Bundesliga

On the final matchday of the TTBL regular season, SV Werder Bremen capped the strongest league campaign in club history with a commanding 3–0 win over Fulda to secure second place. Werder head into the Liebherr TTBL Final4 on 30/31 May in Frankfurt behind record champions Borussia Düsseldorf and ahead of Bergneustadt and Saarbrücken. TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt ended the regular season with a statement win over FCS in the headline match, while coaching legend Helmut Hampl took charge of TTC OE Clarity-Telefonie Systeme Bad Homburg for the last time on the bench at TSV Bad Königshofen.

Bremen race to second place

Werder Bremen needed just 1 hour and 19 minutes to bring a remarkable regular season to a close — and to set two new club records in the process. The 3–0 victory over TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell secured second place — the best finish in Werder’s TTBL history — while 16 wins also mark a new club high. “A great season for us,” head coach Cristian Tamas told Dyn. “Sacha and I are happy that our guys improved their level as the season went on.” Werder now travel to the Liebherr TTBL Final4 full of confidence, where 1. FC Saarbrücken-TT and superstar Fan Zhendong could be waiting in the semi-finals.

Tamas described the clean sweep — all three singles ended 3–0 — as “a bit of a surprise”, but added that Bremen were “the better team in all three matches” and therefore “deserved winners”. Fulda still had reason to celebrate, however, with Ruwen Filus announcing via video message that he will play his 14th season for the club next year. Fulda finish seventh on 20:24 points, leading the bottom half of the table.

Bad Homburg lose Hampl’s final match

Coaching icon Helmut Hampl had already been given an emotional send-off by home fans on Tuesday, and on Sunday the 74-year-old took charge from the sideline for the final time. After a 1–3 defeat at TSV Bad Königshofen, Hampl nonetheless “had to criticise” his team. “In the decisive phases, we didn’t have the necessary intensity. The will to win at all costs was missing,” he said. In particular, Jo Yokotani — playing his final match in a TTC shirt — could not round off his strong season. He lost in straight sets to both Daniel Habesohn and André Bertelsmeier. Ivor Ban also dropped his final match of the campaign, losing 1–3 to Bastian Steger. Csaba Andras scored Bad Homburg’s only point with a five-set win over Bertelsmeier.

Afterwards, Hampl reflected on 44 years as a coach at the Dyn microphone, but showed no regrets about his decision. “I’m turning 74 — at some point I have to enjoy my retirement,” he joked. Timo Boll, whom Hampl cited as one of the highlights of his career when recalling Boll’s early rise to the top, cannot imagine a complete farewell. “There’s nobody with as much passion for the sport as him,” Boll said. Hampl will remain with the club next season as sporting director and will support new head coach Slobodan Grujić.

Bergneustadt make a statement ahead of the Final4

The designated headline match on the final day was TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt against 1. FC Saarbrücken-TT. Both teams were already qualified for the Liebherr TTBL Final4, and after Bremen’s emphatic win, a jump to second was no longer possible. Still, Bergneustadt used home advantage to build valuable confidence ahead of Frankfurt. Cedric Meissner won his final singles for FCS in the opener against Romain Ruiz — but after that, the hosts took control.

In particular, Adrien Rassenfosse and Ruiz picking up wins over Germany international Patrick Franziska will give head coach Frederik Duda hope should Bergneustadt meet Saarbrücken again in Frankfurt. Leo de Nodrest added the third point by beating Lichen Wang. With the head-to-head win, Schwalbe overtook Saarbrücken on the final stretch and finish the regular season in third place.

Ochsenhausen’s title defence ends in sixth

For TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen, the season after the title was a year of transition. After the departures of Hugo Calderano and Simon Gauzy, a return to the play-offs looked unlikely. Even so, the club stayed in the top-four race for a long time, driven by star man Shunsuke Togami and supported by strong newcomers Iulian Chirita and Andreas Levenko. The 1–3 defeat to record champions Borussia Düsseldorf on the final matchday meant TTF missed the chance to finish fifth as the leading chasers outside the play-off places. Leonardo Iizuka scored the only point, edging Li Yongyin in a five-set thriller.

Düsseldorf, already confirmed as regular-season champions since Wednesday, scored through Kanak Jha (3–0 against Chirita), Borgar Haug (3–1 against Levenko) and Li (3–1 against Chirita). It was Borussia’s final regular-season match before Fan Zhendong is set to appear at the ARAG Centercourt next season. “We’re very, very excited,” Jha told Dyn about his future team-mate. “He’s one of my favourite players. I first saw him when I was 12 — and now playing with him is an incredible experience. I hope I can learn from him and that he’ll feel comfortable.”

Mühlhausen climb to fifth

Post SV Mühlhausen produced an impressive late surge with three straight wins and even jumped up to fifth. For a long stretch, the Thuringians had been forced to look over their shoulders in the relegation battle, but the 3–1 win at Borussia Dortmund provided a positive ending. They had finished the first half of the season in 10th. On Sunday, Kay Stumper stood out, laying the foundations with two 3–1 wins over Cedric Nuytinck and Anders Lind. Veteran Steffen Mengel added the third point with a four-set win over Adam Szudi. Lind scored Dortmund’s only point against Ovidiu Ionescu. In their second TTBL season, BVB improved by two points to 18:26 and head into next year with ambition after signing young talent Wim Verdonschot.

A positive finish for Grünwettersbach

For a long time, ASC Grünwettersbach looked headed for a worst-case scenario. Head-coach rookie Kilian Ort’s team lost 12 matches in a row and had to seriously contemplate relegation to the second division. TSV Windsbach’s decision not to go up then ensured safety — and Grünwettersbach responded immediately with a surprise 3–1 win over play-off side Bergneustadt. On the final matchday, ASC followed up with a clear 3–0 win at TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau. The season ends with Grünwettersbach bottom — but at least with a positive result. Tiago Apolonia (against Samuel Walker), Tom Jarvis (against Luka Mladenovic) and Hiroto Shinozuka (against Maciej Kubik) all won in straight sets. Grenzau finish 10th and lost the final match under departing head coach Slobodan Grujić.

Final4: Düsseldorf get the choice — Saarbrücken the “favourites”?

After the regular season, attention turns to the showpiece: the Liebherr TTBL Final4 on 30/31 May 2026 at the Süwag Energie ARENA in Frankfurt. For the first time, the German championship will be decided in this format — something Dyn expert Timo Boll praised strongly. “The event is cool, it’s for the players. It’s driven by the WTT, to reduce the number of matches a bit because the players travel so much. We got a cool event in return — it’s a win-win,” Boll said during the final-matchday conference.

As regular-season winners, Borussia Düsseldorf now have the right to choose between Bergneustadt and Saarbrücken as their semi-final opponents. Werder Bremen will face the team Düsseldorf do not pick. “Anything can happen, but Saarbrücken are the favourites, that’s clear,” Kanak Jha said of the outlook, while striking a defiant tone. “If we’re in good form, we also have a good chance to win the match.”

Even Bergneustadt — widely seen as the outsiders — believe they can upset the odds, as Romain Ruiz explained. “We’re going there to win. We know it will be hard. On paper we’re the weakest or second-weakest team. But over the last few seasons we’ve shown we can beat anyone.” Tickets are available via the ticket shop, by phone on 0761 888499 99, or at all standard advance-sale outlets.

Matchday 22 fixtures

SV Werder Bremen – TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell 3–0
Kirill Gerassimenko – Qing Yu Meng 3–0 (11–3, 11–8, 11–7)
Marcelo Aguirre – Ruwen Filus 3–0 (11–5, 11–7, 11–6)
Mattias Falck – Fanbo Meng 3–0 (11–6, 11–8, 11–4)

TSV Bad Königshofen – TTC OE Clarity-Telefonie Systeme Bad Homburg 3–1
André Bertelsmeier – Csaba Andras 2–3 (11–9, 6–11, 9–11, 12–10, 8–11)
Daniel Habesohn – Jo Yokotani 3–0 (11–5, 11–3, 11–7)
Bastian Steger – Ivor Ban 3–1 (11–6, 2–11, 11–8, 11–9)
André Bertelsmeier – Jo Yokotani 3–0 (11–8, 14–12, 11–5)

TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt – 1. FC Saarbrücken-TT 3–1
Romain Ruiz – Cedric Meissner 1–3 (7–11, 11–8, 7–11, 6–11)
Adrien Rassenfosse – Patrick Franziska 3–1 (11–7, 11–4, 6–11, 11–8)
Leo de Nodrest – Lichen Wang 3–1 (9–11, 11–7, 11–9, 11–6)
Romain Ruiz – Patrick Franziska 3–2 (11–5, 9–11, 8–11, 11–8, 11–7)

TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen – Borussia Düsseldorf 1–3
Iulian Chirita – Kanak Jha 0–3 (8–11, 11–13, 8–11)
Leonardo Iizuka – Li Yongyin 3–2 (5–11, 13–11, 12–10, 3–11, 11–8)
Andreas Levenko – Borgar Haug 1–3 (8–11, 12–10, 4–11, 9–11)
Iulian Chirita – Li Yongyin 1–3 (12–14, 14–16, 11–6, 9–11)

Borussia Dortmund – Post SV Mühlhausen 1–3
Anders Lind – Ovidiu Ionescu 3–1 (11–8, 4–11, 11–5, 12–10)
Cedric Nuytinck – Kay Stumper 1–3 (2–11, 11–13, 11–9, 5–11)
Adam Szudi – Steffen Mengel 1–3 (5–11, 13–11, 12–14, 8–11)
Anders Lind – Kay Stumper 1–3 (8–11, 5–11, 11–9, 9–11)

TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau – ASC Grünwettersbach 0–3
Samuel Walker – Tiago Apolonia 0–3 (3–11, 13–15, 9–11)
Luka Mladenovic – Tom Jarvis 0–3 (7–11, 9–11, 6–11)
Maciej Kubik – Hiroto Shinozuka 0–3 (3–11, 11–13, 6–11)

Picture: Helmut Hampl (TTC OE Clarity-Telefonie Systeme Bad Homburg, photo: Alexander Hetjes).