What does the abbreviation ITTF stand for in international table tennis?

ITTF stands for International Table Tennis Federation, the global governing body for the sport.

The federation was founded in Berlin in 1926 by representatives from national associations. It develops and enforces the laws of table tennis, sanctions major competitions and maintains international rankings and event regulations.

The ITTF oversees events including the World Table Tennis Championships, the World Cup and Olympic table tennis in cooperation with the International Olympic Committee. Its rules cover equipment, serving, scoring, match procedures and eligibility.

A frequent mix-up is treating ITTF as the name of a tournament or playing format. It is an organization, while World Table Tennis, usually shortened to WTT, is the ITTF’s commercial and event-management structure for much of the modern international circuit.