The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) is the governing body for all national table tennis associations. The role of the ITTF includes overseeing rules and regulations and seeking technological improvement for the sport of table tennis. The ITTF is responsible for the organization of numerous international competitions, including the World Table Tennis Championships that has continued since 1926.
The World Table Tennis Championships are table tennis competitions sanctioned by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF). The World Championships have been held since 1926, biennially since 1957. Five individual events, which include men's singles, women's singles, men's doubles, women's double and mixed doubles, are currently held in odd numbered years. The World Team Table Tennis Championships, which include men's team and women's team events, were first their own competition in 2000. The Team Championships are held in even numbered years.
The 1st World Table Tennis Championships were held in London from December 6 to December 11, 1926.
The 8th World Table Tennis Championships were held in Paris from December 2 to 10, 1933. The Championships were held in December 1933 but are officially listed as the 1934 Championships.
The 1935 World Table Tennis Championships were held at the Imperial Institute, South Kensington in London with the finals at the Wembley Sports Arena, from February 8 to February 16, 1935.
The 1936 World Table Tennis Championships were held in Prague from March 12 to March 18, 1936.
The 1938 World Table Tennis Championships were held in London from January 24 to January 29, 1938. The pool stages were held at the Royal Albert Hall with the finals at the Wembley Empire Pool and Sports Arena.
The 1952 World Table Tennis Championships were held in Bombay from 1 to 10 February 1952.The 1952 World Championships were marked by the arrival of the Japanese as a Table Tennis force on the world scene. In another first the Chief Referee of the tournament was an Indian, Professor Arakalgud Subbarao.
The 1953 World Table Tennis Championships were held at the Floreasca and Dynamo Halls in Bucharest from March 20 to March 29, 1953.
The 1959 World Table Tennis Championships were held in Dortmund from March 27 to April 5, 1959.
The 1963 World Table Tennis Championships were held in Prague from April 5 to April 14, 1963.
The 1967 World Table Tennis Championships were held at the Johanneshovs Isstadion in Stockholm from April 11 to April 21, 1967.
The 1971 World Table Tennis Championships (31st) were held in Nagoya from March 28 to April 7, 1971.
The 1977 World Table Tennis Championships were held in Birmingham at the then newly opened National Exhibition Centre, from March 28 to April 7, 1977.
The 1979 World Table Tennis Championships were held in Pyongyang from April 25 to May 6, 1979.
The 1987 World Table Tennis Championships were held in New Delhi, India. the event was held from 19 February to 1 March 1987.
The 1991 World Table Tennis Championships were held in Chiba from April 24 to May 6, 1991.
The 1997 World Table Tennis Championships were held in Manchester from April 24 to May 5, 1997. This event was notable as the winner Jan-Ove Waldner won without losing a single set in all matches played, this was the first time that this occurred.
The China national table tennis team is the national representative team of the People's Republic of China, and was founded in 1952.
The 2021 World Table Tennis Championships was held in Houston, United States from 23 to 29 November. It was the 56th edition of the championships and the first time the competition was held in the United States. Houston became the host by beating Agadir, Morocco in 2019.
