The Men’s Singles group stage at the 2026 European Championships got underway at Arena Stožice in Ljubljana on Sunday, with Switzerland’s Loic STOLL and Austria’s Zhenlong LIU producing two of the biggest surprises of the opening round.
STOLL, ranked No. 318 in the October ETTU ranking, overturned a substantial ranking gap to defeat Türkiye’s Ibrahim GUNDUZ, ranked No. 76. The Swiss player recovered from a 1-2 deficit, winning the fourth game 11-8 before racing through the decider 11-2 to complete a remarkable comeback.
“It was a very difficult match because I struggled with his serve at the beginning. However, I managed to stay mentally strong, and as the match progressed, both my level of play and physical performance improved. In the end, I played really well, and I’m extremely happy with this victory,” said STOLL.
“My goal is to approach every match with a winning mindset. At the same time, there are certain aspects of my game and playing style that I want to develop and implement. For me, the result is not the most important thing. What matters most is the quality of my performance on the table and my mental approach. In that respect, I was very pleased with how I played this morning.”
STOLL is hoping to improve on his performance at the previous European Championships in Linz.
“Last time, I progressed through the group stage but lost in the qualifying round. Of course, I hope to go further this time, but nothing is guaranteed. I’m in a very strong group, and every match is a tough challenge.”
Austria’s Zhenlong LIU, ranked No. 302, also upset the form book against Czechia’s Stepan BRHEL, ranked No. 77. After losing the opening game 2-11, LIU turned the contest around to claim a 3-1 victory, taking the following games 11-8, 11-3 and 12-10.
There was another unexpected result for the Czech team as Ondrej KVETON, ranked No. 209, narrowly lost to Nikon SHUTOV (ETTU1), ranked No. 94. SHUTOV made the stronger start but found himself trailing 1-2 before fighting back. The deciding game turned into one of the most dramatic finishes of the round, with SHUTOV eventually prevailing 15-13.
The home supporters had something to celebrate thanks to Slovenia’s Brin VOVK PETROVSKI. Ranked No. 124, he made a confident start against Slovakia’s Adam KLAJBER, ranked No. 165, securing a straight-games victory. VOVK PETROVSKI took the opening two games 11-8 and 11-9 before completing the win 13-11.
It was a more difficult start for his compatriot Miha PODOBNIK, who faced Germany’s Ricardo WALTHER. The German, ranked No. 67, proved too strong, winning 3-0 after taking a closely contested opening game 11-9.
Among the other closely fought encounters, Latvia’s Daniels KOGANS overcame Greece’s Alexandros MADESIS in five games. KOGANS twice took the lead, only for MADESIS to respond on both occasions, before the Latvian dominated the decider 11-3.
Finland’s Lassi LEHTOLA also had to come from behind against Estonia’s Madis MOOS. Trailing 1-2, LEHTOLA found his rhythm in the closing stages, taking the final two games 11-8 and 11-5.
Türkiye’s Görkem ÖÇAL faced an even tougher challenge against Iceland’s Ingi RODRIGUEZ. After losing the first two games, ÖÇAL fought his way back into contention and completed the turnaround with an 11-6 victory in the fifth.
Denmark enjoyed a successful start, with Martin ANDERSEN and Tobias RASMUSSEN both winning in straight games. ANDERSEN overcame Lithuania’s Ervinas UZIALO, while RASMUSSEN defeated the Netherlands’ Milo DE BOER.
Serbia also had reason to be satisfied. Zsolt PETO defeated Cyprus’ Sharpel ELIA 3-0, while Dimitrije LEVAJAC was equally convincing against San Marino’s Lorenzo RAGNI. Their compatriot Uros NINKOVIC was unable to follow suit, losing 3-1 to Spain’s Diego LILLO despite taking the opening game.
Germany’s Kay STUMPER opened with a straight-games victory over Italy’s Francesco TREVISAN, while Romania’s Andrei ISTRATE dominated his encounter against Georgia’s Lasha LOMIA, winning 3-0 and conceding only 13 points.
England’s Samuel WALKER was pushed to five games by Türkiye’s Tugay YILMAZ but came through to secure his first victory. Italy’s Danilo FASO also made a winning start, defeating Finland’s Aleksi RÄSÄNEN 3-1.
