Boll, Ovtcharov & Co.: These stars of the German Table Tennis League await the fans

Olympic medal winners, former world champions and more: the elite of European table tennis will also be competing in the Table Tennis Bundesliga (TTBL) in 2024/25. Shortly before the start of the season, we present a small selection of some of the top stars that fans will be able to watch live in the coming months.

Timo Boll

It will be a very special season not only for Timo Boll, but for the entire German Table Tennis League (TTBL). After the end of his international career, the table tennis superstar is now going on a farewell tour in the TTBL after almost 30 years of tireless commitment. In his last season, Boll wants to attack once again with Borussia Düsseldorf. After the double of championship and cup last season, titles in all three competitions are once again the goal of the record champions. "I'm really looking forward to next season - to go everywhere again, to say goodbye everywhere," Boll had already said at the Liebherr TTBL final. Now the countdown is on for all fans to see the 43-year-old live in the hall once again.

Hugo Calderano

An unsatisfactory season lies behind TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen: With the return of Hugo Calderano, the Swabians had set their sights on at least the play-offs, but only finished sixth at the end of the main round. The Brazilian played a 9:3 singles record. In the new round, the aim is to get back into the top four, and the TTF top players recently gained the necessary momentum at the Olympic Games. Calderano only just missed out on a medal in the singles competition in fourth place after losing to Felix Lebrun; Simon Gauzy took bronze with France in the team competition.

Benedikt Duda

It's hard to imagine TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt without Benedikt Duda. The 30-year-old has played for the club from the Oberberg district since his youth and has been in the TTBL since 2014. Since then, Duda has developed into one of the best players in Germany: He won the German singles championship twice (2021, 2024), celebrated the 2021 European Team Championships and the 2022 World Team Championships with the national team - and is, of course, also the points guarantor for Bergneustadt. Last season, the TTC achieved a respectable seventh place despite personnel worries. This is the direction they want to take in the new round.

Mattias Falck

Mattias Falck has been playing for SV Werder Bremen for five years now and has been the North German club's undisputed top player ever since. Falck has twice led Bremen to the play-offs (2019, 2024), where they lost to 1. FC Saarbrücken TT last spring. The Swede has also enjoyed considerable international success. Falck won World Championship silver in singles (2019), became doubles world champion (2021) and European champion in doubles (2022) and as a team (2023). Werder are also among the contenders for a play-off place in the new season, with Kirill Gerassimenko and Marcelo Aguirre as well as new signing Andrei Putuntica starting for Bremen alongside Falck.

Patrick Franziska

Patrick Franziska has reached the Liebherr TTBL final for the German championship six times in a row with 1 FC Saarbrücken TT, and the reigning runners-up are also aiming for titles in the new season. Franziska has been playing for FCS since 2016 and has since won trophies in the TTBL (2020), the German Table Tennis Cup (2022) and most recently twice in the Champions League (2023, 2024). The world number eleven recently caused a sensation internationally by reaching the final of the Grand Smash in Jeddah, including a victory against Fan Zhendong. In the new season, Franziska will continue to compete for Saarbrücken with Darko Jorgic and other top players in the broad-based squad - and even two-time Olympic silver medal winner (singles, team) Truls Möregardh will be involved in the Champions League.

Kristian Karlsson

Kristian Karlsson is back! In 2022, the Swede left Borussia Düsseldorf and the TTBL after six years. Karlsson will now be back in Germany in 2024/25 - and quite surprisingly for newly promoted TTC OE Bad Homburg. "I like ambitious clubs with vision and the challenge that comes with it," said the 2021 doubles world champion when he announced his move in February. Karlsson has set himself the goal of staying in the TTBL with the team from Hesse. The recent success at the Olympics should provide a tailwind for this mission: Karlsson and Sweden were only stopped in the final, with Anton Källberg (Borussia Düsseldorf) and Möregardh also winning silver medals alongside the Bad Homburg addition.

Dimitrij Ovtcharov

The signing of Dimitrij Ovtcharov by TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell is one of the big sensations of the past transfer phase. After finishing eleventh and tenth in the last two rounds, the East Hessians are now aiming to reach higher regions of the table again - if possible even the play-offs. Kao Cheng-Jui has also been brought in, while Chuang Chih-Yuan is still on board. However, the undisputed attraction at the TTC will be Ovtcharov: Although the 35-year-old recently failed to win a medal in Paris, he is already the most successful German table tennis Olympian of all time with two individual bronze medals (2012, 2021) as well as two team silver medals (2008, 2021) and two team bronze medals (2012, 2016).

Jin Ueda

TSV Bad Königshofen had high hopes for the signing of Jin Ueda, and they were promptly fulfilled. Although the Japanese player was only able to play last winter after a transfer error, he immediately played a decisive role in the team's first-ever appearance in the play-offs with a 7-6 record in the second half of the season. In addition to his sporting achievements, Ueda also impressed as a person and has already taken a firm place in the hearts of the Königshöfer public. With the pairing of Ueda and Bastian Steger, TSV should once again be among the hot contenders for a place in the top four in 2024/25.

 
Featured image above: Timo Boll (Photo: Borussia Düsseldorf)

Featured images in the text:
Timo Boll (Photo: BeLa Sportfoto)
Hugo Calderano (Photo: BeLa Sportfoto)
Benedikt Duda (Photo: TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt)
Patrick Franziska (Photo: BeLa Sportfoto)
Jin Ueda (Photo: TSV Bad Königshofen)