Bundesliga

The new season in the Table Tennis Bundesliga (TTBL) is just around the corner: Post SV Mühlhausen and ASC Grünwettersbach will kick off the new round on Wednesday. Fans can look forward to a season featuring numerous top stars, plenty of excitement and a new final format. As usual, TTBL media partner Dyn will broadcast all matches live.

There is great excitement ahead of the start of the new season of the Table Tennis Bundesliga (TTBL). A number of innovations await fans in the new round, but one thing remains the same: the TTBL is home to the stars and promises top-level table tennis and an open title race between several top teams in 2025/26. Who will win the championship, who will win the German Table Tennis Cup? Who will fight for a place in the play-offs, who will fight against relegation?

When asked who the favourites are to win the title, the experts largely agree. 1. FC Saarbrücken TT has strengthened its squad with the addition of Fan Zhendong, adding another superstar to an already high-calibre team. The Olympic champion is already causing a stir in Germany's table tennis arenas: ‘Ticket requests have skyrocketed,’ said FCS team manager Nicolas Barrois in our interview. Similar sentiments are being expressed by the other clubs for their respective home matches against Saarbrücken. The goal of the reigning Champions League winner is clear: ‘If Fan's currently planned number of appearances can be realised,’ says Barrois, ‘it's clear to us: we want to compete for the title in all competitions next year.’

The opening match takes place on Wednesday in Mühlhausen

Saarbrücken will have its first chance to score points this coming Sunday, 31 August, when TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt visits at 2 p.m. The other TTBL teams will be in action in the days leading up to this: Post SV Mühlhausen and ASC Grünwettersbach will kick off the season on Wednesday, 27 August, at 7 p.m. The defending champions will be in action for the first time the following day: double winners TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen will host Borussia Dortmund on Thursday, 28 August.

The classic match between TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell and Borussia Düsseldorf will take place on Friday, 29 August. As in the previous year, the match will be played in the Esperanto Hall in Fulda; last season, the match attracted more than 2,500 spectators to the hall. The other two matches of the first match day will take place on Saturday, 30 August: SV Werder Bremen will host TTC OE Clarity Telefonie-Systeme Bad Homburg at 3 p.m., and TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau will host TSV Bad Königshofen at 6 p.m.

New event: TTBL Final Four on 30/31 May 2026

But Saarbrücken isn't the only team to have strengthened its squad with top-class players; numerous TTBL teams have upgraded and are looking to cause a surprise in the new season. Düsseldorf has strengthened its squad in its first season after Timo Boll with Li Yongyin and Kanak Jha. Fulda is dreaming of its first title in club history with Jonathan Groth. Grünwettersbach has signed double world champion Hiroto Shinozuka. Dortmund is entering its second TTBL season with Kristian Karlsson. And Mühlhausen wants to climb back up the table with Kay Stumper, Marcos Freitas and Liao Cheng Ting.

The new format provides an additional highlight: the TTBL Final Four. The four best teams from the main round will battle it out for the title on the weekend of 30/31 May 2026. The semi-finals will take place on Saturday, followed by the grand final on Sunday. Fans can look forward to a compact event with an attractive supporting programme. ‘The new event offers fans a unique experience and creates new and attractive opportunities for clubs and sponsors to showcase themselves and network,’ says Nico Stehle, Managing Director of Tischtennis Bundesliga GmbH. ‘We are convinced that the Final Four will strengthen the TTBL in the long term and establish itself as a highlight in the German sporting calendar.’

All matches live and exclusively on DYN

DYN will continue to exclusively broadcast all TTBL matches and the main round of the German Table Tennis Cup live in the 2025/26 season. In addition to live broadcasts, there will be various formats as usual, which will put the spotlight on the stars and everything else going on around the matches, as well as the highlights. The DYN annual subscription costs £14.50 per month, while the monthly subscription, which can be cancelled at any time, costs £19.50. 10% of the net subscription revenue will be distributed to the national partner leagues, including the TTBL, as part of the ‘Move your sport’ programme, where it will be used specifically to promote young talent.

‘At DYN, we are very interested in making special stories come alive and following them closely. We will also implement this – as closely and closely as possible. Fan Zhendong's move to the TTBL is something great, and the whole league benefits from it,’ said DYN COO Marcel Wontorra in our interview. ‘The setup is becoming increasingly professional, partly because we are continuously working on it. I would also like to highlight the clubs and their work, because they are very actively involved in the media product.’

Overview of the first match day

Wednesday, 27 August
7 p.m.: Post SV Mühlhausen – ASC Grünwettersbach

Thursday, 28 August
7 p.m.: TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen – Borussia Dortmund

Friday, 29 August
7 p.m.: TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell – Borussia Düsseldorf

Saturday, 30 August
3 p.m.: SV Werder Bremen – TTC OE Clarity Telefonie-Systeme Bad Homburg
6 p.m.: TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau – TSV Bad Königshofen

Sunday, 31 August
2 p.m.: 1. FC Saarbrücken TT – TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt

Featured image above: Fans of TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen at the TTBL final