USA to Host 2016 ITTF Women’s World Cup in Philadelphia

Courtesy of ITTF

Wu Yue will get the chance to play a home Women’s World Cup.

The 2016 ITTF Women’s World Cup will be held at the United States for the first time ever, as the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) announced today that USA Table Tennis has bee selected to host the prestigious event from October 7-9, 2016 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The state-of-the-art Liacouras Center on the campus of Temple University will host the World Cup, which features the best 20 women’s table tennis players on earth. This will be the first time an ITTF World Cup singles event has been hosted on North American soil. The United States previously hosted the World Team Cup (1992 – Las Vegas, NV) and the World Junior Championship (2007 – Palo Alto, CA).

ITTF President Thomas WEIKERT stated: “The ITTF can’t wait to bring the Women’s World Cup to Philadelphia and to the United States for the first time. The USA is a key market for the ITTF and table tennis, with many up-and-coming young talents making way onto the international stage. We hope that this big event will help further develop the sport in the USA!”

“On behalf of USATT and all of the millions of table tennis enthusiasts in the United States, I would like to thank the ITTF for selecting us to host the most prestigious women’s table tennis event in the world this October,” commented USATT CEO Gordon KAYE. “To be able to host this field of very talented women, most of whom will also be competing at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, is incredible. We look forward to an amazing event highlighting the great sport of table tennis and the top female athletes from around the world” concluded KAYE.

The ITTF Women’s World Cup is the one of the most prestigious events on the international table tennis calendar, with top table tennis players qualifying through their respective Continental Cups together with the current World Champion, one host player and a wildcard. A list of currently qualified players is below.

Tickets will go on-sale on Friday, August 5, 2016 at 10:00am ET at http://www.liacourascenter.com/events or by calling +1 800-298-4200. Phone orders are only accepted from 10:00am – 5:00pm ET, Monday – Friday.

Event schedule and pricing is as follows:

• Friday, October 7 – Qualification Rounds
  • All Seats (Upper and Lower General Admission) – $20
  • Saturday, October 8 – Round of 16 and Quarter Finals
  • Lower Level VIP – $50
  • Lower Level Reserved – $30
  • Upper Level General Admission – $20
  • Sunday, October 9 – Semi-Finals and Finals
  • Lower Level VIP – $50
  • Lower Level Reserved – $30
  • Upper Level General Admission – $20

Student and group discounts are available. All prices included tax and facility fee. Additional fees may apply.

Qualified Players (through August 1, 2016):

• World Champion: DING Ning* (CHN)
• 2016 ITTF-Europe Top 16 Cup: SHEN Yanfei (ESP)*, HU Melek (TUR)* and LIU Jia (AUT)*
• 2016 ITTF-Africa Top 16 Cup: Dina MESHREF (EGY)*
• Nakheel 2016 ITTF-Asian Cup: LIU Shiwen (CHN)**, FENG Tianwei (SIN)* and TIE Yana (HKG)
• 2016 ITTF-Latin American Cup: Lady RUANO (COL)
• 2016 ITTF-Oceania Cup: Zhenhua DEDERKO (AUS)
• 2016 ITTF-North America Cup: WU Yue (USA)*

*2016 Olympians