"There Was A Demand": ITTF President Explains Launch Of Inaugural Doubles World Cup Ahead Of LA 2028

New Delhi, July 12: The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) is set to announce the hosts of the three upcoming World Cup events in 2027. This includes the inaugural Doubles World Cup. With doubles being part of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics program, the ITTF announced plans to launch a World Cup in this category earlier this year, in March.

According to Petra Sorling, the ITTF president, quoted by PTI, "The ITTF is developing its 2027 World Cup programme, comprising three events: singles, doubles, and mixed team. We haven't made the formal announcement yet, but we will take one of them to Europe."

Earlier, the ITTF president had said the introduction of the Doubles World Cup would open the doors to play more in the category. "When an event becomes an Olympic event, such as the doubles now are coming back, then of course the players want to play more doubles and doubles become more important," Sorling said.

ITTF President Petra Sörling said the decision to introduce another World Cup was driven by the return of doubles to the Olympic programme at the 2028 Los Angeles Games. According to her, the growing importance of doubles created a demand for a dedicated global event, prompting the ITTF to expand its calendar without replacing the existing World Cups.

"That's the reason why we added one World Cup. There was a demand for it, driven by the fact that we are now having doubles back in the Olympic programme in 2028," Sörling said.

She also praised the Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) format, describing it as an exciting product that blends men's and women's singles with mixed doubles in a fast-paced team competition. Sörling believes the league's structure not only makes the sport more engaging for spectators but also helps Indian players develop by competing alongside top international stars.

"I do believe that this is a good way to not only educate your own players, but also make table tennis attractive for the young fans," she added.

With PTI inputs