The 2024 CCB Europe Top 16 Cup kicked off today in Montreux. The top 16 players in Europe will compete for a total prize fund of 100 000 euros in the Salle Omnisport du Pierrier with an exclusive and breathtaking view of Lake Geneva. On the first day of play we will see the Round of 16 matches followed by quarterfinals. You can see the pictures here Anton KALLBERG – Jaroslav ZHMUDENKO – 4-0 (12-10 11-8 11-4 11-7) The opening round marked a triumph for the debutants. Anton KALLBERG of Sweden played in his first-ever Top 16 Cup in an impressive style. In straight games he overcame Ukraine’s Jaroslav ZHMUDENKO. “I am very happy that I managed to record a straight games win in the opening match especially against ZHMUDENKO who is a very tricky player. The first game was crucial. It was close and I was coming from behind but I regained control. My service game allowed me to play more aggressively and to attack more often ” said KALLBERG. Prithika PAVADE – Maria XIAO (11-9 11-7 11-3 11-8) On table two French young star Prithika PAVADE overcame Spain’s Maria XIAO in her first appearance on the Top 16 stage. “I am so excited to be here ” said PAVADE. “Our record was even. Once she beat me and last time I overcame Maria so I expected a close fight. The opening game that I won was crucial; then I set the rhythm of the match. In the last game it was close once again but I am happy I managed to win in straight games.” Darko JORGIC – Joao GERALDO (11-2 7-11 6-11 11-9 14-12 11-3) Portugal’s Joao GERALDO put significant pressure on the reigning champion Darko JORGIC. However the Slovenian elevated his game regained control and secured victory in the opening match. GERALDO led 2-1 when JORGIC shifted gears and despite saving six game balls at 10-3 the Portuguese player eventually lost the game. Despite the loss he found his rhythm leading to an explosive fifth game. “I lost to Joao at the World Teams Championships which is why I started this match nervously. Despite a strong start with 11-3 he raised his game and I had to give my maximum effort to beat him. The opening match is always challenging ” said JORGIC. Speaking of the close duel in the fifth game JORGIC mentioned: “It could easily have been 3-2 for him but at 13-12 he missed a ball and that was the moment when I regained control and returned to the match becoming more peaceful. I even played better on his game balls compared to mine.” Sofia POLCANOVA – Tatiana KUKULKOVA 4-1(11-6 9-11 11-3 11-8 11-3) Austria’s Sofia POLCANOVA had an impressive start to the tournament except for the second game. Tatiana KUKULKOVA of Slovakia took a 5-0 lead which POLCANOVA couldn’t overcome. However the remaining three games went in one direction. “She is the kind of player who always keeps you alert. You never know how she is going to play. She has a very strange style. In the beginning of the second game I made a lot of easy mistakes. She also had a few lucky balls and it was an easy 5-0 for her. I fought to come back but it was already too late. Overall it was not an easy match for me. I am trying to find myself again. I have not played in so many tournaments so I need some time to regain my self-confidence ” said POLCANOVA. Nina MITTELHAM – Rachel MORET 4-0 (11-7 11-0 11-3 11-7) Germany’s Nina MITTELHAM the 2021 winner delivered a solid performance causing heartache for the host nation supporters as Rachel MORET couldn’t halt the determined Nina. “I am very satisfied with my performance. It is the first time in a long while that I have the impression that I could practice very well before the start of the Top 16 Cup. I am very focused and in good shape. I am looking forward to the next match ” said MITTELHAM. Truls MOREGARD – Tomislav PUCAR 4-0 (11-6 13-11 12-10 11-3) The 2022 Top 16 Cup finalist Sweden’s Truls MOREGARD secured the opening match win in an exciting encounter against Croatia’s Tomislav PUCAR. Although the results predicted a quick victory PUCAR managed to put pressure on Sweden in the middle part of the match. “It was a tough match because Tomislav is a very good player. We played only once before and he has been playing very well recently which is why I was very nervous today. However I started very well. Additionally I managed to win the second and third games even though I was down and it was important. I was consistent took most of the chances I got. Also very important I put many balls back on the table and it seemed that it stressed him a bit ” said MOREGARD. Fu YU – Linda BERGSTROM 4-0 (11-9 11-8 11-2 11-5) Runner-up from 2021 at the Top 16 Cup Portugal’s Fu Yu maintained her patience to overcome Linda BERGSTROM’s defensive skills and defeated the Swede in four games. “It is difficult to play against a player with a defensive style of play. I am not getting any younger ” joked YU. The first two games were very close but then the match took a swing. “Basically I did not change a lot. I just needed some time to get into the flow. I know her game well; recently I beat her in Malmo at the European Championships. So I knew what to do just needed some time to get there. I was nervous at the beginning since this is the opening match and when I calmed down everything was easier ” said Fu YU. Alvaro ROBLES – Dimitrij OVTCHAROV 4-0 (11-9 11-8 11-9 11-9) Olympic record medalist Dimitrij OVTCHAROV of Germany has won the Top 16 Cup five times before and his quest for another title started in superb

The draw for the 2024 CCB Europe Top 16 Cup was held today in the Fairmont Le Montreux Palace in the eve of the start of the 53rd edition of the tournament. The competition commences tomorrow at 9.30 and you can follow live stream ETTU.TV and live score on ETTU web site.

For the first time all matches at the 2024 CCB Europe Top 16 Cup will be televised. You can follow the action live on ETTU.tv. However in Germany Romania France and China matches will be blocked due to geographical blocking. You can watch the duels on Germany Sportdeutschland GermanySport1 Portugal SportTV China TikTok France L’Équipe Romania Antena Play Switzerland LÉ Bleu and Swiss Sport TV.

The last two editions of the CCB Europe Top 16 Cup saw the same winners with Darko JORGIC of Slovenia and HAN Ying of Germany clinching titles in the Men’s and Women’s singles events in Montreux in 2023 and 2022. For the 53rd edition of the tournament scheduled to take place on Saturday January 20th and Sunday January 21st 2024 Darko JORGIC will try to defend his title. Darko JORGIC is seeded at position no. 4 and is currently ranked 14th in the world. Last week he played at the WTT Finals returned to Germany for the semis and finals of the Germany’s Cup where his 1. FC Saarbrücken TT lost to Borussia Düsseldorf. Immediately after   he returned to Doha where he was playing at the  WTT Star Contender. “I am in pretty good shape not perfect but I am okay. In Doha I had a very good match against China’s FAN Zhendong. I lost 2-3 but after a long time I was happy with my performance. I had a few chances for victory. Eventually I lost but I boosted my self-confidence with a good performance ” explained JORGIC. Similar oscillations JORGIC faced in the final of the Germany’s Cup in the match against Timo BOLL which he also lost by a narrow margin. “It was the same in Germany a lot of variations good shots and some unsatisfying play. There is some fine-tuning needed to reach the right shape for one of the most important tournaments for me CCB Europe Top 16 Cup.” Speaking about winning the titles in Montreux we asked Darko when it was more difficult: to win it for the first time or to defend it. “It was much harder to defend it in 2023. My matches against QIU Dang in the final and Dimitrij OVTCHAROV in the semis last year were very difficult on the edge of the knife. Especially difficult was to play against QIU who beat me in the final of the European singles championships. The competition is very fierce this year. “I will play for the fifth time at the tournament and I cannot recall we had fiercer competition. To defend the title and clinch it for a third time will be extremely difficult.” Winning at such a tournament with a long history and being among the creme de la creme of Europe is a special feeling for JORGIC. “It is a phenomenal feeling to be invited and to play at Top 16. Everyone from Europe loves to play there. It is something special. It is a short tournament but packed with suspense top-quality matches fantastic audience and the fabulous city of Montreux and Lake Geneva. I enjoy it to the fullest each time. I feel Montreux like ‘my’ town.” The list of participants includes Felix LEBRUN of France the World’s number 12 Dimitrij OVTCHAROV and Dang QIU of Germany Swede Anton KALLBERG Marcos FREITAS of Portugal Truls MOREGARD of Sweden Alexis LEBRUN of France Liam PITCHFORD of England Danes Jonathan GROTH and Anders LIND Portugal’s Joao GERALDO Spain’s Alvaro ROBLES Croatia’s Tomislav PUCAR Ukraine’s Yaroslav ZHMUDENKO and the host nation representative Loic STOLL. “They are all in top shape especially Germany’s Sweden’s and French players. They are top favorites for the title. I hope to be better than them. I also hope to have a good draw. If I open the tournament well and gain the audience on my side from the beginning to lift me up I hope I can repeat the success.” Looking back at 2023 JORGIC said “One of the highlights of the season was the win at Top 16 at the very beginning of the year. I remained among the top 20 players in the world. I am not that happy with the second half of the season because I had a few lows. It showed at the rankings since I went from position 8th to 14th. Privately I became a father of a son. That is something special that fulfills me as a person.” What is the goal for 2024? “We could already feel the tension of the Olympic year among all the players. We are all running and fighting to gain more points in the rankings. Not only the Europeans it is the same nerve-wracking feeling we can feel among the Asian players. Same for me. My goal is to be at the Olympics again. Primarily I hope that team Slovenia will play at the Olympics again. It would be difficult since Bojan TOKIC is not playing for the national team anymore and we have a very young lineup.”

When the 16 best players on the continent gather at the Europe Top 16 Cup in Montreux on Saturday and Sunday the German Table Tennis Association (DTTB) will once again be represented in Switzerland with the maximum quota of four athletes. European champion DANG five-time winner Dimitrij OVTCHAROV 2021 winner Nina MITTELHAM and Berlin’s Xiaona SHAN who has replaced the injured defending champion Ying HAN (Achilles tendon rupture) will compete for a total prize fund of 100 000 euros in the Salle Omnisport du Pierrier with an exclusive view of Lake Geneva. For the first time the traditional rendezvous of the stars in February in which only two players per nation are eligible to compete will be held in January. The reason for the postponement is the proximity to the World Team Championships in Busan (South Korea) which take place in the Olympic year in mid-February (16th to 25th). Since the first event in 1971 Germans have stood on the top step of the three-part podium in the men’s and women’s events 13 and 12 times respectively. In the last two years Ying HAN from Düsseldorf who plays for the Polish Champions League winners KTS Tarnobrzeg managed to do so but this time she will have to watch the tournament from her bed. The number eight in the ITTF rankings and best defender in the world underwent surgery on Sunday on her Achilles tendon which was ruptured last week at the WTT Star Contender in Doha.  “The surgery went well I can return home on Tuesday ” said Ying HAN who wants to return to the table tennis tables as soon as possible after her full recovery: “I have a good environment with many people who take perfect care of me. I therefore believe that my recovery and my return to the table will not take any longer than necessary.” The Germans who have always been among the medalists in recent years and even triumphed in both competitions at the same time four times in a row from 2018 to 2021 also have a good chance and great ambitions in the title race in 2024 which has been given an extremely attractive bonus for the top four players at short notice. Reaching the semi-finals this year also means qualifying for the men’s and women’s World Cup in Macau in April the reintroduction of which was announced by the ITTF just a few weeks ago. In addition to Dang QIU and Dimitrij OVTCHAROV the men’s title contenders include at least the number one in the European rankings and European Games winner Felix LEBRUN (France) and his brother ALEXIS the winner of the last two years Darko JORGIC (Slovenia) Sweden’s European team champion Truls MÖREGARDH and Anton KÄLLBERG European Games finalist Marcos FREITAS and last year’s third-placed Liam PITCHFORD. In addition to Nina MITTELHAM European Games winner Bernadette SZÖCS (Romania) European Champion Sofia POLCANOVA (Austria) and France’s European Mixed Champion Jia Nan YUAN are also aiming to win the women’s tournament while Xiaona SHAN and former European Champion Elizabeta SAMARA (Romania) are also among the top medal contenders Sweden’s ace defender Linda BERGSTRÖM France’s up-and-coming talent Prithika PAVADE European Games fourth-placed Natalia BAJOR and Luxembourg’s table tennis phenomenon Xia Lian NI who even at the age of 60 is still performing at the same level as her competitors up to 40 years younger with her unrivalled system of play experience and excellent physique. European champion Dang QIU is looking forward to his second Europe Top 16. On his debut a year ago the top player from Düsseldorf Borussia was only narrowly defeated by Darko JORGIC from Slovenia in a rematch of the European Championship final in Munich who can win “his” tournament for the third time in a row this year. However Dang QIU who is currently ranked tenth in the world and has shown brilliant form in the first two weeks of the year in Doha (Qatar) by reaching the semi-finals of the WTT Finals and the quarter-finals of the Star Contender wants to prevent that:  “This year’s Top 16 will see one of the most balanced tournaments in its history. At least a handful of players can win the title so it will very much depend on the form on the day. Truls MÖREGARDH is not even seeded in the top four and is runner-up in the World Championship while another runner-up from Sweden Mattias FALCK is not even qualified. The field is extremely tight and close together. Everyone is extremely keen to win this prestigious title. I expected a very open race for the title.” Olympic record medallist Dimitrij OVTCHAROV would love to climb to the top step of the podium for the sixth time on Sunday. Although the former world number one in the TTC Neu-Ulm jersey is aware of the strong and evenly matched competition he is looking forward to the prestigious tournament: “The Europe Top 16 is one of my absolute favorite tournaments and I’m really looking forward to it. That’s partly because I’ve won it five times reached the final a couple of times and even finished third. I really enjoy playing it and I also really enjoy being in Switzerland. There’s always a great atmosphere in the hall the organisers provide a great service and the athletes are in a nice hotel. It’s simply a great atmosphere right on the lake. I’m looking forward to the tournament and I like the format. I’m motivated; I’m one of the top seeds and see myself as one of the title contenders fighting for victory in Montreux.”

Reigning European champion Austria’s Sofia POLCANOVA will participate in the 2024 China Construction Bank Europe Top 16 Cup in Montreux Switzerland (on January 20th and 21st) for the tenth time. Sofia won the silver medal last year after finishing third in 2022 and also in 2010 and 2019. The year 2024 kept POLCANOVA busy. “I played at Star Contender Doha and before that we had the Bundesliga Cup with LINZ AG FROSCHBERG. In Doha I won the first round and lost the second one against CHEN Meng. In doubles Bernie and I reached the semifinals ” reminded us Sofia who is the reigning European champion in doubles with Bernadette SZOCS as well. At the 2024 CCB Top 16 Cup in Montreux Sofia POLCANOVA is the no. 2 seed one place below her doubles partner. “My current form is as usual. I am trying to prepare for the Top-16 as best as possible and the goal is to win as many matches as I can. I have to be focused on my game. I like to play in Montreux very much; there is always such a nice atmosphere and the organization of the tournament is very good.” Looking back at the last year POLCANOVA faced many challenges. “The last half of 2023 was not the best in my career. One of the nice results would be in the first half when I won the silver medal in Montreux last year. The best thing is that I learned a lot about myself in 2023 and I achieved a lot of goals in every aspect of my life.” What is the wish for 2024? “If I say my wish then it will not come true so I am staying silent ” said POLCANOVA smiling.

Xiaona SHAN has replaced reigning champion Ying HAN of Germany at the 2024 CCB Europe Top 16 Cup. HAN was forced to withdraw due to injury and she has already undergone surgery. SHAN is also recovering from an injury but it seems she is fit enough to play in Montreux Switzerland on January 20th and 21st. “My shoulder is feeling better now. I did a thirty-minute test training session today which went well. I was diagnosed with inflammation in my shoulder but it’s subsiding. So I will definitely be able to play. It’s my first start at the Europe Top 16 and of course I want to play well there. I hope that I’ll be fit again by the weekend so that I can achieve a good result ” said SHAN.

The ETTU Development Program for 2023 concluded with the U15/17 Development Camp in Hennebont held from December 17th to 23rd. This camp was a blend of intensive training and essential education featuring a key session on cyberbullying prevention. Dyktia led this interactive session focusing on the responsible use of digital tools and strategies to combat cyberbullying a vital topic for young athletes in the public eye. The camp’s success was further enhanced by the expertise of the coaches who led the camp  Adrian Crisan Jérôme Boyer from Hennebont Ping Center and ETTU Assigned Coach Zvonimir Korenic who brought a wealth of experience and skill to the training sessions. Looking forward to 2024 the ETTU remains committed to nurturing young talent through a series of Eurotalents and Development Camps across Europe. With events scheduled in Romania  Czechia Latvia and France the 2024 calendar promises a rich mix of training cultural exchange and community building within the sport.

Top 16 champion from 2018 Bernadette SZOCS is set to grace the 2024 CCB Europe Top 16 Cup as the top seed. This marks her 10th appearance in Montreux Switzerland. In the previous year she finished fifth while 2022 saw Bernadette reaching the semifinals. In 2021 in Thessaloniki the Romanian player secured a third-place finish and in 2019 she was the runner-up. “I am very excited to be back in Montreux for Top 16. Can’t wait!” said SZOCS. Joining her in Switzerland will be other top players including Sofia POLCANOVA of Austria Jia Nan YUAN of France Elizabeta SAMARA of Romania Nina MITTELHAM of Germany Linda BERGSTROM of Sweden Prithika PAVADE of France Natalia BAJOR of Poland Xia Lian NI Jieni SHAO and Fu YU of Portugal Tatiana KUKULKOVA and Barbora BALAZOVA of Slovakia Maria XIAO of Spain and Rachel MORET. Reigning champion Ying HAN of Germany was forced to withdraw and the name of her replacement will be revealed at the beginning of the week. “Everyone participating is a top player so all of them are in the best shape and ready for Top 16. I have to be focused in all the matches and play my best. I am not afraid of anyone ” stated SZOCS. Last week she competed at the WTT Star Contender in Doha losing in the Round of 32 against Swede Linda BERGSTROM. Despite the setback Bernadette affirmed that she is in good shape and as always sets her goal to reach the very top. “I am ready for all the obstacles! My goal for Top 16 of course is to win.” Reflecting on 2023 SZOCS considered it a very good year. “I played in Nagoya where the top 16 players from around the world gathered. At the WTT Champions in Frankfurt I reached the quarterfinals. In Germany I secured another victory against the Olympic champion CHENG Meng for the second time.” The European Games brought further success with SZOCS becoming the European Champion in singles and team events as well as securing third place in mixed doubles. She also finished second in the team event in Malmo at the European Championships. In singles she recorded valuable wins against Chinese players and other top players from Asia. As for her wish in 2024? “My wish for the new year is to win an Olympic medal in Paris 2024! Of course if it can be a gold one I will be the happiest person in the world.”