The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) has become an official partner of the Table Tennis Legends Tour.

The Legends Tour is a blast from the past, with legendary table tennis players picking up their rackets again to wind back the clock and resume their rivalry on the world stage.

ITTF President Thomas WEIKERT stated: “The ITTF is always looking for great ideas to invest into, and the Legends Tour is definitely a great idea. We have a lot of past superstars in our sport, so there is a big demand from spectators to watch them at the table again. We look forward to working with the Legends Tour team to grow these events to new heights.”

The first ITTF Legends Tour with the new partnership will take place in Metz, France on Friday 28 April 2017 and will include past legends Jorgen PERSSON (SWE), Jorg ROSSKOPF (GER), Jean-Michel SAIVE (BEL), JIANG Jialiang (CHN), Panagiotis GIONIS (GRE) and Christophe LEGOUT (FRA).

ITTF Marketing & Commercial Director Steve DAINTON added: “When Philippe Saive Management approached the ITTF for financial assistance for the Legends Tour, we were happy to assist. The Marketing & Asia Pacific Headquarters has always thought the Legends Tour was a good promotional tool for table tennis, so we are glad we could ensure that the product went ahead. We also believe that this product has a bright long term future and will be pleased to work with Philippe Saive Management to ensure it reaches its global commercial potential.”

The Legends Tour started in 2014 in Seraing (BEL) and has had two editions since, in Halmstad (SWE) in 2015 and Ans (BEL) in 2016.

The Legends Tour event in Metz, can be watched live this Friday from 8pm local time (+2 GMT) on ITTF’s Facebook and YouTube pages.

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