The male and female players who will represent New Zealand (NZ) at the 2026 Commonwealth Championships will be selected based on the below criteria.

Criteria:

• Only players eligible to represent New Zealand in all ITTF sanctioned events, including World Title events will be considered for selection.
  • Eligibility is defined as: A player who meets all ITTF requirements ITTF 2026 Statutes; A NZ citizen who holds a NZ passport and has served any stand-down period as per ITTF regulations.

Team Selection:

• The number of players selected to be part of the team will be four (4) per gender.
  • Players selected will also contest individual events; singles and gender doubles and/or mixed doubles.
• One male player and one female player selected will be:
  • The highest World Ranked NZ eligible player as at Week 16, 2026 of the Men’s and Women’s ITTF World Ranking lists.
    • If the highest World Ranked NZ eligible player is unavailable, this selection place will then go to the next highest World Ranked NZ eligible player.
    • If in the case, there are no (or no remaining) NZ eligible World Ranked players on the World ranking list, the place will be forfeited and revert to the selection process for players from the TTNZ Open Merit lists, with two players being selected from the applicable list(s).
    • In the case two NZ players have the same points on the World Ranking list, the player with the highest points on the April Merit list will be selected.
• One male player and one female player selected will be:
  • The highest ranked eligible player from the 2026 April TTNZ Open Men’s and Women’s Merit lists.  
    • If a player is unavailable or already selected as the World Ranking List player, the next highest ranked eligible and available player on the Merit list will be selected.
• Two male players and two female players will be selected as ‘Selectors Choice’ taking the following into consideration:
  • The players must be in the 2026 NZ National Squad.
  • All national and international results between 1 July 2025 and the date of selection.
  • Doubles combination options.

Doubles Pairings:

• Doubles pairs will be formed using male and female players who have been selected for the Team.  ​
• The selection of doubles pairings will be made by the selectors at their sole discretion taking into account factors including but not limited to:​
  • Previous results of doubles pairings at regional, national and international tournaments.​
  • Consideration of pairings that involve left-handed and right-handed combinations. ​
  • Future success potential and age of players in a pairing. e.g., the ability to have a pair gain experience for future international tournaments. ​
  • Trial pairings to assess potential for future success i.e. testing a pair against top commonwealth pairings to gain experience for future international tournaments. E.g., Testing a doubles pairing of potential importance for future World events with known formats comprising of doubles or mixed doubles match(es), given high profile events such as the Olympics having a doubles pathway.

• A player must be prepared to meet all/any costs as this event is ‘self-funded’.
• All players selected MUST:
  • Confirm their availability and selection in writing within the stated timeframes of confirmation.
  • Sign a TTNZ Player Agreement and always abide by its terms and conditions.
  • Make themselves available for all team activities designated by TTNZ.