Entries are open for the Mark Bates Ltd National Championships Qualifying Tournament, where players can earn a plum tie against one of the country’s top players.

The tournament is on the weekend of 4-5 January 2025, at the David Ross Sports Village in Nottingham.

It is open to players in the Ranking List who are Compete Plus members of Table Tennis England and those who finish in the top 14 places in each of the male and female competitions will qualify for the Mark Bates Ltd Senior Nationals at the same venue in March.

For full eligibility details, please click here to download the tournament reference document and regulations.

Entry is online only via TT Memberships (Sport:80) and the closing date is 11.59pm on Wednesday 11 December.

Entries will be accepted in order of receipt (time and date) up until the closing date or the competition is full. There will be a practical limit for entrants, and it may not be possible to accept all entries. This will be determined by when your entry is submitted/paid for. All entries should be considered provisional until confirmed, and any unsuccessful entries will be refunded.

Players who are ranked in the top 16 in the 24/04 rankings list, published on 11 December, will automatically qualify for an invitation to the Mark Bates Ltd Senior National Championships and therefore will be ineligible for the qualifying competition.

Anyone who has entered and is in the top 16 rankings list published on 11 December will be refunded fully.

Seedings for the qualifying tournament will also be based on the 23/04 rankings list published on 11 December. The draw will be published week commencing 30 December 2024.

As in previous years, the event will begin with group stages on the Saturday, comprising groups of 6-8 players, subject to entries received, with 2 or 3 players from each group qualifying for the knockout stage on Sunday.

Progressive knockout matches on Sunday will be the last 32 players only and will be played to a final list, for example players losing in the last 16 will play out for places 9-16 and so on.

The top 14 finishers in both the men’s and women’s singles at the tournament will qualify for the Mark Bates Ltd Senior National Championships from Friday March 21 to Sunday March 23.

There, they will join the top 16 players in the national rankings, plus two wildcards, meaning they could have the chance to face England’s top players.

Tickets for the Mark Bates Ltd Senior Nationals, which will also feature para classes, will go on sale in the new year.