Bundesliga

Olympic champion Fan Zhendong made his Borussia Düsseldorf debut in front of more than 3,500 spectators. The superstar immediately contributed two points as the record champions beat TSV Bad Königshofen 3–1. In the Hesse derby, Csaba Andras produced an outstanding performance to lead TTC OE Clarity-Telefonie Systeme Bad Homburg to victory at TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell.

Borussia moved the match to the Mitsubishi Electric Halle especially for the debut of Chinese superstar Fan Zhendong – and the crowd of more than 3,500 was given plenty to enjoy. “A great event,” Dang Qiu said to Dyn after the match. “The arena is very nice. When it was full during the player introductions, it had a special atmosphere.” Dyn expert and Borussia legend Timo Boll was equally impressed by the venue and could imagine returning: “Why not?”

Fan makes an immediate impact on debut

Fan opened the evening against Bad Königshofen youngster Andre Bertelsmeier in a spectacular singles match. The 20-year-old pushed Fan all the way and even took the opening set. Roared on by the many Düsseldorf and Fan supporters, however, Borussia’s new signing fought back and claimed his first point for the hosts in four sets.

The home crowd’s euphoria was then dampened. Kanak Jha lost 1–3 to Filip Zeljko and produced a disappointing performance that Boll criticised after the match “compared to his performances last season”. After the break, Qiu prevented the tie from swinging completely in the Bavarians’ favour. Liao Cheng-Ting stole the third set after trailing 8–10 to move 2–1 ahead, but the Germany international then stepped up and took the next two sets comfortably, 11–5 and 11–4, to put the record champions 2–1 in front.

The final word once again belonged to the man of the night – Fan Zhendong. For two sets, the Chinese star never allowed Zeljko to find his way into the match. After the Croatian fought back, Fan then prevented a deciding set by edging the fourth in extra points, securing a winning home opener to the 2026/27 season for his new club.

Bad Königshofen put up a strong fight

For Bad Königshofen, it was already a second defeat in their second match of the young season. As in their opening loss to ASC Grünwettersbach, however, there was more in the match for TSV. “Bad Königshofen produced a world-class performance,” Qiu praised the opposition and expressed no concerns about the club’s prospects. “If they maintain this level, they can go a long way in the league.”

Bad Königshofen’s new head coach Timo Neumann agreed with Qiu. “It definitely wasn’t a bad match,” Neumann said, although he was “still not satisfied” with the result. The 29-year-old has set a clear target for the season: “Definitely better than last year. With a team from the second division probably wanting to come up, we want to get away from the bottom places.”

Borussia on course

For Düsseldorf, it was a second win of the season following their clean 3–0 victory without dropping a set against Bad Homburg. With Fan now in the squad, however, the record champions’ ambitions extend beyond simply retaining the regular-season title. “It was a good start,” Qiu said. “There’s still a very long way to go before we reach our goals, and the season has only just begun.”

Andras decides Hesse derby

The Hesse derby between TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell and TTC OE Clarity-Telefonie Systeme Bad Homburg went all the way to the deciding doubles. In the end, Ivor Ban and Benno Oehme celebrated the winning point, but head coach Slobodan Grujic had particular reason to thank his No. 1 Csaba Andras on Saturday night. “We hoped we could win, but we didn’t expect it because Fulda have such a strong team,” Andras told Dyn late on Saturday.

The Hungarian needed five sets to beat Jonathan Groth before taking down Dimitrij Ovtcharov in four, paving the way for his team-mates’ doubles victory. “In my head, it was only about enjoying the matches,” said Andras, who had disappointed in the TTBL opener after a strong showing at the WTT event in Sweden.

Ban/Oehme turn around deciding doubles

Fulda twice moved ahead in front of their home crowd, but ultimately left empty-handed. Ovtcharov beat the tall left-hander Ban comfortably in straight sets to open the night before Ruwen Filus restored Fulda’s lead after the break with a 3–2 victory over Juan Perez.

The momentum also initially appeared to be with the hosts in the doubles. Groth and Andrei Istrate made a strong start and quickly opened a two-set lead. From there, however, Ban in particular began to dominate with his strong returns – three consecutive sets for Bad Homburg secured the visitors’ first points of the season. For Fulda, it was a second defeat to start the campaign.

Matchday 2 fixtures

Borussia Düsseldorf – TSV Bad Königshofen 3–1
Fan Zhendong – Andre Bertelsmeier 3–1 (9–11, 11–5, 11–8, 11–9)
Kanak Jha – Filip Zeljko 1–3 (8–11, 3–11, 11–6, 10–12)
Dang Qiu – Liao Cheng-Ting 3–2 (8–11, 11–8, 10–12, 11–5, 11–4)
Fan Zhendong – Filip Zeljko 3–1 (11–4, 11–3, 9–11, 13–11)

TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell – TTC OE Clarity-Telefonie Systeme Bad Homburg 2–3
Dimitrij Ovtcharov – Ivor Ban 3–0 (11–9, 11–9, 11–6)
Jonathan Groth – Csaba Andras 2–3 (11–8, 10–12, 11–7, 8–11, 5–11)
Ruwen Filus – Juan Perez 3–2 (8–11, 8–11, 11–9, 12–10, 11–3)
Dimitrij Ovtcharov – Csaba Andras 1–3 (11–8, 5–11, 6–11, 4–11)
Groth/Istrate – Oehme/Ban 2–3 (11–8, 11–8, 9–11, 9–11, 4–11)

1. FC Saarbrücken-TT – Post SV Mühlhausen 3–1
Patrick Franziska – Ivo Quett 3–0 (11–1, 11–4, 11–8)
Albert Vilardell – Ovidiu Ionescu 0–3 (1–11, 10–12, 11–13)
Alvaro Robles – Yeh Yi-En 3–0 (11–6, 11–9, 11–9)
Patrick Franziska – Ovidiu Ionescu 3–1 (11–4, 7–11, 11–7, 11–8)

ASC Grünwettersbach – TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen 1–3
Tom Jarvis – Tiago Abiodun 3–1 (7–11, 14–12, 11–7, 11–8)
Tiago Apolonia – Shunsuke Togami 2–3 (6–11, 11–13, 11–7, 11–5, 7–11)
Ricardo Walther – Iulian Chirita 2–3 (11–9, 9–11, 13–11, 7–11, 14–16)
Tom Jarvis – Shunsuke Togami 0–3 (1–11, 12–14, 10–12)

Sunday, 23 August:
14:00: TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt – Borussia Dortmund
17:00: TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau – SV Werder Bremen

All matches are streamed live on Dyn.

The current Table Tennis Bundesliga (TTBL) standings can be found here.

Picture: Fan Zhendong of Borussia Düsseldorf (photo: Jörg Fuhrmann).