ITTF Pan American Championships

What are the ITTF Pan American Championships?

The ITTF Pan American Championships are the senior continental table tennis championships of the Americas. The 2025 edition contested seven events — men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s team, women’s team, men’s doubles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles — in a straight single-elimination format, according to USA Table Tennis, the host federation.^[1] The ITTF Constitution gives each continental federation the right “to have its championship title competition recognised as the sole continental title championships for that continent”, which makes these championships the continental title event for the Americas.^[3]

The championships move between countries: ITTF records place recent editions in Lima in 2021, in Chile in 2022, in Havana in 2023 and in El Salvador in 2024, and the ITTF made the 2025 edition the qualifying event for the Americas at the 2026 World Team Championships.^{[4][5][6][7][2]}

Who organizes the ITTF Pan American Championships?

The championships belong to ITTF Americas, the continental federation the ITTF Constitution provides for the Americas. Article 30.2 of the Constitution, in the edition effective from 3 May 2026, obliges each continental federation “to organise Table Tennis competitions in its continent”.^[3] Each edition is staged by a host national federation: USA Table Tennis hosted the 2025 edition, “under the auspices and authority of” the Pan American Table Tennis Federation (ITTF-Americas) and the International Table Tennis Federation, in USA Table Tennis’s description.^[1] The ITTF Americas president has reported editions to the ITTF Continental Council, whose minutes record the 2022 championships and the ITTF Americas general meeting “held in Chile”.^[5]

The rules of play are the ITTF’s. The ITTF is, in the words of Article 1.3 of its Constitution, “the sole international governing body of Table Tennis, as recognised by the International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee.”^[3]

When and where is it held?

The championships move between countries of the Americas. The 2025 edition was held at the Rock Hill Sports and Events Center in Rock Hill, South Carolina, from 12 to 19 October 2025, the first time in the United States, according to USA Table Tennis.^[1] The 2024 edition was “held in El Salvador” and the 2023 edition in Havana, Cuba, according to the minutes of the ITTF Continental Council of December 2024 and February 2024.^[7][6] The ITTF reported the 2021 edition from Lima, Peru, in daily articles from 13 to 19 November 2021.^[4]

No document from ITTF Americas or the ITTF setting the host and dates of a 2026 edition could be retrieved by 4 October 2026.

Editions since 2021, newest first, each from an ITTF or USA Table Tennis record; the host is given at the level of detail the record states. Editions before 2021 could not be confirmed from an organiser source.^{[1][4][5][6][7]}

Since when do the ITTF Pan American Championships exist?

USA Table Tennis described the 2025 Rock Hill championships as “the 8th edition” of the ITTF Pan American Championships, which places seven earlier editions before it.^[1] The year and host of the first edition could not be confirmed from an ITTF or ITTF Americas document, and the founding of the federation that runs the championships is a separate date, which could not be established either.

The ITTF Americas president told the ITTF Continental Council in February 2024 that 2023 “was the first time after the pandemic that the entire planned calendar of events was fulfilled”, with 38 international events in the Americas.^[6] No document from ITTF Americas setting out the history of the event could be retrieved, because the federation’s website returned no readable content.

How do players qualify?

There is no qualifying round for the championships: national associations of the Americas enter their players and teams. The entry rules for each edition are set in the prospectus issued for it; no prospectus for the 2025 or 2026 edition could be retrieved, and quotas per association could not be confirmed.

Outcomes at the championships feed onward qualification. For the 2026 World Team Championships in London, the ITTF listed “ITTF Pan American Championships 2025 (Rock Hill, South Carolina, USA, 12-19 October 2025)” as the qualifying event for the Americas, within a system in which “52 teams qualify through continental championships”.^[2] The Continental Council minutes describe the 2023 Havana championships as “qualifying for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games”.^[6] The Panam Sports qualification system for table tennis at the Lima 2027 Pan American Games could not be retrieved.

Why does it matter?

The measurable value is world-championship qualification and the continental title. Through the 2025 edition, eight men’s teams — Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, the United States, Guatemala and Chile — and eight women’s teams — Brazil, Canada, Chile, Mexico, Puerto Rico, the United States, Argentina and Guatemala — qualified for the 2026 World Team Championships in London, as the ITTF reported.^[2] Under the ITTF Constitution, the continental federation’s championship is recognised “as the sole continental title championships for that continent”, so the titles won are the continental titles of the Americas (see continental champion).^[3]

Prize money and world-ranking points for the championships were not published in the documents retrieved.

Who competes?

The championships are open to the ITTF member associations of the Americas, in men’s and women’s events. At the 2025 edition, the women’s team title went to Puerto Rico, who beat the United States 3–1 in the final, and the mixed doubles title to a pair from Brazil, according to Metro Puerto Rico.^[8] The number of associations and players entered at the 2025 edition was not given in the documents retrieved.

Players from the United States, Brazil, Puerto Rico, Canada and Chile reached the singles rounds reported by USA Table Tennis, whose own players won medals in men’s singles, women’s singles and mixed doubles at Rock Hill.^[9]