How to watch the 2024 U.S. Olympic Table Tennis Trials

The U.S. Olympic Table Tennis Trials will be available to watch live on Saturday, March 23 and Sunday, March 24 on Peacock and NBC streaming platforms. Live coverage of the first two days of Trials will be available on the USA Table Tennis YouTube channel.

Forty of the nation's top table tennis athletes will compete for spots at the Paris Games at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Table Tennis Trials, which start Thursday in West Monroe, Louisiana.

Currently, the U.S. has two available guaranteed quota positions to fill to complete its women’s team. Lily Zhang, 27, already punched her ticket to Paris as the top-ranked American woman. The Californian is currently ranked No. 31 in the world and is a veteran Olympian. Zhang made her Olympic debut in 2012 at age 16, and 2024 will mark the California native's fourth appearance at the Olympics. Zhang earned her best Olympic results at the Rio and Tokyo Games, where she advanced to the Round of 32.

The U.S. men’s team did not qualify for a team quota spot, therefore, the top-two finishers at Trials will advance to a Pan-American singles qualification tournament that will be held in Lima, Peru in May. The qualification tournament will see the American men compete in knockout matches against top athletes from the Americas and the Caribbean to secure one of four spots available  for the Olympics. 

Format of play

The U.S. Olympic Team Table Tennis Trials is comprised of three different stages of play over the course of four days. The first two days of play includes qualification play for non-seeded players and round robin format of play. The final stage of play will have all remaining athletes compete against one another, with the final ranking determined by the total amount of points earned by the players on days three and four of the Trials.

Click here for a full list of participating athletes.

Former Olympians and fresh faces on the men's side

Tokyo Olympian Nikhil Kumar, currently ranked No. 287, is looking to once again return to the Olympic stage. Coming into the Trials, the 21-year-old has had an impressive start to the 2024 season. In January, Kumar and teammate Tiffany Ke took home the gold at the 2024 World Championship U.S. National Team Trials. In February, Kumar notched his career-best win, topping world No. 29 Liam Pitchford at the World Team Championships. 

Kumar, who is currently enrolled at U.C. Berkeley, noted his preparations for the Olympic Trials. As he told USA Table Tennis in January, "I’m taking a reduced course load [at UC Berkeley] to focus on the Olympic Trials in March. The World Championships will be a stepping stone for that. Small steps to build up to Olympic Trials."

Kumar will have a strong field of opponents to top, including former Team USA teammate, Kanak Jha, a member of the Olympic team in Tokyo. 

Two fresh, familial faces are looking to book their ticket to the Pan Am qualifier event: brothers Sid and Nandan Naresh from Chicago. Ranked Nos. 182 and 264 respectively, the Chi-town duo has made big waves in the table tennis community, with each having competed at the 2023 Pan Am Games in October. 

Friends and opponents

Leading the women's field, American Amy Wang is looking to clinch her spot on the Olympic team. Wang is a two-time national champion, with her latest title won in 2023. She currently sits only two spots behind Zhang on the international rankings at No. 33. While Wang is noted for being reserved and quiet, her sharp table tennis game speaks for itself, as she is the currently the female player with the most wins against teammate Zhang. Wang recently completed her freshman year at UCLA. 

Wang needn't look too far for competition, as her UCLA roommate, Rachel Sung, is also contending for an Olympic spot at the Trials. In 2023, she and roommate/teammate Wang captured the U.S. national women's doubles title. Although she is currently ranked No. 206 in the world, Sung is a southpaw, and is the only left-handed player on the national team. 

Young and rising table tennis star Sally Moyland will be another player to watch at the Trials. The 16-year-old has been steadily climbing the ranks, and sits at world No. 173. While young, Moyland's career is already impressive. The California native is the 2023 Under-19 national girls' singles, doubles and mixed doubles champion, and took home the gold in singles and doubles at the 2023 Youth Pan Am Games.