving eventual champion Tom Jarvis a tough match in the semi-finals before losing 4-1 (11-5, 12-14, 11-9, 11-9, 11-7).

Last October, he competed at WTT Star Contender London, notching a win in his first match at that level as he beat world No 201 Abdulbasit Abdulfatai of Nigeria.

Nguyen is just 14 years old but earned her place on the back of winning the Under-17 Girls’ Singles at the Mark Bates Ltd Cadet & Under-17 National Championships earlier this month.

She followed up by reaching the quarter-finals of the Senior Nationals, knocking out sixth seed Mari Baldwin on the way.

Director of Performance Development Gavin Evans said: “Congratulations to Joseph and Alyssa on their historic selection.

“This selection was up for grabs and multiple athletes could have earned it. Joseph’s performance at the National Championships and Alyssa there and at the under-17s were standout performances.

“This is an opportunity to experience something great as part of their long-term journey, which will help them develop into great athletes in the future.

“It also sends a clear message to everybody who is part of the pathway that if you’re committed to the pathway and do well at certain events, you will have a chance.”

For Hunter, his selection is extra special as he grew up just a few miles from host venue OVO Arena Wembley in north London.

He said: “It’s a dream come true to be in the squad for a home Worlds, it’s three or four miles from where I grew up, so that’s really cool.

“I’m obviously very happy, it was a bit of a surprise but after the Nationals, I thought there was a chance. It’s going to be a great experience to compete alongside the best players in England, against the best players in the world and to be in that environment.”