England men’s squad for the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals London 2026 Presented by ACN ticks both boxes when it comes to youth and experience.
Paul Drinkhall and Sam Walker have both won medals at this level – the famous bronze in Kuala Lumpur in 2016 – while No 1 Tom Jarvis reach the Men’s Singles last 16 at the 2025 Worlds in Doha. Between them, they have huge experience, with Drinkhall alone having been a senior England international for more than 20 years.
Meanwhile, teenagers Connor Green and Joe Hunter add an injection of youth into the mix, both having made significant strides in their careers in the last couple of years.
England will take on three of the best teams in the world – China, Sweden and Korea Republic – in the Stage 1a seeding matches at OVO Arena Wembley on 2 and 3 May.
They are then guaranteed at least one more match in the Round of 32, against a team qualifying from Stage 1b at the Copper Box Arena – and obviously more matches if they win that one.
Green has now climbed above both Walker and Drinkhall and into the top 200 in the world rankings.
Hunter, meanwhile, has not played as much on the WTT circuit but won his first match at Star Contender level at the London event last October, beating the world No 201 in his first match – and he beat Green at the Mark Bates Ltd National Championships last month before giving Jarvis a good match in the semi-finals.
Both have been preparing at the Elite Training Centre in Sheffield and are both relishing the test ahead.
“It’s been going really well so far for me personally, and I think for everyone as well,” said Green of the camp.
“It’s a good vibe and everyone’s practising hard as well, so it makes it easy to get stuck into the practice.”
Hunter added: “t’s been really good, really high intensity. Every ball has been high quality and it’s great to play with the top guys in England who’ve been there and done it, won World Championship medals and been right to the top. It’s good to learn from them.”
Green has had experience of performing on the biggest stage as she partnered Liam Pitchford in the Men’s Doubles at last year’s Worlds in Doha.
“It was just a great experience for me to be there and also play with Pitch,” he said. “I just got so much experience of a World Championships.
“It’s a good feeling going into a tournament in a team event – I feel like it can be the most enjoyable event as well. I’m trying not to change too much and prepare how I normally do for every tournament. But now I’m very excited for it.”
For Hunter, it will be a new experience, but to get the chance to compete at his first Worlds in his home city makes it doubly special.
He said: “After the Nationals, I had a good tournament and I felt like I had a good chance of being selected, but I wasn’t 100% sure. And then I got the letter saying I was in, and I was absolutely buzzing.
“It feels amazing to be called up for a home Worlds. I grew up in London, only three or four miles away from where it’s being held, so it’s a great feeling.
“It’s going to be great to be playing in front of a home crowd and feeling all the support.”
As well as tuning up their games, the other important aspect of the preparation camp is to build team spirit, and Green said: “I’ve known Joe for a long time and now I’m getting to know all the older boys as well. It’s only a good thing that we know each other, and hopefully it can get us over the line if the matches are close as well.”
The home support Hunter mentions will also be significant, and Green said: “It’s really good for us to play matches against such high level opposition and, because it’s a home World Champs, hopefully people will be able to see the best level of table tennis there is and see us be able to push them and take them as far as we possibly can go.”