European Olympic Singles Qualification | 14 May 2024

European Olympic Singles Qualification Seedings Released with PICCOLIN and ROBLES topping the list

The seedings for the 2024 European Olympic Singles Qualification, to be held from 15th to 19th May in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, have been published following today's release of the latest ITTF rankings. The total number of competitors is 79, with 36 women and 43 men.

Of the six continental quotas allocated to Europe, five will be determined through this tournament, while the sixth will be decided based on rankings as of 11th June 2024.

In the women’s seedings, Italy’s Giorgia PICCOLIN leads the list after a remarkable jump of 40 places in the rankings following her quarterfinal performance in Saudi Smash. She is followed by Jieni SHAO of Portugal at the second position, trailed by Maria XIAO of Spain, Tatiana KUKULKOVa of Slovakia, Georgina POTA of Hungary, Fu YU of Portugal, Britt EERLAND of the Netherlands, Margaryta PESOTSKA of Ukraine, Ivana MALOBABIC of Croatia, Barbora BALAZOVA of Slovakia, Hana MATELOVA of Czechia, and Izabela LUPULESKU of Serbia.

In the men’s event, Spain’s Alvaro ROBLES leads the pack, followed by Ovidiu IONESCU of Romania, Daniel HABESOHN of Austria, Yang WANG of Slovakia, Eduard IONESCU of Romania, Milosz REDZIMSKI of Poland, Martin ALLEGRO of Belgium, Mihai BOBOCICA of Italy, Panagiotis GIONIS of Greece, Paul DRINKHALL of England, Andreas LEVENKO of Austria, and Lubomir PISTEJ of Slovakia.

The top 12 players will be placed at the top of their respective groups. Players from the same National Olympic Committee (NOC) will be distributed across different groups.

The top two finishers from each group will advance to Stage 2, where 24 players will compete. Stage 2 will feature a direct knockout draw spanning four rounds, taking place on Friday, 17th, and Saturday, 18th May in the morning.

The finalists from Stage 2 will automatically secure spots at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, with no final match played.

Stage 3 will consist of five rounds of knockout matches. This stage will feature players who did not qualify from Stage 2. The two finalists from Stage 3, along with the winner of the match between the semi-final losers, will also earn places at the Paris Olympics. Again, no final match will be played.