Bundesliga

On Matchday 9 of the TTBL, TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell held off a late rally from Post SV Mühlhausen. Leading 2–0, the hosts were pushed to a deciding doubles but closed it out there, helped by a strong pairing and two points from Dimitrij Ovtcharov. Mühlhausen’s injured Kay Stumper was their lone scorer.

The result extends an unfortunate run for Post SV. “It’s not easy for us: we’ve lost 2–3 three times in our last four matches,” a frustrated Stumper said on Dyn. Minutes earlier, the 22-year-old had stepped into the doubles despite rolling his ankle during his singles win over Fanbo Meng. “We didn’t have a fourth player, which is a problem,” he explained, while sounding optimistic that nothing is torn.

Fulda laid the platform early. Jonathan Groth opened with a five-game win over Ovidiu Ionescu, and Ovtcharov doubled the lead with a straight-games victory against Steffen Mengel. After the break, Mühlhausen hit back: Stumper, despite his knock, edged Meng, and Mengel outlasted Groth in the No. 1 matchup. In the deciding doubles, the established pair Ovtcharov/Meng proved too solid, winning 3–1 against Stumper/Ionescu to see Fulda home.

Play-offs slip further away for Mühlhausen

With 8:10 points, the gap to the play-off places grows again for Post SV, though Stumper stressed the season’s length: “Play-offs will be tough, but the season is long. We haven’t even finished the first half.” The next hurdle is steep: on 16 December they visit league leaders Borussia Düsseldorf.

Fulda pivot straight to the cup. On Monday they host TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau in the quarterfinals; a win would book a place at the Liebherr Pokal Final Four on 4 January 2026 in Ulm/Neu-Ulm. In the league, the 3–2 lifts Fulda to 10:8—still within range of the play-offs.

Matchday 9 fixtures

SV Werder Bremen – Borussia Dortmund 3:0
Kirill Gerassimenko – Alberto Mino 3:2 (11:9, 11:8, 9:11, 6:11, 11:9)
Irvin Bertrand – Adam Szudi 3:0 (11:8, 11:9, 11:7)
Mattias Falck – Cedric Nuytinck 3:2 (8:11, 13:11, 9:11, 11:6, 11:7)

TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen – TSV Bad Königshofen 3:1
Shunsuke Togami – Filip Zeljko 3:0 (11:7, 11:6, 12:10)
Andreas Levenko – Daniel Habesohn 3:1 (11:3, 7:11, 11:5, 11:8)
Tiago Abiodun – Bastian Steger 1:3 (11:9, 7:11, 5:11, 7:11)
Shunsuke Togami – Daniel Habesohn 3:2 (11:5, 11:13, 11:8, 8:11, 11:5)

TTC OE Clarity-Telefonie Systeme Bad Homburg – Borussia Düsseldorf 1:3
Jo Yokotani – Yongyin Li 3:0 (11:9, 11:5, 11:5)
Benno Oehme – Kanak Jha 2:3 (11:4, 11:9, 8:11, 3:11, 4:11)
Juan Perez – Anton Källberg 1:3 (11:8, 6:11, 4:11, 9:11)
Jo Yokotani – Kanak Jha 1:3 (7:11, 5:11, 11:5, 5:11)

TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell – Post SV Mühlhausen 3:2
Jonathan Groth – Ovidiu Ionescu 3:2 (11:4, 11:9, 13:15, 8:11, 11:9)
Dimitrij Ovtcharov – Steffen Mengel 3:0 (11:9, 11:8, 11:7)
Fanbo Meng – Kay Stumper 2:3 (11:8, 14:16, 7:11, 11:5, 7:11)
Jonathan Groth – Steffen Mengel 1:3 (9:11, 11:9, 9:11, 6:11)
Ovtcharov/Meng – Ionescu/Stumper 3:1 (11:6, 11:7, 9:11, 11:8)

Sunday, 23 November
17:00: TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau – 1. FC Saarbrücken-TT
18:00: TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt – ASC Grünwettersbach

Picture: Dimitrij Ovtcharov of TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell (Photo: Patrick Wichmann)