Table Tennis England has chosen the University of Nottingham to host this season’s PG Mutual National Championships.

The best players in the country, including Olympians and Paralympians, will go head-to-head at the university’s new state-of-the-art David Ross Sports Village from March 3 to 5, 2017.

The £40 million facility, which opened earlier this year, has a spectator capacity of up to 700 and superb facilities for players and supporters.

It already hosts a centre of excellence for students at the university, including England internationals Danny Reed and Maria Tsaptsinos.

Players will be invited to the championships based on their national rankings – with the top 32 men and top 32 women set to compete.

The format has been changed this year to add a group stage in the men’s singles and women’s singles, with the top eight seeds getting a bye into the knockout stages.

As well as the singles, doubles and under-21 categories, there will be four para classes, building on the success of last year’s inaugural competition and likely to feature a number of Rio Paralympians.

Table Tennis England Chief Executive Sara Sutcliffe said: “We’re thrilled to be taking our flagship event to the University of Nottingham.

“David Ross Sports Village is a fantastic new venue at a university which has a history of producing table tennis champions and shares our passion for the sport.

“We’re certain the university will help us to put on a great show featuring the best able-bodied and para players in the country.”

Dan Tilley, the University of Nottingham’s Director of Physical Recreation and Sport, said: “Table Tennis is in such a positive position currently with success on the International stage in particular helping raise the profile of the sport to new levels and also drive participation in this accessible sport.

“The University of Nottingham has a rich heritage in table tennis and is fortunate to have had alumni such as Deng Yaping, Nicola Deaton and Alex Perry helping shape the future of its programme.

“The new £40million David Ross Sports Village, which opened in October, has been designed with table tennis in mind, providing both dedicated training space alongside one of the largest sports halls in Europe, enabling large-scale tournaments.

“The University is delighted to be working in partnership with England Table Tennis to help deliver the PG Mutual National Championships and equally also promote the sport of table tennis more widely.”

Mike Perry, CEO of PG Mutual, said: “Table Tennis England organised a very professional PG Mutual Nationals last year which was well received by spectators, the TV audience and the wider table tennis family, so we are keen to extend our involvement at the National Championships in 2017.”

“We look forward to seeing more enthusiastic table tennis players and fans at the PG Mutual National Championships on these dates.”

Karen Tonge MBE, chairman of British Para Table Tennis, said: “After the success of last year’s events, we’re delighted that the best English Para players will once again have the chance to showcase their skills at the PG Mutual National Championships.

“Both Table Tennis England and BPTT are committed to promoting inclusivity in the sport and there is no better platform for that than at the flagship national championships.

“It’s also a fantastic chance for spectators to watch our Rio Paralympians and future Paralympians in action on home soil.”

Tickets for the PG Mutual Nationals will go on sale later this month – perfect for Christmas presents! Keep an eye on our website for details.

* To be considered for invitation, players need to complete, sign and return an Invitation Policy. This can be downloaded from our website by clicking here