The JOOLA Europe Youth Series continues to set new benchmarks, highlighting the growing momentum of youth table tennis across Europe. For the fourth consecutive year, the season starts in Croatia, with Osijek once again hosting the JOOLA EYS Croatia Open, which starts today, 3 February, and runs until 7 February 2026. You can see the picture here. This year’s edition delivers a new all-time record, as 212 players will compete in Osijek, the highest number ever recorded at a JOOLA EYS event in Croatia and across the entire Series. The figure underlines both the strong tradition of the tournament and the steady growth of the Europe Youth Series as a whole. Young talents from 27 countries will be in action, representing Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland, creating a truly international field. In the U13 Mixed Teams, Romania leads the seeding list, followed by Spain, Poland and the mixed team Croatia/Greece. In the U15 Mixed Teams, the top seed is the combined team Spain/Slovakia/Sweden, ahead of Poland, Romania, and Croatia. Competition starts today with U15 and U13 Mixed Teams group stages, followed by main draws and finals later in the week. The individual events (boys’ and girls’ singles and doubles) will take centre stage from Thursday, with finals scheduled for Saturday, 7 February. With record participation, strong international representation and a packed competition schedule, the JOOLA EYS Croatia Open once again confirms Osijek’s status as one of the key hubs of European youth table tennis.
HYLO® named title sponsor of ETTU Champions League Men
The European Table Tennis Union is pleased to announce that HYLO® will serve as the title sponsor of the ETTU Champions League Men for the next three seasons, marking a significant long-term partnership for Europe’s premier club competition. “We are delighted to welcome HYLO® as the title sponsor of the ETTU Champions League Men. This long-term partnership brings together two brands that share a commitment to excellence, innovation, and performance at the highest level. With HYLO®’s strong connection to elite sport and URSAPHARM’s international reputation for quality, this cooperation will further strengthen the visibility and prestige of Europe’s premier club competition and support its continued growth in the years to come,” stated ETTU President Pedro MOURA. For more than five decades, Ursapharm Arzneimittel GmbH has been known for turning innovative pharmaceutical ideas into high-quality medicines and medical devices. Founded in 1974, Ursapharm Arzneimittel GmbH has grown into an internationally active group while staying firmly rooted in the Saarland. Today, the company operates subsidiaries across the world, supported by cooperation agreements with partners in more than 80 countries worldwide. “We are proud to be a partner of the ETTU and are looking forward to outstanding sport. Table tennis is proof that true complexity and fascination often arise where everything looks simple”, stated URSAPHARM Head of Corporate Communication Boris ROEDER. Sport has always been an important part of URSAPHARM’s identity. The company works closely with leading sports organizations to support major events and projects that highlight both elite athletes and the Saarland region on the international stage. Its partners include the German Gymnastics Team, FC Bayern Munich, Füchse Berlin (handball), Girona FC,the Professional Darts Corporation(PDC) and partnering with the FIS Ski Jumping World Cup. HYLO® stands for eye health and outstanding sporting performance. The HYLO® product range guarantees systematic eye hydration, lubrication, and care. This comes in the consistently excellent quality and best-in-class systems from URSAPHARM: long-chain hyaluronic acid–containing eye drops in the well-known, unique COMOD® dosing system, and the innovative active ingredient perfluorohexyloctane in the specially developed EvoTears® dropper bottle. This partnership adds further strength and visibility to the ETTU Champions League Men, underlining its status as Europe’s leading club competition and supporting its continued growth in the years ahead. The ETTU Champions League Men stands as the flagship league of European club table tennis, built on a rich and distinguished legacy. First established in 1960 as the European Cup of Champions, the league has represented the pinnacle of the sport at club level for more than six decades. In 1998, it evolved into the European Champions League, reflecting the professional growth of European club table tennis. A major milestone in this ongoing development was reached in 2024 with the introduction of the Final 4 format. Designed to enhance visibility, competitiveness and fan engagement, the new format proved an immediate success, delivering a compact, high-profile climax to the season.
Felix LEBRUN ready to push further at CCB Europe Top 16 Cup in Montreux
Felix LEBRUN will return to Montreux from 5 to 8 February as the third seed of the CCB Europe Top 16 Cup, aiming to build on his previous performances and take another step forward among Europe’s elite. The young French star finished fifth at the last edition, reaching the quarter-finals, and now sees that experience as an important milestone in his development. “For the moment my best result at the Europe Top 16 is the quarter-final, so I take these results as a boost to do better this year, learn from the experiences and hopefully have a great run this year.” Over the past months, LEBRUN feels his level has continued to rise, following an intense preparation period and a focused build-up towards Montreux. “Yes, I’m playing well lately. Since September my level has grown. We had a really intense five weeks of training before September and it helped my game improve in many aspects. We also prepared the Top 16 with two weeks of training camp, so I feel good and I hope my game will be ready for this weekend.” With only the top European players invited, the CCB Europe Top 16 Cup remains one of the most demanding events on the calendar, where every match is a battle from the very first round. “The Top 16 is really demanding because there are only the best players in Europe, so every round is tough to pass and each match has its own difficulties. I think now with the best-of-five format and three days it is a little less demanding than before with best-of-seven in two days, but it is still a tough and enjoyable tournament to play for sure.” Despite being one of the most talked-about young players in Europe, LEBRUN remains grounded and focused primarily on his own expectations. “I think expectations are high because I already put high expectations on myself. I don’t think so much about other people’s expectations because I know I always try my best and most of the time I have no regrets about my matches. If you lose, you just have to go back to practice and try to win next time.” Montreux holds a special place for the French players, with strong fan support and a unique atmosphere. “It gives extra motivation, especially because Montreux is close to France and a lot of French fans come to support us. My family is always here, and I really love playing this event in this city.” With ambition and confidence growing, Lebrun does not hide his desire to fight for the biggest titles. “It would be amazing to win a title like the Top 16. A lot of players are aiming for it and I will try to do my best to take the trophy at the end. My goal for 2026 is to continuously develop my game and have success in the big events like the World Championships, World Cup, Europe Top 16 and more.” Men’s event In the Men’s event will play Truls MOREGARD of Sweden, Alexis LEBRUN of France, Felix LEBRUN of France, Darko JORGIC of Slovenia, Benedikt DUDA of Germany, Patrick FRANZISKA of Germany, Dang QIU of Germany, Dimitrij OVTCHAROV of Germany, Anton KALLBERG of Sweden, Anders LIND of Denmark, Simon GAUZY of France, Jonathan GROTH of Denmark, Marcos FREITAS of Portugal, Eduard IONESCU of Romania. Qualification Stage – Men Alvaro ROBLES of Spain, Andrej GACINA of Croatia, Milosz REDZIMSKI of Poland, Tomislav PUCAR of Croatia, Kristian KARLSSON of Sweden, Daniel HABESOHN of Austria, Joao GERALDO of Portugal and Pedro OSIRO of Switzerland. Reserve players Iulian CHIRITA of Romania, Thibault PORET of France, Andre BERTELSMEIER of Germany, Martin ALLEGRO of Belgium, Adrien RASSENFOSSE of Belgium, Luka MLADENOVIC of Luxembourg, and Ovidiu IONESCU of Romania. Women’s event In the Women’s event will play Sabine WINTER of Germany, Sofia POLCANOVA of Austria, Bernadette SZOCS of Romania, Ying HAN of Germany, Jia Nan YUAN of France, Elizabeta SAMARA of Romania, Prithika PAVADE of France, Jieni SHAO of Portugal, Nina MITTELHAM of Germany, Linda BERGSTROM of Sweden, Fu YU of Portugal, Maria XIAO of Spain, Natalia BAJOR of Poland, Xiaona SHAN of Germany. Qualification Stage Anna HURSEY of Wales, Annett KAUFMANN of Germany, CharlotteLUTZ of France, Andreea DRAGOMAN of Romania, Izabela LUPULESKU of Serbia, Lea RAKOVAC of Croatia, Georgina POTA of Hungary, Rachel MORET of Switzerland. Reserve players Christina KALLBERG of Sweden, Giorgia PICCOLIN of Italy, Britt EERLAND of the Netherlands, Yuan WAN of Germany, Gaia MONFARDINI of Italy, Adina DIACONU of Romania, and Ivana MALOBABIC of Croatia.
