MARIA Tsaptsinos will take on the best in the world on home soil when the Team World Cup comes to London next month.
The Reading star will step out in front of thousands of spectators at the Copper Box Arena on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, from February 22-25.
The tournament brings together the six continental championship-winning teams, plus the best finishers from the 2016 World Team Championships. England have a host-nation place and will be among the underdogs.
Tsaptsinos, 20, has been named in the England squad alongside Kelly Sibley, Tin-Tin Ho, Denise Payet and Charlotte Bardsley.
England could be drawn against the likes of China or Japan, the top two ranked teams in the world.
The other teams to qualify are Singapore, Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei, Romania, North Korea, USA, Brazil, Egypt and Australia. They will be drawn in groups of three, with the top two going into the quarter-finals. Tickets are available from www.tabletennisengland.co.uk/tickets
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