Table tennis at the 2016 Summer Olympics — table tennis events at the Olympics
Table tennis at the 2016 Rio Olympics featured 172 players competing in singles and team events across 12 days at Riocentro.
Key Facts
- Players competing
- 172 (equal men and women)
- Dates
- 6–17 August 2016
- Venue
- Riocentro Pavilion 3
- Olympic appearances (table tennis)
- 8th Summer Olympics
- Team event editions
- 3rd time since 2008 Beijing
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Table tennis was introduced to the Olympic programme at the 1988 Seoul Games and has appeared continuously since. At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the doubles format was replaced by team events, establishing the structure used in subsequent Games including Rio 2016.
At the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, 172 table tennis players competed from 6 to 17 August at Riocentro's third pavilion. Both men's and women's singles and team events were held, marking the third consecutive Games featuring the team format instead of doubles.
The Rio 2016 table tennis competition continued the sport's Olympic tradition and further cemented the team event format as a permanent fixture. Results contributed to ongoing international rankings and reinforced the dominance of top table tennis nations on the global Olympic stage.