The opening night of Stage 2 in the 2026/27 ETTU Champions League Women produced a major upset, as French side Etival ASRTT defeated defending champions and No. 1 seeds KTS Enea Siarkopol TARNOBRZEG 8-7 in Poland. Spain’s UCAM Cartagena TM and France’s Saint-Quentin TT also made impressive starts to their campaigns, recording identical 11-4 victories over SKST Plus HODONIN and Linz AG Froschberg respectively.
Under the Stage 2 format, all 15 games are played in each team encounter, with the final result determined by the total number of games won. Every game therefore carries importance in the race for places in the Final Four.
The French visitors made an outstanding start in Tarnobrzeg, winning the first three individual encounters to establish a 7-2 advantage.
Australia’s Liu YANGZI opened the contest with a 2-1 victory over China’s Zhuojia HE (11-7, 11-8, 4-11), before Sweden’s Christina KÄLLBERG produced one of the evening’s standout performances, defeating Germany’s Ying HAN in straight games (11-8, 12-10, 12-10).
Portugal’s SHAO Jieni then strengthened Etival’s position with a 2-1 success against compatriot Fu YU (11-8, 11-6, 4-11), leaving the defending champions facing a difficult task.
However, TARNOBRZEG responded strongly. Zhuojia HE defeated Christina KÄLLBERG 3-0 (11-6, 11-8, 11-8), reducing the deficit to 7-5 and keeping the Polish club’s hopes alive.
Ying HAN then overcame Liu YANGZI 2-1 (11-3, 10-12, 11-8), but the comeback fell just short. Etival secured an 8-7 victory, delivering an early statement of intent in the battle for places in the Final Four.
“We are very happy that we managed to beat a club that has been at the top for so many years. We gave our best and managed to make a better start. I played very well in the opening match, then Christina KÄLLBERG recorded a clear 3-0 victory, and Jieni SHAO did her job very well. I am so happy that I managed to keep my nerves under control and win the final game to secure the victory,” said Liu YANGZI.
Despite the narrow defeat, Ying HAN remained optimistic that TARNOBRZEG would adapt to the competition format.
“We are very sad now. We lost by the narrowest of margins despite putting up a great fight. The new rules were a little difficult for me. However, after a few matches, once we all get used to this system, everything will be better,” said HAN.
In Hodonin, UCAM Cartagena TM proved too strong for Stage 1 qualifiers SKST Plus HODONIN, winning 11 of the 15 games.
The Czech hosts initially took the lead through Slovakia’s Karin GROFOVA, who defeated England’s HO Tin-Tin 2-1 (11-6, 7-11, 12-10).
However, CARTAGENA quickly turned the contest around. Spain’s Maria XIAO overcame Marketa SEVCIKOVA 2-1 (2-11, 11-5, 11-7), before Chile’s Daniela ORTEGA recorded a convincing 3-0 victory over Anna KLEMPEREROVA (11-2, 11-7, 11-9).
XIAO continued her excellent performance with a straight-games victory over GROFOVA (11-9, 11-7, 16-14), winning a closely contested third game to complete her second individual success of the evening.
HO Tin-Tin then secured the final two games for CARTAGENA, defeating SEVCIKOVA 2-1 (11-4, 9-11, 11-7).
With XIAO contributing five game victories, ORTEGA adding three and HO Tin-Tin another three, the Spanish club completed a convincing 11-4 triumph.
“It was a very good start to the season, and we are very happy with today’s performance. Their Chinese player was unable to play today, and things might have been different if she had been available. Nevertheless, we are delighted that we managed to take our chances and secure the victory,” said Maria XIAO.
Saint-Quentin TT matched CARTAGENA’s winning margin with an 11-4 home success against Austrian qualifiers Linz AG Froschberg, taking all five individual encounters.
Canada’s ZHANG Mo gave the French club a winning start, recovering from the loss of the opening game to defeat Slovenia’s Sara TOKIC 2-1 (8-11, 11-6, 11-9).
France’s Camille LUTZ then produced an emphatic performance against Japan’s Yurika NAMBA, winning 3-0 (11-7, 11-5, 11-4) to extend the hosts’ advantage.
Polina MIKHAILOVA followed with a 2-1 victory over Japan’s Emiko TAGUCHI (9-11, 11-3, 11-5), putting Saint-Quentin firmly in control.
ZHANG Mo returned to the table for another demanding contest, overcoming NAMBA 2-1 (8-11, 11-8, 13-11). After losing the opening game, ZHANG fought back and edged a tense third game to secure two more valuable points for the French side.
LUTZ completed the victory with a 2-1 success against TOKIC (11-6, 8-11, 11-8), finishing the evening with five game victories from her two appearances.
ZHANG also contributed four game wins, while MIKHAILOVA added two, giving Saint-Quentin an impressive 11-4 result against a Linz side that had progressed through Stage 1 unbeaten.
The competition features eight clubs in a single round-robin group, with each team playing seven encounters. The top two clubs will qualify directly for the Final Four, scheduled for 1-2 May 2027, while teams finishing third to sixth will contest Stage 3 play-offs for the remaining two places.
Tomorrow, Germany’s TTC Berlin eastside hosts French contenders Metz TT.
KTS ENEA SIARKOPOL TARNOBRZEG – ETIVAL A.S.R.T.T 7-8
- Zhuojia HE – Liu YANGZI 1-2 (7-11, 8-11, 11-4)
- Ying HAN – Christina KÄLLBERG 0-3 (8-11, 10-12, 10-12)
- Fu YU – Jieni SHAO 1-2 (8-11, 6-11, 11-4)
- Zhuojia HE – Christina KÄLLBERG 3-0 (11-6, 11-8, 11-8)
- Ying HAN – Liu YANGZI 2-1 (11-3, 10-12, 11-8)
SKST PLUS HODONIN – UCAM CARTAGENA TM 4-11
- Karin GROFOVA – Tin-Tin HO 2-1 (11-6, 7-11, 12-10)
- Marketa SEVCIKOVA – Maria XIAO 1-2 (11-2, 5-11, 7-11)
- Anna KLEMPEREROVA – Daniela ORTEGA 0-3 (2-11, 7-11, 9-11)
- Karin GROFOVA – Maria XIAO 0-3 (9-11, 7-11, 14-16)
- Marketa SEVCIKOVA – Tin-Tin HO 1-2 (4-11, 11-9, 7-11)
SAINT-QUENTIN TT – LINZ AG FROSCHBERG 11-4
- Mo ZHANG – Sara TOKIC 2-1 (8-11, 11-6, 11-9)
- Camille LUTZ – Yurika NAMBA 3-0 (11-7, 11-5, 11-4)
- Polina MIKHAILOVA – Emiko TAGUCHI 2-1 (9-11, 11-3, 11-5)
- Mo ZHANG – Yurika NAMBA 2-1 (8-11, 11-8, 13-11)
- Camille LUTZ – Sara TOKIC 2-1 (11-6, 8-11, 11-8)
