Reliving Past World Table Tennis Days

11. February 2022

With World Table Tennis Day (WTTD) 2022 fast approaching, let us take a walk down memory lane and relive the highlights of the past editions.

World Table Tennis Day is celebrated annually on April 6 since 2015, also marking the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace. It is the day we celebrate table tennis, as well as the universality and inclusivity of the sport. So far WTTD has seen a total of 5,121 events taking place in 195 countries and territories. Around 1.4 million table tennis fans have participated in a WTTD event in the seven years of WTTD history.

Table tennis for all, WTTD 2015

Aiming to make table tennis popular, universal, and inclusive, the first edition of WTTD has seen 158 events across 70 countries globally. The main event took place in Buenos Aires, Argentina, with activities ranging from a Guinness World Record attempt for the greatest number of players in a table tennis rally to integrating immigrants in the UK. The WTTD 2015 events were all different but have exhibited the same spirit our favourite sport embraces.

Table tennis for inclusion, WTTD 2016

Built on the success of the first edition, 196 events in 83 countries and territories for WTTD 2016 has set the bar even higher for future editions. We have observed great creativity this year, as a table tennis table made of chocolate was built in Mexico and a medieval-themed party where players played table tennis with swords instead of rackets. Some events have combined their celebration with additional social goals such as combating terrorism with table tennis balls in Tunisia and planting trees in Kenya.

The main event took place in Kathmandu, Nepal as a joint celebration of the Table Tennis for NepALL project inauguration, as well as the newly renovated para table tennis training centre in the capital.

Table tennis for everyone, WTTD 2017

With the outstanding activation by the Romanian NGO AmaTur and Pingpongphilic in India, WTTD 2017 has seen a total of 450 events across 93 countries. Posts from elite players on social media have also been a big motivation for the public to try table tennis this year.

Table tennis to break down social barriers, WTTD 2018

The main event in Za’atari, one of the most organised and secure refugee camps in Jordan has set the tone for WTTD 2018. We have seen 597 events in 97 countries that used table tennis to promote peace and inclusion. Our event organiser in Turkey has set up a granite table tennis table for public play. In areas of conflict, such as Kenya and Afghanistan, table tennis games were organised to promote peaceful dialogues and actions. In Argentina and Haiti, we have seen table tennis broken down social barriers, and children with no previous access to table tennis played for the first time in rural Tunisia.

Table tennis for diversity, WTTD 2019

As the fifth edition, WTTD 2019 has set many records. For the first time, over 100 countries and territories have celebrated WTTD. With 922 events in 107 locations, WTTD has reached around 700,000 people worldwide. In addition to NGOs, schools, and table tennis clubs, we have seen an increase in private companies and government bodies joining in as event organisers.

Our organisers this year have brought great ideas in using table tennis to reach diverse groups. In Tunisia, an event was organised in a retirement centre where table tennis was introduced to the residents. In Ecuador, table tennis was used to help the integration of migrants from Venezuela. in sport, in Algeria table tennis was used to educate people about the danger of drugs.

World Table Tennis AT HOME Day 2020

Check out the best of the craziest and longest table tennis rally we have managed to compile from the footage we received.

WTTD 2020 was all about being physically distanced but socially united. With Covid-19 restrictions in place, table tennis fans around the world have shown out-of-box creativity and determination to celebrate our favourite sport at home. In 2,770 home celebrations across 171 countries and territories, we have seen fans playing with a garbage bin, a flipper, a banana; passing by on a bicycle; using the coffee table as a table tennis table or toilet paper as a net.

Table tennis for FEMpowerment, WTTD 2021

The seventh edition also marks the second WTTD in times of the pandemic has many firsts. Despite not being able to host a physical event, we have taken the celebration online with a 24-hour stream consisting of fun, educational, and sweat-inducing sessions for everyone, everywhere. We have also launched the Promoters Initiative to support dedicated individuals around the world who wish to help us to create positive social change with table tennis.

With female empowerment being the focus, WTTD 2021 has seen 313 events and home celebrations in 98 countries and territories seeking to make table tennis more accessible to women and girls, as well as to raise awareness towards gender inequalities in countries such as Tahiti and Nigeria. Cambodia and Korea DPR have both held their first WTTD event this year, while our Promoter in Argentina has organised a two-hour event with dance, music with adapted lyrics to promote FEMpowerment and a generational table tennis game with female-only participants.

Thanks to our dedicated event Promoters, organisers, and participants, the past editions of WTTD is filled with amazing events that have brought joy and contentment to the table tennis community. We are excited to share with you our plans for WTTD 2022, sign up for our newsletter to stay updated!

Feeling inspired? We look forward to your great World Table Tennis Day celebration ideas. Register your event now.

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