The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) annonced that the 2019 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals will be staged in China with this year’s showpiece event taking place in the city of Zhengzhou between Thursday 12th – Sunday 15th December 2019. Zhengzhou stood out from all of the candidate cities to win the hosting rights of the 2019 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals. As one of the major metropolises of the central plain area in China Zhengzhou boasts a rich history large population and convenient transportation. Hosting world-class international events will present Zhengzhou to the rest of the world and at the same time bring the world to Zhengzhou.
The ITTF World Tour Grand Finals will yet again provide the most spectacular stage to bring the curtain down on an unforgettable 12 months of action passion and drama as the world’s greatest table tennis stars battle it out for the much-coveted end-of-year titles and $1 million USD total prize purse – the highest on offer in the sport. The event will feature many of the biggest names in table tennis who accumulated the highest number of points over the course of the year’s ITTF World Tour among those eligible: 16 players in each of the men’s and women’s singles competitions and 8 pairs in each of the men’s women’s and mixed doubles categories.
An extra special ingredient of the 2019 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals is that the best 4 mixed doubles pairs in Zhengzhou will seal direct qualification for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Never before have the stakes been raised so high!
That’s not all! The glitz and glamour surrounding the event will be heightened by the annual ITTF Star Awards – set for its debut in China – when the world of table tennis will unite to celebrate several of the greatest achievements in the sport over the past year. The red carpet will be unfurled in Zhengzhou for table tennis’ finest to be presented awards in the Female & Male Star Female & Male Para Star Breakthrough Star Star Coach and Star Point categories. It’s sure to be a night to remember.
“We are delighted to be staging the 2019 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals in China. Today’s announcement is the fruit of a flourishing partnership between the ITTF and CTTA with both parties fully committed to taking the sport of table tennis to unprecedented heights.” – Steve Dainton ITTF CEO.
“I would like to thank President Liu Guoliang for his continued efforts and contributions to international table tennis. We are confident that the 2019 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals in China will be the best yet in the history of our sport.” – Thomas Weikert ITTF President
Stay up to date on all the latest news from the world of table tennis on ITTF.com.