The search for the “face of TTBL” begins
With Timo Boll retiring, German players are increasingly becoming the focus of attention in the upcoming TTBL season. Fourteen local professionals will play for nine TTBL clubs in the 2025/26 season. In addition to points, several “local heroes” can also hope to succeed Boll as the “face of the league.”
In addition to sporting results, a player's strength of character, public image, and approachability to fans and the media are important factors in determining their suitability as a new figurehead for the upper house. The first contenders for the role of “figurehead” are naturally likely to be the members of the national team and experienced players, but the circle of “young wild ones” also includes candidates for the leadership position in the not-too-distant generational change in the German elite class. – Seven German players to watch out for in the new TTBL season (in alphabetical order):
Andre Bertelsmeier (19 years old/TSV Bad Königshofen): The top talent. Bad Königshofen's new signing from second division club 1. FC Köln is about to embark on his first season in the TTBL. The teenager is currently considered the greatest hope for the long-term future, and not just because of his surprise run to the last 16 of the European Men's Championships last fall. Bertelsmeier climbed around 100 places in the world rankings within a year and was recently among the top 70. The teenager, who won bronze at the U21 European Championships in Bratislava and his first “major” championship title in doubles at the national table tennis finals in Erfurt during the past season, already has a remarkable charisma at the table and outside the box for his age and appears to be a very mature player personality.
Benedikt Duda (31/TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt): The rising star. Without question, Duda was the surprise of the past season in German table tennis. While the veteran was still considered number four in the national team after the Olympic Games in Paris last year, the left-hander advanced to become Germany's number one by July of this year and, just recently, even became the sixth German in the top 10 of the world rankings. On his way to these heights, the popular player first sensationally won European Championship silver in the singles in 2024, reached the semi-finals at the WTT Champions in Montpellier, won the titles at the Contender tournaments in Tunis and Skopje in the first half of this year, and most recently reached the final at the Star Contender in Brazil.
Patrick Franziska (33/1. FC Saarbrücken TT): The crowd favorite. For the popular captain of Champions League winners Saarbrücken, what appeared to be the low point of his career turned out to be a source of strength: Although Franziska had to settle for the role of substitute at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris despite his strong performances beforehand, he made his mark before the Summer Games as the first European to reach the final of a Smash tournament and by climbing into the top 10 in the world rankings. The right-hander is a welcome guest at all TTBL clubs due to his mostly spectacular play and his friendly and approachable nature, and his many successes make him a crowd favorite.
Dimitrij Ovtcharov (36/TTC Fulda-Maberzell): The veteran star. After returning to the TTBL with Fulda, the former Russian legionnaire wants to make it to the playoffs at least on his second attempt. In his comeback season, the veteran fulfilled his club's expectations with a 22:5 record. Thanks to his successes over the past two decades, the serve specialist continues to enjoy great popularity with German audiences.
Dang Qiu (28/Borussia Düsseldorf): The late bloomer. The penhold player came into the spotlight relatively late: Although the son of two Chinese national players, born in Nürtingen, was already part of the German silver medal team at the 2022 World Team Championships in Chengdu, it was his subsequent singles title at the European Championships in Munich that same year that brought Qiu to the attention of a wider audience. Following Boll's retirement from professional sport, the former German champion now has even more responsibility, both in the national team and in Düsseldorf.
Bastian Steger (44/TSV Bad Königshofen): The evergreen. In Düsseldorf, the two-time European Championship bronze medalist was already part of the popular “boy band” of the Rhinelanders in 2000 – and as an “oldie,” he played a key role in Bad Königshofen's playoff appearances in both of the past two seasons. With Boll's departure, Steger is now the oldest player and also has the most years of service in the top flight. Despite his advanced age, the Upper Palatinate native, who is extremely popular with fans of all clubs, is one of the few players who can consistently deliver optimal performance when it counts.
Kay Stumper (22/Post SV Mühlhausen): The hope for the future. After three years in Düsseldorf, the national player wants to prove himself as a leader in Mühlhausen. The Karlsruhe native considers his first national singles title last June at the TT Finals in Erfurt to be a reward for his hard work over the past months. Stumper, who won the European Championship title with the national team in 2021 and World Championship silver a year later, has recently moved up almost 100 places in the world rankings to reach the top 75. Given the ongoing changes in the national team, the right-hander can hope for a future role as a regular player in the DTTB selection.
The other German players in the TTBL clubs for the 2025/26 season:
Patrick Baum (38/TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau)
Ruwen Filus (37/TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell):
Cedric Meißner (25/1. FC Saarbrücken-TT):
Fanbo Meng (24/TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell):
Steffen Mengel (37/Post SV Mühlhausen)
Benno Oehme (25/TTC OE Clarity Telefonie Systeme Bad Homburg)
Ricardo Walther (33/ASC Grünwettersbach)
Featured image above: Patrick Franziska (Photo: BeLa Sportfoto)