In recent months we have undergone a robust consultation on Table Tennis England's draft policy on gender eligibility within our sport, which is expected to be finalised and released in early 2026 and will be implemented for the 2026/27 season. The policy will include the eligibility criteria for Open and Women’s categories for TTE regulated competition at nationally ranked level. This use of 'Open' aligns with the general approach being adopted across the wider sporting landscape.
As a consequence, it is proposed to change the existing naming conventions for competition event formats from ‘Open’, 'Invitation' and ‘Closed’ to ‘All-Comers’, 'Invitation' and ‘Closed’. This is in order for 'Open' to instead be used within gender eligibility categories. All-Comers has been chosen as it is a term in widespread use in the sporting landscape and is well understood in this context.
All-Comers will refer to a competition that can be entered by any individual affiliated to TTE, including reciprocal affiliations (members of other home countries) and visiting players (members of other ITTF associations). This includes 1*/2*/4* Tournaments.
Invitation will continue to refer to a nationally authorised tournament which complies with all the regulations for an 'All-Comers' tournament, except that it is not open to every affiliated member. This includes National Championships, National Series and National Cups.
Closed will continue to refer to competitions that are authorised and regulated by a TTE affiliated organisation (county, club or league) and restricted to its bona fide membership.
We are encouraging our members to have their input in this naming convention change. This consultation will remain open until 8pm on Wednesday 10 December 2025.
