The table tennis season is nearing its conclusion this week as 16 of this year’s best men and women in singles and top eight pairs battle for the Fukuoka WTT Finals 2024 title.
The season-ending event will be held in Kitakyushu, Japan, from 20-24 November.
Singles world number ones Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha headline the elite contenders. Four Olympic singles medallists, Sun and Hayata Hina are the biggest challengers on the women’s side, whereas Truls Möregårdh and Félix Lebrun are other big names on the men’s side.
However, a number of players, including legendary former men’s world number one Ma Long and both singles Olympic champions Fan Zhendong and Chen Meng, have withdrawn from the WTT Finals despite qualifying.
WTT Finals 2024: Key draws
In the men’s draw, top seed Wang will take on Patrick Franziska of Germany in the round of 16, while his Chinese compatriot and world number two Lin Shidong will face Alexis Lebrun of France.
Third seed Félix Lebrun will face Benedikt Duda in the opening round, while fourth seed Liang Jingkun is up against Japan’s Harimoto Tomokazu.
Unseeded Brazilian, world number six Hugo Calderano i could face Liang or Harimoto in the quarter-finals.
In women’s singles, Chinese players have taken three of the four seeded positions. Sun is pitted against fellow Chinese paddler Chen Xingtong in the first round of the women’s draw.
Wang Manyu and Wang Yidi are the second and third seeds while Hayata is seeded fourth and are looking for a walkover.
Harimoto Miwa, the top-ranked unseeded player, is in Wang Yidi’s quarter of the draw. She would pose a tough challenge to Wang if they prevail over Jeon Jihee and Cheng I-Ching respectively.
WTT Finals 2024: Schedule
All times are Japan Standard Time (UTC +9 hours)
Wednesday 20 November 2024
- 13:00 Women’s singles round of 16, Women’s doubles quarter-finals, Men’s doubles quarter-finals, Men’s singles round of 16
- 19:00 Women’s singles round of 16, Men’s singles round of 16, Women’s doubles quarter-finals, Men’s doubles quarter-finals
Thursday 21 November 2024
- 13:00 Women’s singles round of 16, Women’s doubles quarter-finals, Men’s doubles quarter-finals, Men’s singles round of 16
- 18:00 Women’s singles round of 16, Women’s doubles quarter-finals, Men’s doubles quarter-finals, Men’s singles round of 16
Friday 22 November 2024
- 13:00 Women’s singles quarter-finals, Women’s doubles semi-finals, Men’s doubles semi-finals, Men’s singles quarter-finals
- 18:00 Women’s singles quarter-finals, Women’s doubles semi-finals, Men’s doubles semi-finals, Men’s singles quarter-finals
Saturday 23 November 2024
- 16:00 Women’s singles semi-finals, Men’s singles semi-finals
- 20:00 Women’s doubles final, Men’s doubles final
Sunday 24 November 2024
- 16:00 Men’s singles final, Women’s singles final
Also Read: Squash: Top Contenders At 2024 Singapore Open
WTT Finals 2024: How to watch live
All the action from the WTT Finals Fukuoka 2024 will be broadcast on World Table Tennis’s global partners, including CCTV in China, TV Tokyo in Japan, SPOTV in Southeast Asia and South Korea, Dyn in Germany, Viaplay in Sweden and RMC Sport’s Twitch channel in France.
Matches will also be live streamed on the WTT YouTube channel – but may be subject to territorial restrictions.
