The 2024 World Table Tennis Championships in Busan has started, and there is another good news in the table tennis world, that is, the arrangement of the latest WTT Grand Slam has been confirmed - the Middle East tycoons have made a strong move, Saudi Arabia will host the event from May 4 to 11 this year, and the specific location is in King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah, World Table Tennis Federation leaders Liu Guoliang, Denton and others have congratulated the organizers.
Compared to the WTT Grand Slam in Singapore in March, the new tournament will have the same points but an increased prize money, to which Prince Faisal of Saudi Arabia said: "We are honored to host the WTT Grand Slam in Saudi Arabia!"
The Grand Slam is an important new event created by the WTT World Table Tennis Federation in recent years, and it was originally intended to replace the old three-tournament system and be on par with the Grand Slam in tennis, but it did not achieve the effect for various reasons, and it has been held in Singapore for a long time and has not been able to expand to other countries, but this situation has finally changed this year.
The fact that the Grand Slam is being held in Saudi Arabia is undoubtedly a great relief for fans, given the country's deep pockets and sensitivity to trends, which will naturally greatly increase the influence of the sport if they are willing to support table tennis.
For this competition, Prince Faisal, Saudi Minister of Sports and Chairman of the Olympic Committee, and Dr. Albar, President of the Table Tennis Federation, both expressed a warm welcome, and revealed that there are already 3.6 million table tennis fans in their country (the total population is more than 36 million, accounting for about one-tenth), and bluntly said that "we do have all the elements to develop this sport and encourage public participation."
Compared to the Singapore Grand Slam, the singles championship prize money at the Saudi Grand Slam has increased from $60,000 to $65,000, and the prize money for other achievements has also increased, which is also a good momentum.
In addition, Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, also plans to host the WTT Junior Regular Challenge in September this year, and more table tennis events may be held in the future, which is worth looking forward to!
Liu Guoliang, chairman of the board of directors of the World Table Tennis Federation, sent his heartfelt wishes for the arrangement of the new Grand Slam tournament, and at the same time "I believe that this event will resonate on all continents and further promote table tennis into a new era of attention and excitement", and many fans also hope that the event can settle in China as soon as possible, so when will this plan be realized?
Let's wait and see what happens!