ITTF World Hopes Week & Challenge is returning to Sheffield for the second year running!

Following a hugely successful event in 2025, the 2026 edition of the ITTF’s flagship programme for nurturing the next generation of table tennis champions will be hosted at the English Institute of Sport (EIS) Sheffield.

It means that once again the GB performance pathway will host the best young players from five continents, as well as a cohort of elite coaches.

Up to 20 boys and 20 girls, born in 2014 or later, will undertake a week of intensive training and international collaboration, ending in the Challenge competition on the final two days.

As hosts, England also receives wildcard entries, giving an unrivalled opportunity for talented English youngsters to mix it with the best young athletes in the world.

Details will be released shortly about how those wildcards can be earned via a planned English Hopes competition similar to the one held last year. It is also intended to hold a coach education programme during World Hopes Week.

Natalie Green, Head of Pathway (Interim) at Table Tennis England, said: “We are incredibly happy and proud to have been asked by the ITTF to host the World Hopes Week and Challenge event again this year.

“The feedback we had from the ITTF staff, players and coaches from last year’s event was extremely positive and we are looking forward to welcoming some of the best players and coaches from all over the world to Sheffield once again in October. 

“It will be another opportunity for players and coaches in our pathway to experience a world-class event by connecting with others from around the world and we look forward to them embracing the opportunity.” 

Mikael Andersson, ITTF Director of Sports Development, said: “In the ITTF’s centenary year, it is fitting to get our talents started where international table tennis itself got its start: England.

“Table Tennis England have put a lot of thought into truly embracing the World Hopes as the comprehensive development opportunity that it is, integrating coach development and schools’ projects within the wider context of the activity.

“Development is at the heart of the Hopes programme, as athlete, coach and member association development go hand in hand. The feedback from our participants last year was overwhelmingly positive, with many praising the activity as the best organised they have ever attended.

“Last year’s World Hopes raised the bar for future organisers, and we are very excited to be returning to Sheffield for another great week of identifying our future talents and developing table tennis globally.”

What is World Hopes Week?

The ITTF Hopes Programme has, for more than 15 years, played a central role in identifying and nurturing the next generation of table tennis champions. The programme creates a clear and inspiring pathway for players under 12 – from local discovery to global recognition.

The World Hopes Week & Challenge is the pinnacle of this journey, following National and Continental Hopes events. Players who reach Sheffield have already demonstrated exceptional promise and earned their place through rigorous international qualification.

The programme has proved a launchpad for some global superstars, including Paris 2024 Men’s Singles silver medallist Truls Moregard of Sweden, Egypt’s Hana Goda and Adriana Diaz of Puerto Rico.

The 2026 edition carries particular resonance, and not just as Sheffield’s second successive staging of the event. This year, the ITTF celebrates its centenary in the most fitting of ways: the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals London 2026, held from 28 April to 10 May, brought the sport’s elite back to the city where it all began. London hosted the very first ITTF World Table Tennis Championships in 1926, making this year’s return a moment of profound historical symmetry. The next generation arriving in Sheffield this October will step into a programme that is, in every sense, part of that 100-year story.