Table tennis at the Youth Olympic Games-2026 competitions will take place from 31 October to 5 November 2026 at the Dakar Expo Center in Diamniadio, Senegal. Boys' and girls' singles events will be contested. The programme will also feature a mixed team event, with each team consisting of one boy and one girl. Each team match will comprise two singles matches, with a doubles match played as a decider if the score is tied.
Participants
A total of 64 athletes — 32 boys and 32 girls — representing 41 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) from five continents competed in table tennis at the 2026 Summer Youth Olympic Games. Each NOC was permitted to enter a maximum of one athlete in each singles event. The mixed doubles event featured players from the same NOC who had already entered the singles competitions. In total, 23 National Olympic Committees were eligible to field mixed doubles pairs.
Special consideration was given to African representation in the allocation of places, as Africa hosted an Olympic sporting event for the first time. The tournament featured 15 athletes from nine African NOCs: Algeria, Benin, Egypt, Ghana, Madagascar, Nigeria, Senegal, Tunisia and Uganda. The host nation was represented by Amador Ferrer and Marieme Diallo, who were entered in both the singles and mixed doubles events.
Qualification
The selection of participants for the table tennis competitions at the 2026 Summer Youth Olympic Games was carried out in accordance with the participation principles approved by the Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on 17 March 2025. Unlike previous editions of the Games, no dedicated qualification tournaments were held to secure Olympic berths.
Quota places were allocated centrally by the IOC in cooperation with the National Olympic Committees (NOCs), the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) and the Dakar 2026 Organising Committee. Six main principles were taken into account: universality of participation, representation of all continents, increased representation of African nations, participation of the host country, sporting performance and gender equality.
Each singles event had 32 places available. Each NOC could receive no more than one quota place per event. Priority in the allocation of places was given to athletes who had competed in national, continental and international youth competitions, as well as those involved in sports development programmes run by NOCs and international federations. The sporting eligibility criteria were established by the ITTF, while the final selection of athletes to compete at the Games remained the responsibility of the respective NOCs.
Athletes were required to be no older than 17 at the time of the Games. According to the entry list published by the ITTF, the table tennis competitions featured athletes born between 2009 and 2014.
The quota allocation and list of participants were officially published by the ITTF on 14–15 October 2026. The final entry list comprised 64 athletes from 41 NOCs.
Competition format
The table tennis competitions at the 2026 Summer Youth Olympic Games are contested in three events: boys' singles, girls' singles and mixed doubles. A maximum of 32 boys and 32 girls may compete in the singles events. Each National Olympic Committee (NOC) is entitled to enter no more than one athlete of each gender.
Singles events
Each singles tournament consists of two stages: a preliminary group stage and a final knockout stage.
In the preliminary stage, players are divided into eight groups of up to four athletes each. Matches are played in a round-robin format, with each player facing every other player in their group. Two points are awarded for a win, one point for a loss in a completed match, and zero points for a loss due to a no-show, disqualification, injury or illness if the match was not started or completed.
The top two players from each group advance to the round of 16. Players finishing third in their groups are classified in 17th place, while those finishing fourth are classified in 25th place.
The second stage follows a single-elimination format and comprises the round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals, bronze medal match and final. The semi-final winners compete for the gold medal in the final, while the losing semi-finalists contest the bronze medal. Players eliminated in the quarter-finals are ranked fifth, while those eliminated in the round of 16 are ranked ninth.
Group-stage matches are played as best of five games (the first player to win three games), while knockout-stage matches are played as best of seven games (the first player to win four games).
Mixed doubles
The mixed doubles event features between 16 and 24 pairs, each consisting of two athletes representing the same National Olympic Committee. The tournament is played entirely in a single-elimination format.
If more than 16 pairs are entered, the competition begins with the round of 32. This is followed by the round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals, bronze medal match and final.
All mixed doubles matches are played as best of five games (the first pair to win three games).
Match rules
In all events, each game is played to 11 points. At 10–10, play continues until one player or pair establishes a two-point lead.
A break of up to one minute is permitted between games. During each match, every player or pair may request one time-out of up to one minute.
Tie-breaking criteria in the group stage
If two or more players finish the group stage with the same number of points, their positions are determined by the results of matches played between the tied players.
The following criteria are applied in order:
- Number of points earned in matches between the tied players.
- Ratio of games won to games lost.
- Ratio of points won to points lost.
If the tie remains unresolved after these criteria have been applied, the final ranking is determined by drawing lots.
If the positions of some players are determined at any stage of the tie-breaking procedure, the results of matches involving those players are excluded from subsequent calculations for the remaining tied players.
Useful links
Table tennis at the 2026 Summer Youth Olympics - article on English Wikipedia
Table tennis at the 2026 Summer Youth Olympics - section on the official
olympics.com website
Table tennis at the 2026 Summer Youth Olympics - Schedule & Results - competition schedule and results on the official
olympics.com website
Table tennis at the 2026 Summer Youth Olympics - Competition Format and Rules - competition format and rules on the official
olympics.com website
Table tennis at the 2026 Summer Youth Olympics - Competition Schedule - overall competition schedule on the official
olympics.com website
Table tennis at the 2026 Summer Youth Olympics - Entry List by NOC - entry list by National Olympic Committee (NOC) on the official
olympics.com website
Table tennis at the 2026 Summer Youth Olympics - Competition Officials - list of competition officials on the official
olympics.com website
