Dang Qiu ends Alexis Lebrun's European title defence as Kallberg, Pavade and Kaufmann win first singles medals

Alexis Lebrun is no longer European men's singles champion. Germany's Dang Qiu, who won the title in 2022, beat the second seed 4-1 (11-4, 14-12, 11-4, 8-11, 11-4) in the quarter-finals at Arena Stozice in Ljubljana on Saturday 17 October. In other quarter-finals, Sweden's Anton Kallberg, France's Prithika Pavade and Germany's Annett Kaufmann all made sure of their first European singles medals.

Qiu dominates the holder

Lebrun won the title in Linz in 2024, but he never settled against Qiu. Qiu won the first and third games 11-4 and edged a tight second game 14-12. Lebrun replied by winning the fourth, but Qiu took the fifth 11-4 to finish the match. Qiu had beaten Simon Gauzy in the last 16, and the ETTU noted that he had also beaten Lebrun in the Astana final a few weeks earlier. He told the ETTU that he was fully focused and played "very aggressively" from the start.

In the semi-finals Qiu meets Kallberg, the sixth seed, who beat Norway's Borgar Haug 4-2 (11-7, 11-3, 7-11, 11-9, 4-11, 11-5). Haug had knocked out third seed Truls Moregard in the previous round. Kallberg is 29 and has a long list of team and doubles medals, but this is his first European men's singles medal. Later on Saturday he lost the men's doubles final with Kristian Karlsson to Alexis and Felix Lebrun.

All-French semi-final for Felix Lebrun and De Nodrest

Top seed Felix Lebrun beat Germany's Patrick Franziska 4-0 (11-2, 11-8, 11-2, 11-8) and dropped only two points in the first game. He will face compatriot Leo De Nodrest, so France is guaranteed a men's singles finalist.

De Nodrest, seeded 67th, continued his surprise run by beating Benedikt Duda 4-3 (11-5, 11-3, 4-11, 3-11, 11-6, 4-11, 11-7). Duda won the European singles silver last time and fought back twice to force a seventh game. De Nodrest had already knocked out Slovenian home favourite Darko Jorgic in the last 16, and this is his first senior European medal.

Women's semi-finals: two Germans and two outsiders

The women's quarter-finals also produced first-time medallists. Pavade, 22, beat Romania's Elena Zaharia 4-0 (11-4, 11-9, 16-14, 11-8), the day after she knocked out top seed Sabine Winter. It is her first European women's singles medal and her fifth European Championships medal overall.

Kaufmann, 20, won an all-German quarter-final against third seed Han Ying, a defensive specialist who is coming back from injury. A year earlier in Frankfurt, Kaufmann had lost to Han 3-0.

Nina Mittelham beat Romania's Bernadette Szocs 4-1 (11-4, 11-7, 11-7, 6-11, 13-11) and now plays Kaufmann. Elizabet Abraamian, who knocked out Wales' Anna Hursey 4-1, faces Pavade. Hursey had beaten defending champion Sofia Polcanova earlier in the week.

When the medals are decided

The semi-finals and finals are on Sunday 18 October in Ljubljana. Slovenia is six hours behind Malaysia. In territories without a broadcast deal, matches stream on the European Table Tennis Union's YouTube channel.

Key takeaways

• Dang Qiu beat defending champion Alexis Lebrun 4-1 in the men's quarter-finals.
• Felix Lebrun meets 67th seed Leo De Nodrest in an all-French semi-final, while Qiu plays Anton Kallberg.
• Kallberg, Prithika Pavade and Annett Kaufmann all won their first European singles medals.
• The women's semi-finals are Mittelham v Kaufmann and Abraamian v Pavade, on Sunday 18 October.

FAQ

Who knocked out Alexis Lebrun at the 2026 European Championships? Germany's Dang Qiu, the 2022 European champion, beat him 4-1 in the quarter-finals on 17 October.

Who is in the men's singles semi-finals? Felix Lebrun plays Leo De Nodrest, and Dang Qiu plays Anton Kallberg.

Who is in the women's singles semi-finals? Nina Mittelham plays Annett Kaufmann, and Elizabet Abraamian plays Prithika Pavade.

Sources: European Table Tennis Union, Tennis2Table, Equipe-France