From One Table to Thousands of Stories: Discover the Table Tennis for Health & Well-Being Handbook Phase 2
A child picks up a racket for the first time. A caregiver takes a rare moment for themselves. Young people and nursing-home residents meet around the same table. A health check identifies someone who needs medical attention. A community discovers a new reason to come together. These are some of the stories that emerged from World Table Tennis Day 2026!
Building on the collaboration established in the Table Tennis for Health & Well-Being Handbook Phase 1, the ITTF Foundation continued working with the University of Applied Sciences Kufstein for the Handbook Phase 2, bringing together academic insight and real-world experiences from World Table Tennis Day 2026. The result is a collection of practical case studies, organiser perspectives and lessons that show how table tennis can support Health and Well-being in different communities around the world.
Did you know?
World Table Tennis Day 2026 reached an extraordinary scale: 1,130 registered celebrations with an estimated 407,153 participants. Of those celebrations, 95% were linked to Health and Well-being across 140 countries and territories. A record 88 ITTF Member Associations also joined the celebrations.
But perhaps the most interesting numbers are the people behind them.
80.6% of celebrations targeted children and youth, 59.1% women and girls, 43.6% people with disabilities and 35.4% seniors. Organisers also created activities for people living with Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease, people facing mental-health or nutrition-related challenges, and refugees and displaced communities.
More Than Just a Game
In Gaborone, Botswana, WTTD Promoter Sharon Reakae and Special Olympics Botswana combined introductory table tennis activities for young people with intellectual disabilities with health-education stations covering nutrition and basic vital signs.
The result went beyond getting people active. During the event, three young people with disabilities were identified as having high blood pressure and were immediately guided towards medical care.
“Table tennis is more than a game, it is a gateway to health, confidence, and inclusion.”- Sharon Reakae
In Le Teich, France, Karin Gosset brought together nursing-home residents and pupils from a local primary school for an intergenerational day of table tennis, movement and health activities.
The children were so excited by their interaction with the older participants that one asked at the end: “Will the elderly come to the school tomorrow?”
And the story did not end with WTTD. The celebration helped lead to regular “Ping Health” sessions, table tennis being integrated into the nursing home's activities, and the purchase of a dedicated table for the care home.
Making success possible for every child
In Manizales, Colombia, Nicolás Montes Ríos organised an inclusive event for children with different abilities. Rather than focusing on technique or competition, the team adapted the activities to each child.
Brightly coloured balls, visual demonstrations, modified challenges and a passport stamped at every station helped make participation accessible and fun. If a child struggled to hit a target, the target was moved. The objective was simple: give every child the opportunity to succeed.
The organiser summed it up: “Through table tennis, we are not only teaching sport we are building confidence, joy, health, and opportunities for children who deserve to dream big.”
Sometimes, the people who need the table are not the patients
One of the handbook's most moving examples comes from Cuenca, Ecuador.
Carla Fernanda Cadena Espinosa took WTTD into a palliative-care centre with Let's Take Care of the Caregiver. Patients, family caregivers, staff and volunteers came together, with activities adapted for wheelchairs and limited mobility.
Her idea was to transform, even briefly, a waiting room of bad news into a living room of shared moments. The event also recognised the emotional burden carried by caregivers and gave them permission to pause, play and focus on their own well-being.
The lesson from the experience is powerful and simple: “Don't forget the people behind the patient.”
What can we learn from all these stories?
The handbook encourages organisers to read the stories, notice what others changed, choose the ideas that fit their community and adapt them again. As the handbook reminds us, the strongest WTTD celebration is locally created.
From schools and clubs to parks, nursing homes, care centres and public spaces, the experiences of WTTD 2026 show that table tennis can create opportunities to Move, Think, Feel and Connect, sometimes all at once.
Ready to create your own story?
The Table Tennis for Health & Well-Being Handbook Phase 2 is not just a collection of success stories. It is an invitation to learn from real organisers: what worked, what did not, what they adapted, and what they would do differently next time.
Whether you are planning a celebration for children, seniors, women and girls, people with disabilities, caregivers, first-time players or your entire community, there is an idea in these pages that can be adapted to your reality.
Explore the Handbook Phase 2, get inspired and start imagining what your World Table Tennis Day 2027 could look like.
If you haven't explored the Handbook Phase 1 yet, start there to discover the practical guidance, activities and Move–Think–Feel–Connect framework behind the stories featured in Phase 2. The next story could be yours!
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