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ASC Grünwettersbach caused an upset on matchday 21 of the Table Tennis Bundesliga (TTBL), beating favourites TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt 3–1. Whilst the hosts impressed with a solid team performance, the match was overshadowed by Benedikt Duda’s injury-enforced withdrawal. Earlier, TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell had secured a 3-0 victory over Borussia Dortmund in the clash between the neighbouring teams in the table.

Filus lays the foundation for the East Hessian side’s victory

In front of their home crowd, the hosts got off to a perfect start: Ruwen Filus was in fine form against Cédric Nuytinck and comfortably won the match in three sets. Things only got tight for a brief moment in the second set, but Filus kept his cool in the tie-break and put his team on track early on.

Dimitrij Ovtcharov also made no mistake in the match that followed. The former world number one dominated Alberto Miño for long stretches and also won comfortably in three sets. With this commanding performance, he put Fulda 2-0 ahead.

Meng defies difficult build-up

Fanbo Meng ultimately sealed the victory. The 25-year-old had travelled at short notice, having previously been attending a German Armed Forces training course. Meng initially lost the first set to Ádám Szudi, but then stepped up his game significantly and turned the match around with three convincing sets in a row to secure a 3-1 victory.

With this clear 3-0 overall victory, the hosts not only secured the head-to-head against their neighbours in the table but also climbed one place to fifth in the standings.

Grünwettersbach secure first win of the second half of the season

The tournament got off to a flying start in Grünwettersbach with a top-class clash, in which Hiroto Shinozuka and Romain Ruiz engaged in a wide-ranging rally. Shinozuka fought his way back from 0-2 down in sets to force a decider. There, Ruiz initially earned the first match point, but then had to fend off four match points from the Japanese player before winning the set 17-15. The Frenchman thus confirmed his strong season: with a record of 15-6, he is one of the most consistent players in the league.

Apolonia halts Duda’s run

The spotlight then turned to Benedikt Duda, currently one of the league’s most in-form players. The international has already recorded 25 singles victories this season and is currently a tough opponent to beat. Yet Tiago Apolonia rose to the challenge successfully. In a hard-fought match that went the full distance, the veteran held the upper hand in the decisive stages and levelled the score at 1-1 for Grünwettersbach.

Tom Jarvis then put the hosts ahead for the first time. The Englishman remained focused against Adrien Rassenfosse and ultimately won this hard-fought five-set match comfortably.

Injury overshadows Grünwettersbach’s home victory

The decisive moment ultimately came in the second singles match between Shinozuka and Duda. After losing the first set 7-11, Duda was forced to retire due to injury at 2-3 in the second set – a bitter moment for Bergneustadt and, at the same time, the decisive point for Grünwettersbach.

After the match, Grünwettersbach’s coach Kilian Ort focused less on the result and more on his opponent’s situation: “First of all, I wish Bene a speedy recovery. The World Championships are just around the corner and I think the whole of the German table tennis community is hoping it’s nothing serious.”

At the same time, he remained reflective despite the success: “Of course, we had imagined the victory would go differently. Nevertheless, the team put in a good performance. I’m particularly pleased for our volunteers and the fans who supported us today. I’m glad we’ve had another great end to the season at home and hope we can improve on a few things next season.”

TTBL offers excitement right to the end

After Matchday 21, the TTBL table is becoming clearer, but remains open and exciting ahead of the final matchday on Sunday, 19 April 2026, at 3.00 pm.

The line-up for the Liebherr TTBL Final4 is already complete: Borussia Düsseldorf has pulled clear at the top and is confirmed as the group winner. Alongside Düsseldorf, TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt, 1. FC Saarbrücken-TT and SV Werder Bremen have qualified for the season’s highlight. Nevertheless, the situation at the top of the table is not yet fully decided: Bergneustadt, Saarbrücken and Bremen are still battling it out on the final matchday for their exact positions – and thus also for who will face Düsseldorf in the semi-finals.

The situation at the bottom of the table is also not yet finalised. ASC Grünwettersbach currently sit bottom of the table, but could still climb out of last place on the final matchday and hand the wooden spoon to TSV Bad Königshofen.

Matchday 21 at a glance

TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell – Borussia Dortmund 3:0
Ruwen Filus – Cedric Nuytinck 3:0 (11:4, 14:12, 11:6)
Dimitrij Ovtcharov – Albertom Mino 3:0 (11:3, 11:6, 11:8)
Fanbo Meng - Adam Szudi 3:1 ( 4:11, 11:6, 11:5, 11:6)

ASC Grünwettersbach – TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt 3:1
Hiroto Shinozuka – Romain Ruiz 2:3 (8:11, 8:11, 11:7, 11:4, 15:17)
Tiago Apolonia – Benedikt Duda 3:2 (4:11, 12:10, 6:11, 11:5, 11:6)
Tom Jarvis – Adrien Rassenfosse 3:2 (12:10, 11:3, 8:11, 9:11, 11:3)
Hiroto Shinozuka - Benedikt Duda 3:0 (11:7, 11:2, 11:0)

Post SV Mühlhausen – TSV Bad Königshofen 3:0
Kay Stumper – Filip Zeljko 3:1 (11:8, 9:11, 13:11, 11:9)
Liao Cheng-Ting – Daniel Habesohn 3:0 (11:7, 11:6, 11:9)
Steffen Mengel – Andre Bertelsmeier 3:0 (11:7, 11:5, 11:8)

TTC OE Clarity-Telefonie Systeme Bad Homburg – TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen 3:1
Jo Yokotani – Leonardo Iizuka 3:0 (11:9, 11:3, 11:7)
Ivor Ban – Iulian Chirita 0:3 (11:13, 8:11, 6:11)
Csaba Andras – Andreas Levenko 3:1 (11:6, 11:8, 9:11, 11:4)
Jo Yokotani – Iulian Chirita 3:2 (5:11, 11:6, 11:7, 8:11, 11:4)

Borussia Düsseldorf – TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau 3:0
Dang Qiu – Martin Allegro 3:1 (17:15, 9:11, 12:10, 11:8)
Li Yongyin – Samuel Walker 3:2 (7:11, 11:8, 9:11, 11:2, 11:9)
Anton Källberg – Maciej Kubik 3:2 (15:17, 11:4, 11:4, 5:11, 11:7)

1. FC Saarbrücken-TT – SV Werder Bremen 3:1
Fan Zhendong – Irvin Bertrand 3:2 (9:11, 11:4, 11:4, 9:11, 11:6)
Patrick Franziska – Kirill Gerassimenko 3:1 (9:11, 11:6, 11:4, 11:9)
Darko Jorgic – Mattias Falck 0:3 (10:12, 9:11, 8:11)
Fan Zhendong – Kirill Gerassimenko 3:0 (14:12, 11:6, 11:5)

All matches will be broadcast live on Dyn.

You can find the current Table Tennis Bundesliga (TTBL) table here.

Featured image above: Tiago Apolónia of ASC Grünwettersbach (Photo: Jörg Hirsch)