Bundesliga
Grunwettersbach’s winless run continues against BVB as Jarvis shines
ASC Grunwettersbach were unable to halt their slump on Matchday 13 of the Table Tennis Bundesliga (TTBL). New signing Tom Jarvis twice put the Karlsruhe side in with a chance of victory and forced a deciding doubles, but Ricardo Walther and Tiago Apolonia could not prevent a 2:3 defeat against Borussia Dortmund. It was a fifth straight loss for ASC, while BVB extended their own streak to four wins and moved within touching distance of the play-off places.
Jarvis had already hinted at his potential on debut a week earlier, but ultimately lost 1:3 to Muhlhausen veteran Steffen Mengel. This time, the Englishman looked fully at home in the TTBL, delivering two points. “Kilian showed a lot of trust in me by putting me at No. 1,” Jarvis told Dyn about head coach Kilian Ort’s line-up. “I’m grateful for that trust and wanted to repay it. Everything went well for me.”
Against Cedric Nuytinck and Kristian Karlsson, the newcomer from second-tier club 1. FC Koln did not drop a single set. The straight-sets win over Dortmund’s Swede in particular is likely to have caught the league’s attention. “Beating such a great player is definitely one of my career highlights,” Jarvis said. “I didn’t expect it, and I don’t think anyone expected it.”
Walther returns but is not yet fully fit
For Dortmund, Karlsson and Adam Szudi took the singles points. Karlsson recovered from a messy first set against Tiago Apolonia to win 3:1, while Szudi swept aside Walther, who was playing his first TTBL match since returning from surgery. “I played a good match, but I could tell Ricardo isn’t back to his best shape yet after his operation,” Szudi admitted. Walther’s last TTBL appearance had been on 18 October 2025.
In the deciding doubles, the Germany international was under pressure again. Alongside Apolonia, he faced Nuytinck and Szudi. While the doubles format suited Walther better, the BVB pair held the upper hand in the longer rallies and sealed the away win with a 3:1 victory. “It was a tough doubles match. We fought for every point and I’m really happy we won,” Szudi said.
BVB aim to live up to Boll’s praise
Dortmund have now stretched their winning run to four matches and can look upwards with real conviction. The Westphalians are only two points behind defending champions and current fourth-placed TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen; level on points with Bergneustadt, BVB sit fifth on match difference. Most recently, table tennis legend Timo Boll had backed the Ruhr club as play-off material.
Grunwettersbach, meanwhile, are firmly in the relegation scrap after five consecutive defeats. The Karlsruhe side remain just above the line, but are level on eight points with their main rivals in the fight for survival, TSV Bad Konigshofen and TTC Zugbrucke Grenzau.
Matchday 13 fixtures
ASC Grunwettersbach – Borussia Dortmund 2:3
Tom Jarvis – Cedric Nuytinck 3:0 (11:9, 11:8, 11:4)
Tiago Apolonia – Kristian Karlsson 1:3 (11:2, 4:11, 7:11, 8:11)
Ricardo Walther – Adam Szudi 0:3 (5:11, 4:11, 5:11)
Tom Jarvis – Kristian Karlsson 3:0 (11:6, 11:4, 11:8)
Walther/Apolonia – Nuytinck/Szudi 1:3 (8:11, 11:9, 5:11, 9:11)
TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen – TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt 1:3
Iulian Chirita – Frederik Duda 3:0 (11:2, 11:3, 11:3)
Leonardo Iizuka – Romain Ruiz 2:3 (2:11, 15:13, 12:10, 10:12, 8:11)
Andreas Levenko – Leo de Nodrest 0:3 (6:11, 7:11, 9:11)
Iulian Chirita – Romain Ruiz 0:3 (9:11, 6:11, 8:11)
TSV Bad Konigshofen – TTC Zugbrucke Grenzau 3:2
Bastian Steger – Maciej Kubik 3:2 (11:5, 11:8, 9:11, 12:14, 11:6)
Filip Zeljko – Feng Yi-Hsin 1:3 (11:9, 7:11, 9:11, 5:11)
Daniel Habesohn – Martin Allegro 2:3 (3:11, 11:8, 6:11, 11:9, 6:11)
Bastian Steger – Feng Yi-Hsin 3:0 (12:10, 11:8, 11:4)
Habesohn/Bertelsmeier – Walker/Allegro 3:0 (11:7, 13:11, 11:4)
Post SV Muhlhausen – 1. FC Saarbrucken TT 2:3
Ovidiu Ionescu – Cedric Meissner 3:0 (11:8, 11:7, 11:5)
Liao Cheng-Ting – Darko Jorgic 0:3 (6:11, 7:11, 3:11)
Steffen Mengel – Patrick Franziska 3:1 (12:10, 11:9, 12:14, 11:8)
Ovidiu Ionescu – Darko Jorgic 2:3 (11:6, 4:11, 11:8, 13:15, 5:11)
Mengel/Liao – Franziska/Meissner 0:3 (8:11, 9:11, 7:11)
TTC OE Clarity-Telefonie Systeme Bad Homburg – SV Werder Bremen 2:3
Csaba Andras – Irvin Bertrand 3:0 (11:9, 11:4, 11:4)
Juan Perez – Kirill Gerassimenko 2:3 (11:8, 11:3, 10:12, 8:11, 8:11)
Ivor Ban – Mattias Falck 3:1 (4:11, 11:3, 11:6, 11:8)
Csaba Andras – Kirill Gerassimenko 2:3 (5:11, 11:7, 11:6, 8:11, 3:11)
Ban/Perez – Falck/Bertrand 1:3 (3:11, 8:11, 12:10, 2:11)
Sunday, 18 January:
15:30: Borussia Dusseldorf – TTC RhonSprudel Fulda-Maberzell
All matches are streamed live on Dyn.
Picture: Ricardo Walther of ASC Grünwettersbach (Foto: Hansruedi Lüthi)
