Bundesliga

In a social media poll, fans of the Table Tennis Bundesliga (TTBL) were able to vote for their “TTBL Player of the Season” following the decision on the German championship title. The choices included five candidates from the top 10 of the 2025/26 season player rankings (in alphabetical order): Benedikt Duda (TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt), Fan Zhendong (1. FC Saarbrücken-TT), Kirill Gerassimenko (Werder Bremen), Anders Lind (Borussia Dortmund), and Dang Qiu (Borussia Düsseldorf). Fan received the most votes by a very wide margin.

Status comes with responsibility: In true superstar fashion, Olympic champion Fan Zhendong capped off the spectacular chapter of his first season in Germany with a fitting finale at the Liebherr TTBL Final4, putting on a veritable show en route to the title with 1. FC Saarbrücken-TT.

Three appearances in the semifinals and final, four victories: the thousands of fans who once again flocked to the arena and his club simply could not have asked for more. Completing the first “triple” in the club’s history also meant the fulfillment of a mission for Fan that was as ambitious as it was fitting. The unique circumstances of the final against his future club, Borussia Düsseldorf, presented an additional challenge.

The championship final in Frankfurt capped off a turbulent and eventful year for Fan. A decidedly bumpy start to his “Bundesliga adventure,” along with the occasional lapse—such as his performance in the Champions League final—revealed in a thoroughly likable (and, for his opponents, encouraging) way that the 29-year-old, despite his at times almost otherworldly qualities, is only human.

In the TTBL community, however, the vote for Player of the Season turned into a clear-cut affair after the former world No. 1 racked up a total of 20 wins in 23 matches. With 94 percent of the vote—13 times as many votes as his four rivals combined, including European Championship runner-up Benedikt Duda as the season’s most successful player—Fan celebrated a veritable landslide victory.

It is likely that a flood of participants from the Chinese home country played a decisive role in shaping the election results. But the “fan factor” had a decidedly positive impact far beyond that: Thanks to its sensational entry, Saarbrücken not only became the new attendance powerhouse of the top division but, with fans of international appeal, also played a key role in setting a new attendance record of more than 75,000 fans in the arenas—a first—even during away games. In addition, the TTBL’s international marketing efforts received a significant boost, particularly in the table tennis mecca of China, due to the enormous interest in Fan’s matches.

“Fan Zhendong has given the TTBL new momentum in terms of reach and marketing,” summarized TTBL Managing Director Nico Stehle, while also describing the two-time world champion’s decision to remain in the German elite league in Düsseldorf starting next season as “a strong signal of the appeal of German club table tennis.”

Florian Manzke