Amid a fresh wave of COVID-19 infections at the end of 2020, the International Federation of Teqball (FITEQ) decided to not go ahead with last year's World Championships.

Gliwice 2021 will be the first time that Poland has hosted the competition, after Budapest held the event in 2017 and 2019.

Reims in France held the 2018 World Championships.

History will be made at the Gliwice Arena, with women's singles and women's doubles categories featuring for the first time.

Women's participation was encouraged in 2019 with the introduction of the mixed doubles, and the introduction now of separate men's and women's divisions is hoped to further develop the women's game and gender equality.

The overwhelming favourite in the women's singles is Hungarian Anna Izsák, who is 81st in the overall FITEQ rankings, and nearly 100 places above the second seed, Amélie Julian of France.

Brazilian Natalia Guitler, who is a defending mixed doubles world champion, is the third seed and Lebanon's Maria Chedid will fancy her chances of a medal as well.

Paulina Łężak is Poland's top seed in fifth and will hope to win a medal on home soil.

American Carolyn Greco is the sixth seed, but will perhaps be more focused on gold in the women's doubles with her partner Margaret Osmundson, who are 13th and 14th in the overall FITEQ doubles rankings.

With the event still in its primitive years, France's Lea Hoffman and Lauryne Scherrer are far behind as the second seeds, but the field is relatively open with players' world rankings scattered across the draw.

Izsák teams with Lea Vasas for Hungary as third seeds, while Aleksandra Orzechowska and Agnieszka Rybicka represent Poland.

In the men's singles, top-ranked Romanian Apor Györgydeák could go head-to-head with Hungarian world champion Adam Blázsovics.

Frenchman Julien Grondin ensures that all of the top three in the world have entered, while world number five Adrian Duszak holds the home nation's hopes at his feet.

Bogdan Marojević of Serbia and Tunisian Yassine Sahli are medal contenders too.

Blázsovics will also be defending his men's doubles titles with Csaba Bányik. 

Their competition could come from Americans Dennis Correa and Luka Pilic as well as Györgydeák and Szabolcs Ilyes.

Banyik is also entered in the mixed doubles with top-ranked Zsanett Janicsek, with the battle for gold expected to go down to the wire with Serbians Nikola Mitro and Maja Umićević .

Györgydeák will have a busy week as he is due to team up with Romanian compatriot Tünde Miklos.

Guitler and her team mate Marcos Viera are not entered for Brazil, with the South American country's hopes lying with Leonardo Lindoso and Vania Moraes.

Group-stage competition is scheduled to take place tomorrow and Thursday (December 9), before the singles knockout stages and finals take place on Friday (December 10) and doubles action concludes on Saturday (December 11).