Transfer
New signing in Fulda – top target Andrej Istrate joins TTC
TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell has secured the signing of 20-year-old Romanian Andrej Istrate, their top choice for the 2026/27 season.
“He is one of the most promising young players in Europe; he is young and hungry for success, and as a powerful right-hander he will be a real asset, particularly in the doubles,” said head coach Qing Yu Meng.
In recent years, Istrate has demonstrated that he ranks among Europe’s elite at youth and U21 level: in 2024, he won bronze in the singles and gold in the doubles at the European Youth Championships. In 2025, he was runner-up in the European Team Championships and once again secured a medal at the U21 European Championships in the doubles, where he finished third. In the current 2025/26 season, he is the top player in the Austrian Bundesliga.
The contracts with Ruwen Filus and Fanbo Meng have each been extended by one year. Ruwen Filus is thus entering his fourteenth season at TTC. He has particularly impressed this season with his attractive and spectacular defensive play. His performance at the Final Four and his victories over Patrick Franziska and Csaba Andras thrilled the five thousand spectators in Neu-Ulm.
With Fanbo Meng, the club has managed to retain the home-grown talent. He has been playing for TTC since 2007. This season in particular, he has shown with victories over Dang Qiu and Yi-Hsin Feng that he is on his way to becoming a top player.
“As both Dimitrij Ovtcharov and Jonathan Groth still have contracts for the coming season, we have a formidable squad,” said TTC President Stefan Frauenholz.
“If we can avoid injury woes this year, we have a chance with this team to compete at the top and reach the play-offs featuring the top four teams,” said coach Qing Yu Meng, looking optimistically to the future.
Source: TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell press release
Featured image above: Andrej Istrate (Photo: WTT)
