How to qualify in Table tennis
How table tennis players qualify for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics
Table tennis at Los Angeles 2028 has six events: men's and women's singles, men's and women's doubles, mixed doubles and a mixed team event. There are 172 places (86 men and 86 women). A country can send at most three men and three women.
No places have been won yet. Qualifying starts in June 2027.
The most important event for a country is the mixed team, three men and three women. A country with a team also gets two singles places per gender, so a team place fills a country's whole squad. Sixteen teams qualify:
- Continental qualifiers in 2027: the winner in each of the five continents.
- The Mixed Team World Cup (15 November to 20 December 2027): the top six not yet qualified.
- The Mixed Team World Ranking in January 2028: the next two.
- The United States as host.
- Two more teams in May 2028, from the countries with the most players already qualified in other events.
Countries without a team can still qualify players through continental qualifiers in each event, world qualifying events for doubles in March to May 2028, and the world rankings. Asia and Europe each have six continental singles places per gender, the most of any continent.
For India, the plainest route to a full squad is the Asian mixed team qualifier, the Mixed Team World Cup or the team ranking.
The places
| Men | Women | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quota places | 82 | 82 | 164 |
| Host country | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| Universality | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Total | 86 | 86 | 172 |
Per country: three athletes per gender. Within that, two in singles, one pair in men's and in women's doubles, one mixed doubles pair (two if the country has two pairs in the top eight of the world ranking) and one team.
Who owns a place. Singles places go to the player by name. Doubles, mixed doubles and team places go to the country.
Who can play. Players picked by their national association and approved by their Olympic committee, meeting the ITTF's Olympic eligibility rules. Players for universality places must have appeared on an ITTF ranking list between 31 May 2027 and 1 June 2028.
Mixed team: 16 teams
| Route | Teams |
|---|---|
| Continental qualifier: the top country in each of five continents | 5 |
| 2027 Mixed Team World Cup: the six best not yet qualified | 6 |
| Mixed Team World Ranking, January 2028: the two best not yet qualified | 2 |
| Host country (United States), if not qualified | 1 |
| Two more, from countries with the most players already qualified | 2 |
The last two go, in order, to countries with at least three men and three women qualified; then three and two; then two and two. Ties are broken by the number of singles players, then by the highest-ranked player in the world ranking of the week of 15 May 2028.
Mixed doubles: 16 pairs; men's and women's doubles: 16 pairs each
| Route | Pairs |
|---|---|
| Continental qualifier: the top pair in each continent | 5 |
| World qualifying event (15 March to 7 May 2028), for countries not yet qualified | 4 |
| Doubles world ranking of 13 March 2028: the two best not yet qualified, from new countries | 2 |
| Host country, if not qualified | 1 |
| Four more, allocated in May 2028 | 4 |
The four extra men's or women's pairs go to countries with two players already in singles in that gender. The four extra mixed pairs go first to countries with two pairs in the world top eight, if all four players are within that country's six places; then to countries with a man and a woman in singles. The doubles ranking breaks ties.
Singles: 64 per gender
| Route | Players |
|---|---|
| Countries with a team: two each | 32 |
| Continental qualifiers or the world ranking, as each continent decides | 21 |
| Singles world ranking of 5 June 2028, or players already in doubles | Up to 10 |
| Universality | 1 |
The continental shares (per gender):
| Continent | Teams | Men's doubles | Women's doubles | Mixed doubles | Singles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Africa | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Americas | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Asia | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| Europe | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| Oceania | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
The host country
The United States is guaranteed a mixed team, two singles places per gender, a men's and a women's doubles pair and a mixed doubles pair, provided its players meet the eligibility rules.
Universality places
Two, one per gender. The IOC invites requests on 1 October 2027, with a deadline of 15 January 2028.
Places turned down
A continental place goes to the next eligible team, pair or player from the same continental event. A place won at the Mixed Team World Cup goes to the next team there. A ranking place goes to the next on the ranking. Unused host places go to the next on the world ranking (May 2028 team ranking; 22 May 2028 for doubles; 5 June 2028 for singles).
Dates
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| 1 June to 31 October 2027 | Continental mixed team qualifiers |
| 20 to 22 June 2027 | European mixed team qualifier, Istanbul |
| 1 June 2027 to 28 February 2028 | Continental qualifiers for mixed, men's and women's doubles |
| 15 November to 20 December 2027 | Mixed Team World Cup |
| January 2028 | Two teams from the Mixed Team World Ranking |
| 4 January to 28 February 2028 | Continental singles qualifiers |
| 13 March 2028 | Doubles places from the world ranking |
| 15 March to 7 May 2028 | World qualifying events for mixed and for men's and women's doubles |
| 15 May 2028 | The last two teams; singles places from those teams |
| 22 May 2028 | The extra doubles and mixed doubles pairs |
| 5 June 2028 | Singles places from the world ranking |
| 15 June 2028 | Last reallocation |
| 26 June 2028 | Entries deadline for the Games |
| 14 to 30 July 2028 | LA28 Olympic Games |
The ITTF tells countries of their places within two days of each event; countries then have a week to confirm.
Where to follow it
ittf.com publishes results within two days of each qualifying event.