Reigning champions KTS ENEA SIARKOPOL Tarnobrzeg were forced to surrender their title even before reaching the final of the Champions League Women, as ttc berlin eastside staged a stunning comeback in the semi-finals.
After losing the first leg 1-3 at home, the German club turned the tie around with a straight matches victory in Tarnobrzeg.
With a 0-3 defeat, KTS ENEA SIARKOPOL Tarnobrzeg was pushed into a golden match. The same line-ups were fielded: Xiaona SHAN, Sabina SURJAN, and Mia GRIESEL for Berlin, against Ying HAN, Elizabeta SAMARA, and Fu YU for Tarnobrzeg. However, unlike the main match, the golden encounter did not even reach a third duel — SHAN and SURJAN secured victories to seal Berlin’s place in the final.
Reflecting on the strategic challenges they faced, Sabina SURJAN explained:
“I think that KTS ENEA SIARKOPOL Tarnobrzeg played very smart in the opening leg. They put Ying HAN ‘down’ to play against me in the third position. In addition, SAMARA always plays superbly against SHAN, so our line-up could not perform at its best.
We learned from that, but even before the start, we were in a bad position, having to play without Nina MITTELHAM due to injury. We lost 1-3 at home, and we knew we needed to win 3-0 or 3-1 just to reach the chance for a golden match.”
Despite these challenges, the German trio delivered a fantastic performance in Tarnobrzeg. SURJAN added:
“In the opening match SHAN performed superbly — it was a fantastic match. I did not start well, losing the first game against SAMARA 5-11, but then I adapted to her game and managed to take control.
GRIESEL was absolutely fantastic. She was stretched to five games but managed to win, preventing a very dangerous scenario where the match could have gone the full distance.”
ttc berlin eastside has previously won the Champions League Women title five times — in 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, and 2021. Interestingly, in 2022, they lost the final to KTS ENEA SIARKOPOL Tarnobrzeg, who went on to win the next two editions as well. Overall, the Polish club has secured Champions League titles in 2019, 2022, 2023, and 2024.
In the upcoming final, TTC Berlin Eastside will meet the winner of the semi-final between Metz TT and Saint-Quentin TT. The first leg ended with a narrow 3-2 victory for Saint-Quentin TT at home, while the decisive return match in Metz is scheduled for 28th April.
Photo By: Piotr Morawski
KTS ENEA SIARKOPOL Tarnobrzeg – ttc berlin eastside 0-3
- Ying HAN – Xiaona SHAN 1-3 (7-11, 7-11, 11-7, 10-12)
- Elizabeta SAMARA – Sabina SURJAN 1-3 (11-5, 7-11, 7-11, 8-11)
- Fu YU – Mia GRIESEL 2-3 (11-7, 11-13, 9-11, 11-7, 1-6)
Golden match
KTS ENEA SIARKOPOL Tarnobrzeg – ttc berlin eastside
- Elizabeta SAMARA – Sabina SURJAN 6-11
- Ying HAN – Xiaona SHAN 4-11
ttc berlin eastside – KTS ENEA SIARKOPOL Tarnobrzeg 1-3
- Nina MITTELHAM – Natalia BAJOR 3-1 (6-11, 14-12, 11-5, 11-9)
- Xiaona SHAN – Elizabeta SAMARA 1-3 (5-11, 9-11, 11-7, 3-11)
- Sabina SURJAN – Ying HAN 0-3 (4-11, 6-11, 6-11)
- Nina MITTELHAM – Elizabeta SAMARA 2-3 (11-9, 7-11, 11-8, 3-11, 4-6)
