British team ready to take on the world in Thailand

Reigning men’s class 7 World champion Will Bayley, men’s class 1 European champion Rob Davies and women’s class 7 European champion Bly Twomey head a 12-strong British team that will compete in the 2026 ITTF World Para Table Tennis Championships in Pattaya, Thailand from November 13-19. The team also includes Tom Matthews, Martin Perry, Fliss Pickard, Chris Ryan, Billy Shilton and Grace Williams, who all won medals in their respective singles events at last year’s European Championships, 2022 Commonwealth champions Jack Hunter-Spivey and Joshua Morizono (Stacey) and 2022 World bronze medallist Aaron McKibbin.

Bayley had a slower start to the season than usual but will defend his title as world number one having won his last three international tournaments.

“I feel that I’ve had a really good run the last three or four months,” he said. “I’ve won a lot of tournaments and beaten a lot of good players so that’s given me confidence going into the Worlds and I couldn’t be happier really. Because the game is evolving every year, I feel that I have to evolve every year to stay ahead of the rest. I made a lot of changes earlier on in the year and they didn’t really work the way that I was hoping they would, so I went back to what I know with a few additions and found that consistency again.

“I think it is a privilege to be able to compete for my country and to compete on the biggest stages. That is why I train so hard because I want to carry on and I want to win on the biggest stages. To play a Paralympic final or a World final - some players dream of those moments and never get the chance. I’ve been so lucky as I’ve had a few and I just want to keep going and experience more of those moments.”

Rob Davies also heads to Thailand in winning form having won gold in his last two tournaments in France and Spain. Like Bayley, the Rio 2016 Paralympic champion and Paris 2024 silver medallist thrives on the big occasion and will be bidding for his first world title having taken silver in 2014.

“I’m really happy with the way things are going,” said Davies. “I’m enjoying my table tennis again and having fun and I just want to keep that up. I’m looking forward to the challenge of the Worlds and can’t wait to get out there.

“The world title would mean a lot because it is the one I’d like now. I don’t want to put too much pressure on, but it’s what I’ve been working for, so we’ll just have to see how it goes. I like the big occasion, and I try not to get too nervous but more excited about it than anything and this one is no different. I was really proud of the silver medal in Paris and this would be huge, but I know it won’t be easy. All the competitors are wanting the same - the European guys have really strengthened a lot and then you’ve got the Koreans so I’m looking forward to it and can’t wait to see what we can do.”

Teenager Bly Twomey won her first major title when winning gold in the women’s class 7 singles at the European Championships in Sweden last year. She travelled to Thailand in July and won gold in both the World Para Future Nakhon Ratchasima and World Para Elite Nakhon Ratchasima, an experience that she feels will stand her in good stead at her first World Championships.

“Going to Thailand and getting two gold medals is a massive advantage,” she said. “Having already experienced the jet lag it will be a lot easier to cope with because I know what to expect. I’m so young that I can sleep anywhere really – I always sleep in the plane wherever I go so that is one advantage.”

Although still only 16 years old, this will be Twomey’s fourth major championship, and she has medalled at every one – taking bronze in the Europeans in 2023 and Paralympic bronze in Paris 2024.

“It’s really exciting as it is my first World Championships and I’m going to try and have fun and enjoy it,” she said. “I’m going there as European champion but everyone else wants to win as well so I’ve just got to play my game and hope for the best. My grandparents are coming out – they’re making a holiday of it in Thailand – so I’ll have some support in the crowd. Sometimes if the crowd is supporting me, I’ll cheer with them and hype them up but at other times I block the noise out and concentrate on my table tennis. I like playing with a big crowd and if they’re supporting me, it makes a great atmosphere.”

The tournament begins with the men’s, women’s and mixed doubles events and reigning women’s class 14 doubles World champion Fliss Pickard and men’s class 14 doubles World champion Billy Shilton will defend their titles with new partners. Pickard, who won gold in 2022 with Grace Williams now competes with Bly Twomey and the pair took Paralympic bronze in Paris 2024 and European bronze last year. Shilton won gold four years ago with Paul Karabardak and has formed a successful partnership this year with Martin Perry, winning gold in Montenegro, Slovenia and China and the pair are currently ranked number two in the world.

“We’ve put a lot of work in this year and played really well,” said Shilton, “so I’m hoping we can take the confidence from this season and bring it into this tournament where it counts the most. The level has improved so much and there are more good pairs now so this year is going to be really difficult, and we’ll just take it a match at a time and hopefully we can go all the way.”

In the mixed doubles Will Bayley and Bly Twomey will bid to follow up the European title they won last year by becoming World champions but face a tough task as they will be unseeded having not competed together since last year’s European Championships.

“I believe that if we play well, we can beat anyone in the world,” said Bayley, “and we’ve shown that over the last couple of years. We haven’t played together for a long time so there are no expectations and that takes the pressure off and let’s hope we can do something special out of the blue which I know we both want to do.”

BPTT Interim Performance Director Shaun Marples is confident that the team is as well prepared as possible for the challenge it faces in Thailand.

“We have a very strong squad on paper,” he said. “We’ve had a tough competition schedule and training programme and the players have been to a lot of competitions this year which has been positive in terms of their preparation. Going into a World Championships in November the team just needs that final push to make sure they are bringing their A games to the table, so they are ready to deliver. We are going a day earlier to get over the jet lag and be the best prepared that we can. The support team we take with us – not just the coaches but the psych and the physio – will put the athletes in the best possible position.

“The standard of the World Championships is getting higher and higher, and the level is more professional from all the countries now and that is a credit to the Para table tennis system. I feel that those that medal at the World Championships are going to earn that and it is going to be all the hard work and effort they’ve put in over the years that is going to get them over the line.”

The full British team for the 2026 ITTF World Para Table Tennis Championships is:
Will Bayley MBE, 37, Tunbridge Wells/Brighton 
Events: men’s class 7 singles, mixed class 14 doubles (with Bly Twomey).
Rob Davies MBE, 42, Brecon 
Events – men’s class 1 singles, men’s class 8 doubles (with Jack Hunter-Spivey)
Jack Hunter-Spivey, 31, Liverpool/Sheffield 
Events – men’s class 4-5 singles, men’s class 8 doubles (with Rob Davies)
Tom Matthews, 33, Aberdare 
Events – men’s class 1 singles, men’s class 4 doubles (with Chris Ryan)
Aaron McKibbin, 34, London (Wandsworth)/Epsom 
Events: men’s class 8 singles, men’s class 18 doubles (with Joshua Morizono)
Martin Perry, 32, Paisley/Dumbarton 
Events – men’s class 6 singles, men’s class 14 doubles (with Billy Shilton), mixed class 14 doubles (with Grace Williams)
Felicity Pickard, 32, Burnley
Events – women’s class 6 singles, women’s class 14 doubles (with Bly Twomey)
Chris Ryan, 34, Welwyn Garden City/Sheffield 
Events – men’s class 2 singles, men’s class 4 doubles (with Tom Matthews)
Billy Shilton, 27, Stonehouse (Gloucester)/Sheffield
Events: men’s class 8 singles, men’s class 14 doubles (with Martin Perry)
Joshua Morizono (Stacey), 26, Cardiff/Tokyo 
Events: men’s class 9 singles, men’s class 18 doubles (with Aaron McKibbin)
Bly Twomey, 16, Brighton 
Events: women’s class 7 singles, women’s class 14 doubles (with Fliss Pickard), mixed class 14 doubles (with Will Bayley)
Grace Williams, 23, Llanfyllin/Sheffield
Events: women’s class 8 singles, mixed class 14 doubles (with Martin Perry)