Entries are ramping up for the first major tournament of the 2025/26 season, the Sussex 4*, which will be hosted at the popular K2 venue in Crawley. 

There is now less than two weeks to go until the entry deadline of 12 August, so make sure you get your entries in soon. The event is on the weekend of 13-14 September.

Already in the field is England’s recently crowned double European champion Lorestas Trumpauskas, who will be looking to add the Veterans’ Singles title to the two gold medals he won in the European Championships in Serbia.

Lorestas is also in the Men’s Singles, where he will face stiff competition from his son, Larry (pictured above with Lorestas), currently ranked 10 in England and an England youth international and national title winner himself.

Sussex’s very own highly ranked local siblings Jack and Josh Bennett will have something to say about that – and will have high hopes of preventing the titles and £400 prize money on offer from leaving the county. 

There’s a family flavour from further afield too, with the Pitamber brothers from Bedfordshire, the Shah brothers from Middlesex, the Kniep siblings Theo and Chloe from Berkshire, and father Cesar Ramirez Rioja and his sons Pablo and Victor from Hertfordshire all entered.

“We are following the format that Table Tennis England used for Grand Prix events,” said Dennis Hayden, the Chair of Sussex TTA. “It’s a popular format and allows local players access to a high standard of competition; it’s already attracted some of the younger players from Brighton TTC keen to test themselves in a senior tournament.”

The Sussex 4* offers a variety of events to cater for all ages and levels, with Banded competition on the Saturday. On the Sunday, the Men’s and Women’s (open) Singles each have £400 prize money on offer. There’s also mixed restricted singles, and mixed veterans’ singles, plus popular U21 singles for men and women. See entry form for full details and terms.

The K2 has excellent transport links from the M25, by train from London, and from Gatwick Airport as well as a variety of accommodation options for those looking to enjoy competitive play over two days. It promises to be a fantastic weekend of competition for all so make sure you don’t miss out!