Verschiedenes

In a social media poll, fans of the Tischtennis Bundesliga (TTBL) were able to vote for their “TTBL Player of the Month August” following the first matchday of the new season. A total of five candidates were up for selection—also due to strong performances on the international stage (in alphabetical order): Benedikt Duda (TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt), Kanak Jha (Borussia Düsseldorf), Darko Jorgic (1. FC Saarbrücken‑TT), Steffen Mengel (Post SV Mühlhausen), and Anders Lind (Borussia Dortmund). As already in October last year, Vice‑European Champion Duda received the most votes.

Benedikt Duda just keeps going: The left‑hander's rise into the world elite after his surprising European Championship silver medal last season seemed almost fairytale‑like to many. Now, just before the start of the new TTBL season, Duda even topped that: he celebrated a finals appearance at the WTT tournament in Brazil, a sensational semi‑final run at the Europe Smash in Malmö, and an even more spectacular opening‑match victory to start the league season with TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt against 1. FC Saarbrücken‑TT—an outright sensation against Olympic champion Fan Zhendong.

Of course, Duda’s latest run didn’t go unnoticed. The TTBL community once again voted Duda their “Player of the Month”—ten months after his last triumph in October 2024. For the 31‑year‑old, the fans’ appreciation carries great value: “It’s a small honor and therefore means a lot to me,” Duda told the TTBL editorial team upon request. “It’s another affirmation of my performances.”

The perhaps most important validation of his weeks‑long outstanding form is reflected in the world rankings. Already Germany’s number one before Brazil, the Gummersbach native climbed into the top 10 for the first time in his career in Foz do Iguaçu—reaching tenth place—thanks to another victory over his national team colleague Dimitrij Ovtcharov in the semi‑final (3:0). Even more: at the recent Europe Smash in Malmö, Duda climbed two more spots to eighth place among the elite, after a convincing quarter‑final revenge for the final‑defeat in Brazil against world championship runner‑up Hugo Calderano—despite subsequently losing in the semi‑final to eventual winner Truls Möregardh.

“It’s a great feeling. I am very, very satisfied with myself,” the DTTB quoted the break‑through athlete of the year as saying. “Many things that I have tried out in training for a long time are now bearing fruit.” In the eyes of the Olympic candidate for Los Angeles 2028, his development is by no means over: “Being number eight is really great. The next step is to become number seven. The air above gets thinner and thinner. I still have a few people ahead of me, so the work continues for me.”

Despite all his efforts, Duda allowed himself a look back into the recent past—at the TTBL’s request: “The wins against Fan Zhendong and before that against Hugo Calderano—those were really great.”

And clearly, the TTBL fans thought so too.

Florian Manzke