The ITTF World Table Tennis Championships Finals 2023 is almost upon us!

The wait is almost over for table tennis aficionados around the world as the ITTF World Table Tennis Championships Finals 2023, to be held in Durban, South Africa is just days away. The highly-anticipated event, which will take place between 20th and 28th May 2023, will see players from around the world compete for one of the sport's most prestigious titles. 

The flagship event, which is set to take place at the Durban International Convention Centre, will feature 128 players in singles (Men and Women) and 64 pairs in each of the doubles competitions (Men’s Doubles, Women’s Doubles, Mixed Doubles) competing in a straight knockout format with 2,000 World Ranking points for the champions.

In the Men’s Singles, the spotlight will once again be on Fan Zhendong. He won this tournament last time around in November 2021, and is well cemented in his World No.1 position, with almost 4,000 ranking points separating him from World No.2, Wang Chuqin. Zhendong has only lost two singles matches in 2023, but one was in the last WTT event in Macao last month, against Frenchman Alexis Lebrun. Can he shake off the ghosts of his last tournament here in Durban and show the world why he is the best in the world?

World No. 2 Wang Chuqin will certainly be hot on his heels to take the trophy from his compatriot! The young superstar has been in blistering form recently, winning the WTT Champions Macao last month in style, overcoming both Tomokazu Harimoto and Ma Long 4-0 in the semi-final and final respectively! He looks virtually unstoppable at the moment, but he did lose to Fan Zhendong earlier in the year at the WTT Singapore Smash. What will unfold this time? We can’t wait to see!

In the Women’s Singles, World No.2 Wang Manyu will be looking for a strong performance to defend her 2021 title. She was already victorious in the WTT Champions Macao back in April, and will be hoping to bring that form here into the tournament. However, World No.1 Sun Yingsha is over 2000 ranking points ahead of her, and she will be a hot favourite for this competition. Yingsha comes into this tournament off the back of winning the WTT Champions Xinxiang last month, as well as the Singapore Smash back in March, so she’s certainly in top form at the moment! The last time these two met was in March, with Yinghsa overcoming Manyu 4-0! However, when this competition took place back in 2021, Wang Manyu was victorious over Yingsha 4-2, so which way will it go this time? It’s so close to call! 

The spotlight is not only on the established stars here in Durban, however. This year’s event is an especially significant one for the African continent as it marks the return of the championship to Africa after 84 years. The last time the event was held in Africa was in Cairo, Egypt way back in 1939!

The ITTF World Championships will provide an opportunity for the home fans to witness the top and rising stars of the continent, such as Quadri Aruna and Omar Assar in the men’s event and Hana Goda and Dina Meshref in the women’s competition. These players will all be hoping to put on a show in front of their home fans and make a mark on the world stage. Their presence in this prestigious event is a testament to the growing popularity of table tennis in Africa. 

So, who will take home the main event here in Durban? Will it be the ones we expect or will a challenger emerge unexpectedly from the shadows? Only time will tell, but fans can be sure that the upcoming ITTF World Table Tennis Championships Finals 2023 will be an enthralling event filled with talented players from all over the world here to put on a show.