In the final of the European Team Championships 2025 in Zadar, France will meet Romania. For the first time in history, the Romanian men’s team have advanced to the final, surpassing their previous best result of three bronze medals. On their way to the ultimate stage, Romania defeated defending European champions Sweden and then Slovenia in an impressive and emotional semi-final performance. Slovenia’s top star Darko JORGIC suffered his first defeat of the tournament at the hands of Iulian CHIRITA in a thrilling five-game opening match. That victory set the tone for the tie, which eventually ended in straight matches in favour of Romania. Iulian CHIRITA: “We still can’t really believe that we’re in the final, it’s the first time ever for the Romanian men, so it’s an amazing feeling. It was a really tough match. Darko is one of the best in Europe, maybe number one or two, and he’s a really strong player. But I know him quite well, I’ve already played him twice this year, so I managed to play very well throughout the match, and I’m really happy that I didn’t lose to him again. In the second match, Edy started to play really well, and that gave us a lot of confidence. And then Ovi, I’m really happy that he managed to win the last match against TOKIC. He’s such an interesting guy, always bringing great energy to the team. Honestly, I still don’t have words for the fact that we’re in the final. It’s unbelievable. But we’re already looking forward to giving our best and playing a really good match in the final.” On securing the opening point for Romania, CHIRITA added: “It was really important, because after beating their number one player, the whole team could relax more. We spoke with the coaches before the match about the lineup, and they told me, ‘You’re going to play against Darko,’ so I prepared specifically for that. Once you beat the top player from the other team, everything changes, the team feels more confident. Everyone played really well, and I’m very proud of them.” Looking ahead to the final, he continued: “It’s going to be really tough against France, they’re all top players. But we know Félix and Alexis quite well; we’ve played them many times. They’re very strong and very confident. Still, we have nothing to lose. We’ll fight for every point, every set, and every match. We’re ready for tomorrow, and for whatever comes after.” Ovidiu IONESCU:“Unbelievable feeling, I still can’t believe we’re in the final of the European Championships. The team event is just amazing. Congratulations to everyone who helped and supported us; we played an incredible match. Iulian beating JORGIC, a top-10 player, gave us huge confidence. The 3–0 score doesn’t show how tough it really was, it was much closer. It was an unbelievable performance from the whole team. Julian’s win and then Eddie’s victory against KOZUL helped a lot. When I played the third match, I can’t say I was relaxed, but I was definitely more confident that we could finish the job and win it in the end. We beat Sweden, and I believe that if you’re in the final, you have to believe you can win it. France are maybe the strongest team at the moment, but sport has shown many times that surprises can happen. We’ll give everything tomorrow. Before this, we had three bronze medals, and now this is the first silver in our history. We had a great generation before us, and now, with these young players, maybe it’s not the last medal in the team event. For now, we just want to enjoy the moment and prepare for tomorrow.” Slovenia – Romania 0–3

The top seeds in the Women’s Event at the European Team Championships in Zadar, Romania, lived up to their status and booked their place in the final, where they will face reigning champions Germany. In the semi-final, Romania overcame a determined Netherlands team in a commanding 3–0 victory. Since 2011, Romania have reached the final in every edition of the Championships except in 2014, underlining their enduring dominance in European women’s table tennis. Bernadette SZÖCS: “We expected the draw to look like this, so we were ready for these matchups. I knew my match against LI would be very important, because I’ve played her many times and only managed to beat her once before. This time, I felt really confident and knew that winning the first match could give our team a big boost. It looks like an easy 3–0 on paper, but it really wasn’t, especially my match. I’m very proud of my teammates; we all did a great job today. In the last game, I tried to be more patient because she wasn’t missing as much anymore. I had to keep finding solutions and change tactics during the rallies. It wasn’t easy at all, but I stayed calm and focused and found the right way to beat her. We’ve played many finals against Germany before, sometimes we won, sometimes we lost, but last time we lost, so we definitely want revenge this time. Everyone in the team is playing really well, and I believe we can bring the gold home.” Elizabeta SAMARA: “We all knew this was going to be a tough match because they are such good adversaries. We’re happy that we made it 3–0, each of us did our job, and the bench was amazing. The coaches, the teammates, the supporters, we were like a real team, like Romania used to be, like a family, we could say. I’m the oldest one on the team, but we are all very good, and in this team we can always rotate players, it doesn’t matter who plays when, everyone can deliver. Let’s say me against EERLAND, our last meeting was last year in Rajasthan, and I lost. The previous one, I also lost. I think I only beat her once during the pandemic in Doha. So I’m very happy that I could win this match now, in the semi-finals. I think experience helped me deal with the pressure. Mentally, I was strong in the key moments. I’m happy about the victory, and I just try to give my teammates confidence, we all want to keep our team spirit high.” Andreea DRAGOMAN: “We’re really happy to be in the finals. We knew from the beginning it was going to be tough, but Berni’s first match gave us a lot of energy and confidence. It was a very important win, and I’m really glad she managed to pull it off and give the team such a strong start. As for my own match, I felt confident because we were already 2–0 up, so I just tried to stay focused on my game instead of thinking about finishing the tie. I’m really happy that I managed to stay calm and control myself to win 3–0.” Romania – Netherlands 3–0

At the European Team Championships in Zadar, France took one step higher on the medal podium than in Malmö 2023 and will play in Sunday’s final for their first European team title since 1998. The Olympic bronze medallists overcame Malmö runners-up Germany in a breathtaking semi-final that kept fans of both nations on the edge of their seats from start to finish. The tie began with a repeat of the European Individual Championships final, but this time with the opposite outcome: Benedikt DUDA defeated Alexis LEBRUN in straight games. The European vice-champion and world No. 5 avenged his previous loss to the world No. 3, playing with confidence and precision throughout. However, Germany could not build on that momentum. In the second match, Félix LEBRUN, who had lost to DUDA in a controversial quarterfinal at the same event, took his revenge, holding his nerve under immense pressure to overcome Patrick FRANZISKA in five sets and level the score at 1–1. From there, the French team’s confidence grew. Simon GAUZY produced a stunning performance to beat European champion Dang QIU, giving France the lead before Félix returned to the table to face DUDA once more, this time in a spectacular decider. Coach Nathanaël MOLIN: “The first match is always very important, it often sets the tone for the entire tie. Of course, we knew that the German team is extremely strong and has so much experience in this kind of competition. You can say that for the past twenty or twenty-five years, they have dominated Europe as a team. We knew it was going to be a very tough match. If you look at the rankings, 5, 12, 18 in the world for us, against 8, 13, 14 for them, it shows how close the levels are. Nothing came easy today. It was a hard, intense match. At 2–2, everything was still open. DUDA was incredible, for the past year, he’s truly been one of the best in the world.” He broke down the key moments: “In the first match, DUDA was outstanding against Alexis. There’s nothing I can say to Alexy; his opponent was simply too strong. Then Félix played a really solid match against FRANZISKA, very close to his top level. Maybe at one or two key moments he could have managed things differently, but overall his performance and attitude were excellent. And Simon… what can I say? He played a perfect match, not ‘perfect’ in the sense of no mistakes, but perfect from a coach’s point of view. Tactically, physically, technically, everything was on point. From start to finish, he had full control. For me, that was a textbook performance.” The coach praised the final duel between DUDA and Félix: “The last match was probably the most spectacular of the entire semi-final, full of ups and downs and amazing rallies. DUDA came back several times, leading by five or six points, and then Félix responded again and turned it around. It was world-class table tennis, mentally and tactically. Players like Félix have something special: the ability to deliver at the right moment. Not always, of course, no one can do that every time, but most of the time, he’s there when it really matters. I think both players, Duda and Félix, gave their absolute maximum. There was no real loser today; both were at their peak. That’s what makes a match like this so special.” Alexis LEBRUN: “I don’t think I played badly, but Duda was really, really strong today. He played very aggressively from the start, and that surprised me a bit. In the second game, I played well, but he won it 11–9 with three beautiful points at the end, that one was hard to lose because I felt I was at my top level. After that, it was difficult to come back because he was more relaxed being 2–0 up. I’m a little disappointed because if I had taken that second game, maybe he would have started to doubt a little and it could have been 50–50. But he played really well today.” Simon GAUZY: “I felt amazing, that was by far my best match of the tournament. I’m really happy with how I performed under pressure at 1–1. This is why I practice, to play these kinds of matches against great players on big stages. I’m proud that I could bring one point for the team playing that way today.” Germany Head Coach Jörg ROSSKOPF:“It was a very good match with high-level rallies, a real contest on equal terms, exactly as both we and the French expected. We had our chances to turn it in our favour, but France played consistently well with all three players. ‘Benne’ (Benedikt DUDA) delivered an outstanding performance against Alexis at the start. ‘Franz’ (Patrick FRANZISKA) had only small opportunities against Félix, and Gauzy has been in incredible form for the past year and a half, producing excellent results. So it was clear that the French were slight favourites in every match. Of course, we had hoped to take a 2–1 lead, because it always becomes harder once you fall behind. Still, this European Championship has shown us that we can successfully put into practice what we’ve been training and planning. That’s what matters as we look ahead to the next few years and toward the Olympic Games.” Benedikt DUDA: “Congratulations to France, they were the better team today. Félix LEBRUN is an outstanding player right now, and he played two excellent matches. You can only congratulate the French and wish them good luck for the final, they’ve truly earned it. They beat us, but we also had our chances. We’ll learn from this and come back stronger in two years.” Germany – France 1-3

In the final of the Women’s Event at the European Team Championships in Zadar, reigning champions Germany will face the winner of the clash between top seeds Romania and No. 18 seed Netherlands. Germany’s unbeaten streak continues. The team, last defeated in 2019, has once again reached the final as they chase their 10th European title. In the semi-final, Portugal, bronze medallists at the previous two editions, could not stop the dominant German side. It marked Germany’s 11th consecutive 3–0 victory in the competition. The new leader of the team, Sabine WINTER, was pushed to the limit by Fu YU in the opening match, eventually winning 3–2. Annett KAUFMANN and Nina MITTELHAM each secured 3–1 wins against Jieni SHAO and Matilde PINTO, respectively, to complete another commanding performance. Sabine WINTER: “I had some trouble with Fu Yu’s serves today, but then I became much more variable in my game. I always tried to stay close and find solutions. Mentally, it was also a good performance from me to come back and win two clear games after being 1–2 down. Taking a 1–0 lead is always good for the team, but even if I had lost, I’m convinced we still would have won the match. For tomorrow, I just wish for a victory, I don’t really mind who we play. The two teams are very different, but both are very strong. We’ll give everything and fight for every point.” Annett KAUFMANN, the only non-Asian Under-19 World Champion, who also reached the semi-finals with the German team during her Olympic debut in Paris, summed up the team’s mindset: “It feels amazing to be undefeated. I didn’t even realise at first how long this streak has been, but it shows that no matter which lineup we play, whether it’s with Yuan WAN and Nina MITTELHAM, or with Sabine and me, we can all perform at the top level. We’ve proved many times that we’re all capable of playing world-class table tennis. It’s great to know that we’re not just relying on one player, we’re a complete, balanced team. That’s our biggest strength.” KAUFMANN continued: “I think Sabine’s match was the most important today. She did really, really great after being 2–1 down, and that was a key moment for us. We didn’t underestimate Portugal, we knew they were strong. They showed yesterday against Ukraine that they can come back and win important matches. So we fought for every ball and we’re just very happy that we all managed to win our matches. I think the key was changing the rhythm and staying calm at the right moments.I was also a bit more satisfied with my own game today. You don’t face left-handers that often. I do train against them, but in a match it’s still something different, it’s a bit like playing against yourself. I was a little impatient today, and she plays in a slightly uncomfortable way for me. But with the right tactics, calmness, and rotation, I managed to win the match.” Nina MITTELHAM: “It was an uncomfortable match. She played well and gave me awkward balls. I was a bit sluggish today, so I’m glad we’re not playing at 10 a.m. tomorrow. I had to win this match, and I did. These kinds of matches have never been easy for me, and in the past, I’ve lost quite a few of them. But by now, I know how to fight through.” Tamara BOROS gave Coach’s View: “The 3–0 result sounds like an easy win, but it really wasn’t. There were tight situations in every match. Sabine’s win against Fu YU in the first match was very important, starting with a 0–1 deficit would have been tough for Annett, even though she’s mentally very strong. Nina wasn’t very stable today, but playing against Pinto is never easy. She plays without rhythm and hits very strange balls. Today it was enough. Tomorrow, we all want to take that final step.” Semi-Final Germany – Portugal 3–0