2026 YOUTH NATIONAL TEAM SELECTION PROCEDURE RELEASED

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by USA Table Tennis

Mandy Yu playing in the 2025 National Team Ranking Tournament I at Westchester Table Tennis Center.

USA Table Tennis (USATT) has announced the finalized selection procedures for the 2026 Youth National Teams.

All selections—across U11, U13, U15, U17, and U19—will be determined by total points earned across selection events, with players in the U15, U17 and U19 groups able to earn bonus points if their world ranking is within the top 50. All athletes will start from zero on January 1. Points earned throughout the year will reset to zero at the end of 2026. The final National Team will be determined at the end of U.S. Nationals, which is the last selection event.

Each National Team will consist of eight boys and eight girls per age group. The top four in each age group will receive USATT funding and full team uniforms, while players ranked 5–8 may be invited to compete but must self-fund their participation.

Points earned for each position can be found here: 2026 Junior National Team Points Calculations

U11 & U13 NATIONAL TEAM SELECTION

Selections will be based on points earned from four events:

  1. Junior National Ranking Tournament I – Age-group points
  2. Junior National Ranking Tournament II – Age-group points
  3. US Regionals – Age-group points
    • Only a player’s single best regional result will count.
    • Regional Champions may not compete in additional regional events.
  4. US Nationals – Age-group points

Team Qualification

  • After the 2026 US Nationals, the top four boys and top four girls in each age group will represent USA at the Pan Am Youth Championships (U11 & U13).
  • Only the top four are funded; players ranked 5–8 must self-fund if selected.

U15, U17 & U19 NATIONAL TEAM SELECTION

Selections will be based on:

  1. Junior National Ranking Tournament I – Age-group points
  2. Junior National Ranking Tournament II – Age-group points
  3. US Regionals – Age-group points
    • Only the best regional finish counts.
    • Regional Champions cannot enter additional regional events.
  4. US Nationals – Age-group points
  5. World Ranking Bonus Points – For top-50 age-group ITTF rankings
    • Pan Am Teams (U15 & U19): ITTF World Ranking published the Tuesday before US Nationals
    • World Youth Championships Teams (U15 & U19): ITTF World Ranking published immediately after the 2026 Pan Am Youth Championships

Team Qualification

  • After the 2026 US Nationals, the top four boys and top four girls in U15 and U19 will represent USA at the Pan Am Youth Championships.
  • Only the top four are funded; players ranked 5–8 must self-fund if selected or invited.

The first Junior National Ranking Tournament will take place at Table Tennis America, in Fremont California from January 16-20, 2026. Entries are now open at omnipong.com.