Portugal kick off the 2023 with the win over Poland in Hala Gier Sportowych Poznań in the Stage one of the European Championships Teams. In Poland winners needed four matches. Marcos FREITAS opened the duel with the victory over Samuel KULCZYCKI (11:8 11:7 11:4) before Milosz REDZIMSKI leveled with the almost equally fast victory over Joao GERALDO (11:8 11:8 11:9). After that there were no more fast finishes but neither the wins for the hosts . Artur GRELA stretched Diago CARVALHO to full distance (11:13 11:9 7:11 4:12 3:11) and KULCZYCKI also pushed GERALDO to the limits (8:11 6:11 11:5 12:10 7:11). “It was the best way for our team to start this year. We did the job and the most important was to get the victory today. We showed a good team spirit and we will keep this attitude for the next match on 9th against Denmark ” said GERALDO. On Monday Portugal will meet Denmark in Roskilde and on Thursday Denmark is coming to Gdansk to play against Poland. “We are very happy with this victory. It was very tough match but the atmosphere in the fully packed venue in Poland was very good. It was interesting to play in Poznan. This is our start in the European Championships and it is very important that we won the away match. The next one in Denmark will be also close and we will play again as
ETTU launched European Ranking platform
https://www.ettu.org ETTU proudly announces that the January European Rankings are launched. It is the fruit of the hard work that has been done in past two years. ETTU implements the new European Ranking Platform totally independent and autonomous. The platform contains an experimental European Ranking system and experimental European Rankings. In 2023 the European Ranking system will be an experimental system. “With the launch of the European Ranking Platform ETTU is directly answering to our Member Association’s requests adding value to our all ETTU competitions. I would emphasize the fact that results of our European clubs competitions and Team events can now be monotonized automatically increasing the number of European players included in the raking system and of course bringing additional value to our traditional team events mainly supported by the European clubs the real basis of our European table tennis chain ” said ETTU Acting President Pedro MOURA.”While we are proudly moving forward with ETTU 2023-2028 Strategic Plan recently presented to our Member Associations I wish to congratulate my Executive Board colleagues specially Miguel VINCEN in charge of this area the ETTU Ranking Committee the ETTU Coaches Committee and all ETTU professional staff involved in the building of our European Platform for the hard work put in place during last months.” The goals of the European Ranking Platform are to: give higher importance to Top European Events; offer more options for mid and lower-level European players to show their level in Europe; stimulate Team events in Europe; reward club competitions the basic income for most European players; offer players and clubs more options to present themselves to the press and media in their country and be more visible to these media; for the Under 15 and Under 13 players represents the results of the new Europe Youth Series. “As it had been wished and mentioned here we are in this first stage of the establishment of the European Ranking. This achievement was made possible with the collaboration of all the the EB members the Ranking committee and the Competition manager. Thanks also to the Coach committee for their participation. By responding to this request from our member associations we are restoring value to European competitions players and clubs. With your feedback we will finalize a quality Ranking for the ETTU ” said Vice President In Charge of the Ranking Miguel VICENS. During 2023 the European Ranking will be used in the following way: There will be a monthly published European Ranking for Men’s Singles Women’s Singles Under 15 Boys Under 15 Girls Under 13 Boys and Under 13 Girls. As there will be no Europe Youth Series for Under 17 and Under 19 no European Ranking will be made for these age categories In 2023 the European Ranking for MS and WS will not be used for the seeding list and invitations. For the Europe TOP-16 Cup the European Games and the European Teams Championships the World Rankings will be used for invitations (if needed) and seeding lists. The European Ranking for Under 21 Men’s Singles and Under 21 Women’s Singles will be used for the Invitations and Seeding List for European Championships Under 21 in Sarajevo (January 2023 Ranking) The European Ranking will be used for the European Ranking Sanctioned events in 2023 (international and regional) if any. The European Ranking for Under 15/Under 13 will not be used for Seeding List for European Championships U13 and U15. World ranking will be used for that Championship. The European ranking will be used for seeding at Europe Youth Series Events. The European ranking will be used for Invitations for the Under 15 Europe Youth Top 10. In Malmo during the 2023 European Team Championships (September 2023) ETTU will decide how to proceed with the European Ranking platform and adopt the final text of the Rulebook on the ETTU Ranking System. For 2024 and 2025 the plan for the European Ranking is as follows: Men’s Singles and Women’s Singles European Ranking: To use the European ranking as official Ranking for seeding lists for the following events: European Individual Championships Europe TOP 16 Cup European U21 Championships Europe Tour Events European Ranking Sanctioned Events (International and Regional) And to use the European ranking for the Invitation List for the following events: Europe TOP 16 Cup European U21 Championships European Youth Ranking for U13/UNDER 15/U17/U19 To use the European ranking as official Ranking for seeding lists for the following events: European Youth Championships (Teams and Individual) Europe Youth Series in all age categories European Ranking Sanctioned Events (International and Regional) And to use the European ranking for the Invitation List for the following events: Europe Youth Top 10 You can find the Rankings here Other relevant documents The platform contains an experimental European Ranking system and experimental European Rankings. (https://www.ettu.org/en/n/news/2022/december/ettu-implements-the-new-european-ranking- platform/ ). The working of the ranking system in 2023 is explained in the European Ranking Rulebook https://www.ettu.org/fileadmin/redaktion/Rankings/2023/ETTU_Ranking_Platform_Rulebook.pdf Starting January 2023 ETTU will publish monthly rankings on https://www.ettu.org/en/players- ranking/ranking/current-ranking/ on every first Friday of a month after ITTF has published the World Rankings (first Tuesday of that month). All previous rankings will be visible on https://www.ettu.org/en/players-ranking/ranking/previous- ranking/ These January rankings are made by using the results from the most recent edition of the events that counting for these Rankings. Each individual event counts as one result. The results of the team events each player has played are combined and count as 1 result. In each ranking all individual events are presented in a separate column. For the team events one column shows the total number of points followed by columns showing the points for each team event. Points for individual events are based on the final position in an event combined with the Tournament Weight of the event according to the points table in Annex 1 https://www.ettu.org/fileadmin/redaktion/Rankings/2023/ETTU_Ranking_Platform_FinalPositionTable Points.pdf In addition Victory Points are awarded for each win against a player. The number of Victory Points depends on the position of the player on the European Ranking at the time of the
Truls MOREGARD and HAN Ying topping the CCB Europe Top 16 Cup list
ETTU announced the list of invited players for the CCB Europe Top 16 Cup to be held in Montreux Switzerland from 25 to 26 February 2023. Leading names in both Men’s and Women’s lists are Truls MOREGARD of Sweden and HAN Ying of Germany. The best European players will play for the prestigious title at the tournament (100.000 Euros in total prize money). The winner will receive a check for €10 000 runners up will get €6 000 semifinalists will receive €4 000 quarterfinalists will receive €2 500 and those in the Round of 16 will get €2 000. Players are selected by World Ranking Week #1 2023. In Men’s Singles Event Swede MOREGARD played in the final last year. The 2021 World Championships finalist was a substitute player last year. Truls was one of the youngest finalists ever. Truls concluded the tournament as a runner up beaten by the hands of no. two seed this year Darko JORGIC of Slovenia. JORGIC was the first Slovenian to win this event. He won the youngest final in the history of the Top12/Top16 since the two players being together were only 43 years old. MOREGARD will play at CCB Europe Top 16 Cup for a second time whilst for JORGIC it will be his 4th appearance. No. three seed Dang QIU of Germany is invited for a first time whilst his compatriot Dimitrij OVTCHAROV no 4 seed won the tournament five times last time it was in Montreux in 2019 (after titles in 2017 2016 2015 and 2012). The list goes on with another Swede Kristian KARLSSON Liam PITCHFORD of England Andrej GACINA of Croatia Alexis LEBRUN and Simon GAUZY of France the winner from the 2015 edition in Lausanne Marcos FREITAS of Portugal WANG Yang of Slovakia Robert GARDOS of Austria Tomislav PUCAR of Croatia Jonathan GROTH of Denmark Joao GERALDO of Portugal and Swiss player who will be selected in following days. No. one seed and the title holder Germany’s HAN Ying will play for a third time at the tournament. HAN Ying is the oldest winner of a Top 12/Top 16 in the history of the event. Last year HAN won at 38 years and 10 months breaking LI Jiao’s record (38 and 1 month at her last victory in 2011). Next in the list is Austria’s Sofia POLANCOVA; she recorded her best results in 2020 and in 2019 when she finished third. The winner of the 2021 edition held in Thessaloniki Nina MITTELHAM of Germany is no. three seed followed by Jia Nan YUAN of France and YU Fu of Portugal. The winner from 2018 Bernadette SZOCS of Romania is seeded at the position no. six. Hana MATELOVA of Czech Republic NI Xia Lian of Luxembourg Margaryta PESOTSKA of Ukraine Elizabeta SAMARA of Romania Barbora BALAZOVA of Slovakia Linda BERGSTROM of Sweden SHAO JIeni of Portugal Britt EERLAND of Netherlands and Georgina POTA of Hungary completed the list of top 15 players. Last name of the list is reserved from the host nation representative. The 2023 CCB Europe Top 16 may be qualification for the 2023 ITTF World Cup pending confirmation from ITTF. More info you can find here
Registration opens for European Universities Championships 2023
The registrations for the European Universities Championships 2023 are officially open. Between the months of June and September student athletes engaged in their higher education studies at European universities will be able to attend the events and compete in their chosen sports. In December the registration for international volunteers opened offering them a chance to actively contribute to the organisation of the events. Following last year’s very successful European Universities Games in Lodz and European Universities Rowing Championship in Istanbul EUSA look forward to welcoming university teams from all over Europe taking part in the 20+2 sports events next year: 3×3 Basketball Badminton Basketball Beach Sports (Beach Handball and Beach Volleyball) Combat Sports (Judo Karate Kickboxing Taekwondo) Football Futsal Golf Handball Orienteering Rowing Rugby 7s Table Tennis Tennis Volleyball and Water Polo. In December Winter Sports (Alpine Skiing and Snowboarding) will be held for the first time! The European Universities Championships are licensed by the European University Sports Association (EUSA) and are organised in cooperation with the local organising committees in different cities around Europe offering great competitions and ever-lasting memories. EUSA is proud of the fact that all events are open for men and women. Current students and recent graduates from European universities aged between 17 and 30 are legible to take part. National university sports bodies in 47 countries in Europe are invited to submit the initial registrations – general entry forms as soon as possible. The deadline to register is February 15 for sports which start in June and July and March 15 for sports which start in August and September. Registrations for Winter Sports will open in April. Please see the EUSA Championships page for general overview and specific event pages for details. Contact the national university sports body in your country to check additional legibility criteria and entry procedure. At the same time EUSA also invites volunteers to register their interest to take part in the sports events and contribute to the organisation of the championships. Here you can get more information and register; with the same deadlines to apply – February 15 for sports which start in June and July and March 15 for sports which start in August and September. More information…
ETTU Strategic Plan 2023-2028
https://www.ettu.org The European Table Tennis Union Executive Board considers that having a Strategic Plan has become an essential tool in what concerns the future of our Continental Federation. With all the challenges Europe is facing now a clear pathway must be defined so all European Table Tennis family has a clear idea of what will be the main objectives of ETTU until the end of the next Olympic cycle in 2028. ETTU Strategic Plan will also help our professional staff to understand our objectives and coordinate their delivery efforts. To protect our club system to grow our team competitions to develop our youngsters to market and promote our sport are ETTU priorities! Being the result of many internal discussions and respective conclusions this document intends to define a Continental goal and motivate all our stakeholders to work together in one direction having Europe at the top of our beloved sports pyramid with regard to sports results and competition participation. Of course this is an evolving plan that will be updated every time the Executive Board feels it is necessary. A Strategic Implementation Plan will follow defining key performance indicators (KPIs) timetables and setting the tone for the next years of ETTU activity. The European Table Tennis Union has recently reached its 65th anniversary. While we are projecting the future our history traditions and values must and will be respected bringing us to a common vision the passion for our beloved sport … Table Tennis First! So on below link you’ll find a video presentation of ETTU 2023-2028 Strategic Plan. On it you will understand the model used to prepare Strategic Plan and also the steps that will follow including of course a timeline to receive feedback from you. YouTube And here you can find the presentation document here. The ETTU Executive Board would also like to take this opportunity to send you Season’s Greetings hoping that in 2023 you can all fulfil your dreams.
European Table Tennis is sending our very best wishes for Christmas and the new year
ETTU is sending our very best wishes for Christmas and the new year
ETTU implements the new European Ranking Platform
After extensive internal discussion also taking into consideration the enormous quantity of comments and feedback received during last two years from all European Member Associations their respective coaches and players ETTU has decided in September 2022 to implement the new European Ranking Platform totally independent and autonomous. The platform contains an experimental European Ranking system and experimental European Rankings. The goals of the European Ranking Platform are to: give higher importance to Top European Events offer more options for mid and lower-level European players to show their level in Europe stimulate Team events in Europe reward club competitions the basic income for most European players offer players and clubs more options to present themselves to the press and media in their country and be more visible to these media for the U15 and U13 players represents the results of the new Europe Youth Series In 2023 the European Ranking system will be an experimental system. During 2023 the European Ranking will be used in the following way: There will be a monthly published European Ranking for MS WS U15 Boys U15 Girls U13 Boys and U13 Girls. As there will be no Europe Youth Series for U17 and U19 no European Ranking will be made for these age categories In 2023 the European Ranking for MS and WS will not be used for the seeding list and invitations. For the Europe TOP-16 Cup the European Games and the European Teams Championships the WR will be used for invitations (if needed) and seeding lists. The European Ranking for U21MS and U21WS will be used for the Invitations and Seeding List for EC U21 in Sarajevo (January 2023 Ranking) The European Ranking will be used for the European Ranking Sanctioned events in 2023 (international and regional) if any The European Ranking for U15/U13 will not be used for Seeding List for European Championships U13 and U15. WR ranking will be used for that Championship. The European ranking will be used for seeding at Europe Youth Series Events The European ranking will be used for Invitations for the U15 Europe Youth Top 10 In Malmo during the 2023 ETC (September 2023) ETTU will decide how to proceed with the European Ranking platform and adopt the final text of the Rulebook on the ETTU Ranking System. All ETTU Members Associations/coaches/players are invited to send proposals/suggestions/remarks to this rulebook until 01.08.2023. For 2024 and 2025 the plan for the European Ranking is as follows: MS and WS European Ranking: To use the European ranking as official Ranking for seeding lists for the following events: European Individual Championships Europe TOP 16 Cup European U21 Championships Europe Tour Events European Ranking Sanctioned Events (International and Regional) And to use the European ranking for the Invitation List for the following events: Europe TOP 16 Cup European U21 Championships European Youth Ranking for U13/U15/U17/U19 To use the European ranking as official Ranking for seeding lists for the following events: European Youth Championships (Teams and Individual) Europe Youth Series in all age categories European Ranking Sanctioned Events (International and Regional) And to use the European ranking for the Invitation List for the following events: Europe Youth Top 10
Petrissa SOLJA announces retirement: „For me it was the perfect career”
Petrissa SOLJA is quitting pofessional table tennis at the age of 28. It is the end of a picture-perfect career but as she emphasises not a retirement in the heat of the moment. The step was well-considered the decision matured over many weeks. After 51 international matches for Germany it is the end of her career in the national team and also in Bundesliga. For ten years “Peti” SOLJA was an indispensable part of the German national team. In 2016 she won Olympic silver with the team. In 2017 and 2019 she took World Cup bronze in mixed. She came third at the prestigious World Cup in Japan in 2015. She brought home three gold medals from the European Games won the Europe Top 16 twice and reached the final two additional times. Among her eight European Championships’ medals six are golden. She won the well-deserved individual title at the 2020/21 continental championships in Warsaw. She had already become the German individual champion in 2015 and had previously won everything there was to win in Germany and Europe in her junior years. Fantastic feeling for the ball brillant understanding of the game great fighting spirit She was one of the few Europeans who could even threaten the leading Chinese players. The lefty thrilled the fans with her fantastic feeling for the ball her very good understading of the game and her impeccable technique paired with a great fighting spirit. In 2015 for example “the backhand boss” literally ran from table to table at the German Open reached the final in three competitions – U21 singles women’s doubles and singles. In the end she won two titles. She thus played a total of 15 matches in the Bremen Arena and won 14. The WTT Champions Tournament in Hungary in July was to be her last international appearance. She had to cancel her participation in the home European Championships in Munich in August because an old injury to her intervertebral disc had reappeared. During the compulsory break she had a lot of time to think she says. And after 25 years with the fastest racket sport on earth she realised for the first time that “I didn’t miss table tennis at all. I am now ready for something new”. On tischtennis.de Petrissa Solja explains her motives in detail: Petrissa SOLJA: “I am ending my career. I am very relieved and looking forward to my next stage in life. It was a long process until I made this decision. It was definitely not a decision in the heat of the moment. Table tennis has been my life for as long as I can remember. In the oldest table tennis photo I am one and a half years old. When I was three I stood on tiptoe to be able to look over the table. When I was five I was finally tall enough. When I was twelve I became the German U15 girls singles Champion for the first time without losing a single game. When I was 14 I started playing in the 1st Bundesliga. It went on and on up for me. I always did all my work conscientiously and with all my heart. But now I have listened to my heart and realised: I need a radical cut. I’m no longer playing in the national team or the Bundesliga. I have always been consistent. Either I do one thing 100 per cent or not at all. I have achieved everything I can in sport and in some cases even the impossible. I have won medals at the Olympic Games European Games World Championships at the World Cup at the Europe Top 16 the German National Championships in singles and most recently I also became the European champion in women’s singles. I am also a multiple national champion at club level and a three-time Champions League winner. My collection is complete. What could still come now would be retakes. Successes for life My career has progressed step by step since I was a child. Of course I had big dreams but I tried to approach them with small steps. I have understood that I have great potential and can achieve great success. But everything starts with the first small step. What was the moment I will never forget? There were so many beautiful moments. Many will find it unusual but: in my mind when I ask myself this question the day when I became the German Champion in women’s singles immediately comes to mind. As a little girl I never thought of becoming an Olympic or World Champion. As a young player the German Championships were much more tangible for me. It is difficult to win this title. To succeed everything has to be absolutely perfect on this single weekend. It was a great moment for me to win there. By the way I was also really proud of the really big and really heavy trophy as German U15 girls singles Champion. It still has a special place in my trophy collection. I also had many great memories with my teammates in doubles and mixed doubles. I always enjoyed to play World Team Championships. That was my favourite tournament because it was always super fun. I enjoyed competing with my team. We always hoped for a medal with our national team but we were never the favourite. At World Team Championships I was able to perform really well and I like to remember the 2016 World Championships in Kuala Lumpur for example. We sensationally beat Japan and South Korea there. The 2013 European Championships in Schwechat too are on my mind. I was already able to play really well but I was still young and had to learn a lot. Nevertheless Sabine Winter and I managed to win the doubles title in addition to team gold. We had already won the doubles title the year before at the German Open in Bremen in 2012 and the hall was rocking. I loved
To the Champions League men semi-final teams
The draw for the semi finals of the Champions League men was held today in Luxembourg. Borussia Düsseldorf will meet TTC Neu-Ulm whilst 1.FC Saarbrücken TT will play against Post SV Mühlhausen 1951 e.V. The first leg will be played between 10th to 14th February 2023 whilst the return leg is scheduled for the period between 15th to 19th February.
Para Table Tennis Training Camp in Lignano great step forward
As part of the ETTU Development program the second-ever Para Table Tennis Training Camp took place in Lignano (ITA) from 12-17 December 2022. The camp was led by Alessandro ARCIGLI chair of the ETTU Para Committee and assisted by the Croatian technicians Nikola VUKELJA Spanish José MACHADO Korean HWANG Eunbit and Italians Nicola FALAPPA and Massimo PISCHIUTTI with the contribution of the Ukrainian sparring Sofia SHEREDEHA and Croatian Zvonimir KRAMARIC. A total of 26 Athletes under 23 Para players participated in the camp from 7 different Associations : Italy Great Britain Portugal Holland Spain Latvia and Finland. The British plyers who were in the camp are Daniel MEAD Josh HILL and Joseph CROUSE the Latvian Valters VOICIS the Finnish Aaro MAKELA the Portuguese Mario BASTARDO the Spaniards Alejandro DIAZ Iker GONZALEZ and Marlon LOPEZ the Dutch Roy van der BURG Yannick PAREDIS Paul van der OORD Dustin EIER Sem ROELOFS and Frederique van HOOF and the Italians Leonardo COLETTA Marco BOVE Mirko BRUSCHI Lorenzo MAGARELLI Elena ELLI Roberto MARTINELLI Stefano BUTTI Manuel FORTUZZI Edoardo CASATI Matteo PARENZAN and Carlotta RAGAZZINI. The schedule consisted of a combination of training sessions multiball sessions and matches. The sessions were divided into two different periods morning (from 9.30 till 12.30) and evening (16.30/19.30) with regular and special (individual) training exercises while for the last day the main focus was on playing matches. At the end of the camp there was a short meeting to analyse the work to do at home. “The camp in Lignano was a great opportunity to meet many players from different countries and to train in a different way than usual. I really appreciated the advice of the coaches who gave me many useful ideas to introduce variations in my playing style. It was a very positive experience to be repeated for sure.” Mirko BRUSCHI (ITA) Class 9. “It was a great experience to be at an international training camp and it was fantastic to be here. I played with players from all over Europe and of different classes so it’s been a wonderful chance to improve and learn a lot of things. Thank you all for the opportunity.” Carlotta RAGAZZINI (ITA) Class 3.
