African table tennis players are set to begin their campaign at the 2025 WTT US Smash in Las Vegas, with Nigeria’s Olajide Omotayo and Egypt’s Mohamed El-Beiali leading the continent’s challenge in the preliminary rounds.

The 11-day tournament, scheduled for July 3 to 13 at the Orleans Arena, marks the first-ever WTT Grand Smash event to be hosted in the United States and carries a prize pool of $1.55 million, attracting top-ranked international players.

Omotayo, the 2019 African Games champion, will face American wildcard Victor Xie in his opening match. Currently ranked 162nd in the world, he will be aiming to progress into the main draw despite a tough pathway.

El-Beiali will also be in action against Slovenia’s Deni Kozul, while other African representatives include Egypt’s Mahmoud Helmy, Algeria’s Mehdi Bouloussa, and Benin Republic’s Abdel-Kader Salifou, all competing in the men’s singles preliminary stage. In the women’s draw, Egypt’s Yosura Helmy will face American Mandy Yu as the continent’s sole female competitor in the preliminaries.

However, Africa already has direct entries into the main draw, with Nigeria’s Quadri Aruna and Egypt’s Omar Assar featuring in the men’s singles, while Egypt’s top women players, including Hana Goda and Dina Meshref, begin their campaigns in the main competition.

Top global stars have also expressed excitement about competing in Las Vegas, highlighting the city’s reputation as a major sporting destination and setting the stage for a highly competitive tournament.