The star names of English table tennis are among those who will be automatically invited to the Mark Bates Ltd Senior National Championships.

The December ranking lists, just published here, were used to determine the top 16 senior men and senior women who will be invited to the flagship tournament at the David Ross Sports Village in Nottingham, from March 22-24, 2024.

Leading the lists are Olympians Liam Pitchford & Tin-Tin Ho, who will be looking to qualify once again for the greatest show on Earth in Paris next summer.

This lists in full are:

Those who are not in those top-16 brackets still have a chance to join the elite at the Nationals via the Qualifying Tournament. Entries are open for the next few days, closing at 11.59pm on December 13.

The Qualifying Tournament is at the same venue on the weekend of January 6-7 and will see 14 men and 14 women qualify for the Nationals ‘proper’ – though more places may be available if any athletes in the top 16 decline their invitations. The Nationals field will be brought up to a full complement of 32 by the addition of two wildcards.

Any players with English nationality and who are Compete Plus members of Table Tennis England can enter the Qualifying Tournament. The reference document and regulations can be downloaded from the bottom of the Mark Bates Ltd Senior National Championships homepage.

Entry is online only via TT Memberships (Sport:80) and the closing date is 11.59pm on December 13.

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.

Seedings for the qualifying tournament will also be based on the 23/04 (December) rankings list. The draw will be published on Tuesday January 2, 2023.

What is the qualifying Tournament format?

The event will begin with group stages on the Saturday, comprising of 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 at the same venue from Friday March 22 to Sunday March 24.

Tickets for the Mark Bates Ltd Senior Nationals, which will also feature under-21 and para classes, will go on sale early in the new year with a pre-sale window for TTE members.