by Ian Marshall, ITTF Publications Editor
She is the name that heads the invitation list for the tournament which commences on Friday 7th October and concludes on Sunday 9th October.
Major difference
A similarity but there is one major difference, the tournament will be staged in the United States of America; the home is the Liaouras Center at Temple University in Philadelphia.
It will be only the second time that the prestigious tournament has been staged outside Asia; the one other occasion was in 2014 when the Austrian city of Linz was the home.
Omen for Ding Ning
Now is that a good omen for Ding Ning? In Linz she emerged victorious beating the now retired colleague Li Xiaoxia in the final.
One other fact that may well be in favour of Ding Ning is that the one previous occasion when she won the title was in 2011 in Singapore; at the time, just as now, she was the reigning World champion.
Ominous name
Time will tell but there is one further ominous name of the invitation list; that of colleague, Liu Shiwen, the most successful player in the history of the tournament.
Notably when she won last year in the Japanese city of Sendai, it was the fourth time she had secured the coveted title.
Invitations
A total of 20 players appear on the invitation list; the list comprises the reigning World champion, the players who finished in the top three places in each of the Asian and Europe Cup competitions plus the winners from the continental up events in Africa, North America, Latin America and Oceania.
One place is allocated as a “Wild Card” at the discretion of the International Table Tennis Federation with the remaining places being filled from the highest ranked players in the continental tournaments, not already qualified.
Each national association is limited to a maximum of two players.
Download Invitation List, Prospectus and Forms
2016 Women’s World Cup: Prospectus including detailed information
2016 Women’s World Cup: Invitation List
2016 Women’s World Cup: Confirmation Form
2016 Women’s World Cup: Full Schedule
2016 Women’s World Cup: Qualification and Playing System
2016 Women’s World Cup: Travel and Accommodation Form
2016 Women’s World Cup: Travel and Accommodation Form for Five Time Zones