The 2026 JOOLA Europe Youth Series Portugal Open starts today in Albufeira, bringing together Europe’s promising young talents for five days of competition at the Pavilhão Desportivo de Olhos de Água. The tournament will run from 21 to 25 May and will feature U13 and U15 events in boys’ and girls’ categories, including team competitions, singles, and mixed doubles. This year’s event host 75 playes in Under 15 Boys Event, 40 in Under 15 Girls, and 38 and 23 in each Under 13 Boy’s and Girls events. A total of 15 nations will be represented in Albufeira: Belgium, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, England, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Lithuania, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Ukraine. Competition begins today with the U15 and U13 Boys’ and Girls’ Team group stages, while the programme throughout the week also includes singles events and mixed doubles competitions. Finals in team events are scheduled for Friday and Saturday, while singles main draw matches will dominate the final two days of the tournament. Among the top seeds in the U15 Boys Singles event are Spain’s Alexander MALOV, Germany’s Lukas WANG and Finland’s Jimi KOIVUMÄKI, while the U15 Girls Singles draw is led by Adela BRHELOVA of Czechia, Laura MARSICKOVA of Czechia and Teresa CARRASCO VIEITO of Spain. The U13 categories also promise strong competition. England’s Dimitar DIMITROV heads the U13 Boys Singles seeding list ahead of Pietro CAMPAGNA of Italy and Luca ROMERO of Spain, while Adela BRHELOVA again appears as the top seed in the U13 Girls Singles event, followed by Carmen GOMEZ of Spain and Julia FERNANDEZ of Spain. In the team competitions, Spain enters as one of the strongest nations across several categories. Spanish teams lead the seeding in both U13 Boys and U13 Girls events, while Germany tops the U15 Boys Teams seeding and Spain again leads the U15 Girls Teams competition.
ttc berlin eastside target another European crown
Few clubs arrive at the HYLO ETTU Champions League Women Final 4 with a legacy as rich and consistent as ttc berlin eastside. For more than a decade, the German powerhouse has been one of the defining forces in European women’s club table tennis, combining winning tradition, squad depth and remarkable continuity at the highest level. Seven Champions League titles – most recently in 2025, adding to triumphs in 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2021 – underline Berlin’s status among Europe’s elite. Their domestic dominance has been equally impressive, with twelve German championship titles and fourteen German Cup victories, including another national cup success in 2026. Added to that are three ETTU Cup titles, confirming the club’s long-standing European pedigree. This year, Berlin once again arrive at the decisive stage after a campaign defined by control, resilience and depth. They opened their Champions League journey with a convincing 3-0 victory over Saint-Denis TT 93 before following it with a solid 3-1 win against Linz AG Froschberg. As the group stage progressed, Berlin showed composure in pressure moments as well, edging Saint-Denis 3-2 in a tense return encounter. Their only setback came away against Linz, but by then they had already established themselves as one of the strongest teams in the competition. In the quarter-finals, the German side produced two highly convincing performances against PGE Fibrain AZS Politechnika Rzeszów. After securing a strong 3-1 away victory in Poland, Berlin delivered one of their best displays of the season in front of a nearly sold-out home crowd to complete qualification with a dominant 3-0 success. The return match in Berlin highlighted the strength of the reigning champions, that officially booked Berlin’s place in the Final 4. Now the defending champions face perhaps the toughest possible challenge. In the semi-finals, Berlin will meet hosts and top seeds KTS Enea Siarkopol Tarnobrzeg in what promises to be one of the standout clashes of the Final 4 weekend. Playing in Tarnobrzeg against a side led by Ying HAN, HE Zhuojia, FU Yu and YANG Xiaoxin means Berlin will enter what many describe as “the lion’s den.” Yet few teams in Europe are more accustomed to decisive moments than the German champions. With experience, winning mentality and remarkable squad depth, Berlin once again arrive at the Final 4 believing they can add another major European title to their extraordinary collection.
Enea Siarkopol Tarnobrzeg Ready to Defend Home Ground at ETTU Champions League Women Final 4
As hosts and top seeds of the first-ever ETTU Champions League Women Final 4, KTS Enea Siarkopol Tarnobrzeg arrive in a familiar position – among the favourites for the title. The Polish club will face reigning champions ttc berlin eastside in the semi-final on 23 May at 19:00, and earlier the same day, UCAM Cartagena TM will meet Metz TT in the opening semi-final at 15:00. The Polish powerhouse has dominated women’s table tennis in Poland for decades, winning 32 national titles since the 1990/91 season, while also building one of the strongest European legacies in the modern era. Four Champions League crowns in 2019, 2022, 2023 and 2024 have established Tarnobrzeg as one of the benchmark clubs in Europe. This season, the team once again progressed through the competition with impressive control. Tarnobrzeg opened their campaign with commanding victories over MIRO Ganxets Costa Durada and Saint-Quentin TT before confirming their authority in the quarter-finals against Etival ASRTT with a 3-1 away victory followed by a dominant 3-0 success at home. At the heart of the squad stands Ying HAN, currently ranked No. 5 in Europe and fresh from winning the bronze medal with Germany at the ITTF World Team Championships Finals in London. “ I’m very happy that we were able to win the bronze medal together with the team at the centenary edition of the World Team Championships,” said Han. “This medal is very special and unique.” There is little time to celebrate, however, with the Final 4 arriving quick after the World Championships. “ I needed to rest for one or two days and recharge my body. Then I immediately switched into preparation mode for the club competition,” explained HAN. Tarnobrzeg once again bring together one of the most experienced and balanced squads in Europe. Alongside HAN are world No. 12 Satsuki ODO, European No. 10 Fu YU and No. 29 YANG Xiaoxin, while the team is further strengthened by HE Zhuojia, Ng Wing LAM, Magdalena SIKORSKA and Kinga STEFANSKA. For HAN, the secret behind Tarnobrzeg’s consistency is simple. “Our team is very united, and we all truly love table tennis,” she said. The experienced defender also believes the diversity of playing styles inside the squad gives Tarnobrzeg a major tactical advantage. “The strength of our team is that we have many different playing styles, which allows us to use different tactics against different opponents.” Despite the club’s impressive history, HAN insists every season begins from zero. “Every season is a new beginning for us, and we approach every competition in the best possible condition,” she explained. The German international also welcomed the introduction of the new Final 4 format. “I believe the new league format will attract even more table tennis fans,” said HAN, who also hopes the home atmosphere in Tarnobrzeg can become an important factor during the decisive weekend. “Of course, I hope that more supporters will come and cheer for us.” And after years of success together, her connection with the club remains deeply personal. “Winning any title for my club would mean a lot to me, because the club feels like a big family.” ETTU Champions League Women Final 4 Semi-finals – 23 May 2026 Final – 24 May 2026 15:00
