The ITTF Challenge Series was an annual series of table tennis tournaments organised by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF). Initially created in 2013 as the third tier of the ITTF World Tour (below the Super Series and Major Series), the Challenge Series became a separate tour in 2017. It was the ITTF's secondary tour, below the World Tour.[1][2][3]
| Sport | Table tennis |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2013 |
| Ceased | 2020 |
| Replaced by | World Table Tennis Feeder Series |
| Owner(s) | International Table Tennis Federation |
| Related competitions | ITTF World Tour |
| Official website | ittfchallengeseries.com |
Starting from 2019, the series had two tiers: ITTF Challenge Plus and ITTF Challenge.[4][5] Canada, Nigeria, North Korea, Oman, Paraguay, and Portugal were announced as host for the Challenge Plus tournaments for the 2019 season.[6]
Since 2021, the ITTF Challenge Series has been effectively replaced by the newly created World Table Tennis Feeder Series.
Tournaments edit
The following tournaments have featured as part of the ITTF Challenge Series since it separated from the ITTF World Tour in 2017.[7]
| Tournament | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Belarus Open
|
• | • | • | 3 |
 Belgium Open
|
• | • | 2 | |
 Brazil Open
|
• | 1 | ||
 Canada Open
|
• | 1 | ||
 Chile Open
|
• | 1 | ||
 Croatia Open
|
• | • | • | 3 |
 DPR Korea Open
|
• | • | • | 3 |
 Indonesia Open
|
• | 1 | ||
 Mexican Open
|
• | 1 | ||
 Moroccan Open
|
• | 1 | ||
 Nigerian Open
|
• | • | • | 3 |
 Oman Open
|
• | 1 | ||
 Paraguayan Open
|
• | 1 | ||
 Polish Open
|
• | • | • | 3 |
 Portugal Open
|
• | 1 | ||
 Serbian Open
|
• | 1 | ||
 Slovenia Open
|
• | • | • | 3 |
 Spanish Open
|
• | • | • | 3 |
 Thailand Open
|
• | • | • | 3 |
 Turkish Open
|
• | 1 |
See also edit
References edit
- ^ "The ITTF World Tour 2013 was expanded to include the Americas". All About Table Tennis. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
- ^ "A motivating force, the Challenge tournaments". ITTF. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
- ^ "ITTF Opens up Bidding for Revamped 2017 ITTF World Tour". ETTU. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
- ^ "2019 ITTF CHALLENGE Additional Changes for 2019" (PDF). ITTF Challenge Series. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
- ^ "ITTF open bidding process for 2019 Challenge Series". Inside The Games. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
- ^ "ITTF Announces Record Number of Challenge Series Events for 2019". ITTF. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- ^ "ITTF Challenge Series". ITTF. Retrieved 18 July 2018.