The World Table Tennis (WTT) tournament, which debuted last year, will return to Macau with the WTT Champions Macao 2021 China Stars event, organizers announced on Tuesday in a press conference held at Banyan Tree Hotel.
The event – dubbed one of the most successful sporting events of last year in its world debut – will return to Macau and the Tap Seac Multisport Pavilion from January 19 to 23.
Although the event’s line-up of players has not yet been unveiled, organizers said that the competition “will bring together world-leading elite players playing in three categories: men’s singles, women’s singles, and mixed doubles. They will demonstrate excellent techniques and skills, and provide spectators with exciting matches.”
The competition will retain the format and rules of last year’s WTT Macao 2020, and it is expected that some of the best players in the world will participate. Those from the mainland will compose the majority of players due to the current pandemic-related border restrictions. However, some others from the Greater China region and beyond may also join.
The only major novelty for this year is the addition of the mixed doubles category alongside the singles matches.
Tickets for the event will go on sale from January 5 and details on the competitors will be announced around the same time, organizers added.
Ma Long and Xu Xin, Olympic champions and Chinese national table tennis players, also took part in the press conference. They both took part in the tour of the Chinese Olympic athletes to Macau over the weekend.
Ma was the winner of the WTT Macao last year in the male category, while the female division was won by Sun Yingsha.
China will dispatch seven Tokyo 2020 athletes including Ma, Xu, Fan Zhendong, Chen Meng, Sun Yingsha, Wang Manyu and Liu Shiwen, as well as Wang Chuqin and Liang Jingkun.
Doo Hoi Kem and Ho Kwan Kit from Hong Kong, China, Li Jie from the Netherlands and Poland’s Li Qian are also expected to compete.
The event was the only international sports event to be ranked in the top ten international sports news in 2020 by China Central Radio and Television.
Similar to last year’s edition, Galaxy Entertainment Group will be the title-sponsor of the event.
