ITTF to suspend all events, activities up until end of July, restart in sight

SINGAPORE - The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) announced on Saturday to extend the current suspension of all ITTF events and activities up until the end of July, while a restart is expected in August.

"The situation is being monitored closely for an eventual restart of ITTF events in August 2020," read a press release via the ITTF website.

The world table tennis governing body held its Executive Committee meeting on Friday and reached several outcomes after discussing the latest situation regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.

Besides the extension of suspension, the ITTF also decided to cancel all World Veterans Tour (WVT) and Table Tennis X (TTX) events for the remainder of 2020, promised to discuss the status of the 2020 World Team Table Tennis Championships in June, and asked its management to find ways to reduce overall operation costs.

Earlier in April, the Singapore-based sport organization had canceled the Australian Open and the South Korean Open, both originally slated in June, with the twice-rescheduled Busan team worlds being set for September 27-October 4.

"The ITTF Executive Committee will meet again on 2nd June 2020 and the ITTF will continue to provide further updates on all upcoming decisions in view of the COVID-19 pandemic," it said on Saturday.