They have also predicted that the 2015 World Championships will be the most watched table tennis event of all time.

Prize money of $3,570,000 (£2,352,135, €3,139,289) is set to be distributed throughout the season, with the ITTF claiming the 2015 will be prove to be a landmark year for the sport.

The GAC Group 2015 World Tour will see $3,000,000 (£1,976,584, €2,638,058) up for grabs with top table tennis players set to compete at 22 stops around the world, including new events scheduled to be held in Bulgaria and North Korea.

The remaining prize money will be distributed at the Women's World Cup and the Men's World Cup in October, as well as the World Team Cup, which was held earlier this month and saw China claim the men's and women's titles.

From April 26 to May 3, the world's best players will head to Suzhou, China, to compete at the World Championships, and with the competition boasting record television distribution and an online streaming service it will become the most viewed table tennis event of all time, the ITTF claim.

Elite competition will also take place at the inaugural European Games in Baku during June and will be the first event in which players will be able to secure Olympic qualification for Rio 2016. 

The 2015 World Championship in Chinese city Suzhou in April is set to be the most viewed table tennis event of all time, the ITTF have predicted ©Getty Images




The ITTF will also aim to become the number one International Sports Federation in terms of membership, with Sao Tome Principe lined up to be the Federation's 221st member, another step towards President Thomas Weikert's ambition to have table tennis played on every corner of the globe. 

The ITTF's development and education programme is set to reflect this ambition by launching the inaugural World Table Tennis Day on April 6, at Mount Everest.

Additionally, the calendar year could also see the ITTF become pass the landmark of having a million social media fans, as they require only 20,000 more fans from Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Weibo users to reach the milestone.