The second day of the 2026 European Championships in Ljubljana brought a series of surprises in the Men’s Singles group stage, with the arrival of the highest-ranked players in each group producing dramatic five-game battles, unexpected defeats and several outstanding performances from lower-ranked opponents.
The biggest headlines came from the Netherlands’ Ivan KAHN, Hungary’s David SZANTOSI and Serbia’s Uroš NINKOVIĆ, who all defeated opponents ranked considerably higher on the ETTU ranking list.
KAHN, ranked No. 151, produced one of the most impressive results of the morning by overcoming Luxembourg’s Luka MLADENOVIC, ranked No. 36, in five games (11-9, 11-7, 8-11, 6-11, 11-8).
The Dutch player made a flying start and established a two-game lead before MLADENOVIC fought back to force a decider. KAHN, however, recovered his composure at the crucial moment to complete the biggest victory of his career.
“It’s unbelievable for me. I think, for sure, it’s my best win in my life. I’m really happy. I played very well,” said KAHN.
His success was no accident. The Dutchman had carefully studied his opponent’s unusual playing style and prepared a tactical plan with his coach.
“I discussed with my coach last night how to make a plan. I wanted to be very aggressive on his anti-spin because I knew that if I played a lot of spin into his anti, I would play the balls to the tribunes when I tried to control.”
Despite leading 2-0 in games and 5-2 in the third, KAHN saw his advantage disappear as MLADENOVIC found his rhythm.
“It almost went away after 2-0, 5-2. He found more of his rhythm. I started making some mistakes, but I’m very happy that in the fifth set I could get it back and get the win.”
With victories over Belgium’s Laurens DEVOS and MLADENOVIC, KAHN confirmed his place in the main draw, although celebrations will have to wait.
“I’m through to the main draw, so I cannot celebrate too much. Now I will watch my teammates, and I will call my parents.”
Another major surprise came from Hungary’s David SZANTOSI, ranked No. 152, who defeated Spain’s Juan PEREZ, No. 38, in four games (11-6, 4-11, 11-8, 11-9). SZANTOSI responded strongly after losing the second game and held his nerve in two closely contested games to secure an outstanding victory.
Serbia’s Uroš NINKOVIĆ also had reason to celebrate after defeating Austria’s Andreas LEVENKO, ranked No. 51, in a thrilling five-game contest. NINKOVIĆ, No. 208 on the ETTU list, recovered from a 1-2 deficit to prevail 11-7, 9-11, 9-11, 11-9, 11-9.
For the Serbian player, the result carried special significance, even though his opening defeat to Spain’s Diego LILLO meant that the victory would not be enough to take him into the next stage.
“This is my first victory at the European Championships, so it means a lot to me and I am very happy about it. Of course, there is some disappointment because it is not enough for me to progress to the next stage, as I lost my opening match 3-1,” said NINKOVIĆ.
“But looking at everything, the player I defeated today is probably the biggest name I have ever beaten in my career.”
The Serbian added that his performances over the opening two days had strengthened his confidence.
“I am satisfied with my performance, both yesterday and today. I think I am in good form and playing well. It is a wonderful feeling to represent Serbia at such a major championship, to achieve a victory and experience everything that comes with it.”
While several leading players suffered unexpected defeats, Portugal’s experienced Tiago APOLONIA survived a difficult examination against Slovenia’s Peter HRIBAR.
APOLONIA, ranked No. 40, was pushed all the way by the home player, ranked No. 162, before winning 3-2 (11-8, 8-11, 11-9, 7-11, 11-4).
HRIBAR’s consistency and awkward service created problems for the Portuguese player, who eventually found the solution by adopting a more aggressive approach in the deciding game.
“Honestly, I didn’t know Peter so well, but I saw his game yesterday, and he played very well. He didn’t make any easy mistakes. He has an uncomfortable service, in my opinion,” explained APOLONIA.
“After losing the fourth set, I said to myself, I need to be a bit more aggressive; otherwise, he will not make easy mistakes, and the game will be very difficult. I think this was the key: I was a bit more aggressive in the fifth set.”
For a player accustomed to competing at the highest level, the challenge of negotiating the group stage represents an unfamiliar experience.
“My main goal right now is to pass the group stage. It’s, of course, not a common situation for me. I don’t remember the last time I needed to play qualifications. This is a difficult game, and now I need to focus again on tomorrow’s game.”
Several other established names made successful starts to their campaigns. Slovakia’s Yang WANG defeated Greece’s Georgios STAMATOUROS 3-0, while Germany’s Wim VERDONSCHOT overcame Lithuania’s Ervinas UZIALO without dropping a game.
Sweden’s Elias RANEFUR beat the Netherlands’ Milo DE BOER 3-1, Norway’s Borgar HAUG defeated Slovakia’s Adam KLAJBER 3-0, and Romania’s Darius MOVILEANU recorded a straight-games victory over Heorhi KUNATS of Belarus.
Austria’s Robert GARDOS also opened with a 3-0 success against Estonia’s Madis MOOS, while Croatia’s Ivor BAN defeated Switzerland’s Elias HARDMEIER 3-1.
Hungary’s Csaba ANDRAS, England’s Connor GREEN and Greece’s Panagiotis GIONIS were among those recording convincing straight-games victories. GIONIS proved particularly dominant against Israel’s Itay AVIVI, conceding only 13 points across three games.
England’s Liam PITCHFORD defeated Finland’s Aleksi RASANEN 3-0, while Portugal’s Joao MONTEIRO and Tiago ABIODUN also began with straight-games victories. Finland’s Benedek OLAH and Italy’s John OYEBODE added further successes, while Croatia’s Filip ZELJKO was pushed to five games by Serbia’s Zsolt PETO.
Hungary’s Adam SZUDI also faced a demanding opening match, recovering from a 1-2 deficit to beat Czechia’s Ondrej KVETON 3-2 (11-8, 5-11, 10-12, 12-10, 11-7).
Among the players who had already impressed on the opening day, Switzerland’s Loic STOLL was unable to repeat his remarkable victory over Türkiye’s Ibrahim GUNDUZ. STOLL, ranked No. 318, had defeated the No. 76-ranked GUNDUZ in five games on Sunday, but Romania’s Andrei ISTRATE halted his momentum with a 3-0 victory on Monday.
Serbia’s Dimitrije LEVAJAC continued his strong start, defeating Austria’s Zhenlong LIU 3-1 after opening with a straight-games victory over San Marino’s Lorenzo RAGNI. LIU had caused a major surprise on Sunday by beating Czechia’s Stepan BRHEL.
Germany’s Ricardo WALTHER also remained unbeaten after defeating Serbia’s Nemanja DILAS 3-1, while Bulgaria’s Yoan VELICHKOV recorded his second victory by overcoming Slovenia’s Miha PODOBNIK.
Poland’s Maciej KUBIK had to work hard for his second success, twice coming from behind against Spain’s Miguel PANTOJA before winning 3-2. Norway’s Khai LAM also registered his second victory, defeating Greenland’s Poul PETERSEN in straight games.
Italy’s Matteo MUTTI and the Netherlands’ Gabrielius CAMARA maintained their perfect records, each winning their opening two matches without conceding a game. The same was true of Germany’s Kay STUMPER and Poland’s Mateusz ZALEWSKI.
Spain’s Daniel BERZOSA and Evgeny TIKHONOV of Russia, also recorded two straight-games victories apiece, while Türkiye’s Abdullah YIGENLER and Moldova’s Andrei PUTUNTICA continued their unbeaten starts.
Nikita ARTEMENKO of Russia followed his opening victory over Sweden’s Anders ERIKSSON with a convincing 3-0 win against Türkiye’s Tugay YILMAZ.
