European Championships: Haug knocks out Moregard, De Nodrest stuns Jorgic as Duda and Mittelham win mixed gold

Norway's Borgar Haug and France's Leo de Nodrest produced the biggest upsets of the men's singles last 16 at the European Table Tennis Championships in Ljubljana on Friday, 16 October, knocking out third seed Truls Moregard and fourth seed Darko Jorgic. Later the same evening, Germany's Benedikt Duda and Nina Mittelham saved four match points to beat Alexis Lebrun and Charlotte Lutz of France 3-2 in a dramatic mixed doubles final at Arena Stozice.

Haug's run continues at Moregard's expense

Haug, who had already beaten 11th seed Marcos Freitas in the previous round, beat Sweden's Moregard 4-2. The Norwegian won three tight opening games 12-10, 11-8 and 12-10, lost the next two 10-12, 10-12, and then closed out the match 11-7 in the sixth.

The win puts Haug into a quarter-final against Sweden's sixth seed Anton Kallberg, who has been unbeaten in Ljubljana and swept Panagiotis Gionis of Greece 4-0.

Home favourite Jorgic falls in seven

The defeat of Jorgic was the hardest result of the day for the home crowd. The Slovenian fourth seed and De Nodrest traded games all the way to a decider, which the Frenchman won 11-9 to complete a 4-3 victory (9-11, 11-5, 12-10, 7-11, 11-6, 4-11, 11-9). De Nodrest now meets Germany's fifth seed Duda, who beat Finland's Benedek Olah 4-1.

Lebrun brothers and Germans advance

The top two seeds, French brothers Felix and Alexis Lebrun, both reached the quarter-finals. Top seed Felix beat Sweden's Elias Ranefur 4-2, and second seed Alexis, the defending champion, beat Kristian Karlsson 4-2.

Germany will have three men in the last eight. Duda is joined by Patrick Franziska, the eighth seed, who edged Croatia's 12th seed Tomislav Pucar 4-3, and Dang Qiu, who beat France's Simon Gauzy 4-1.

The quarter-finals are scheduled for Saturday, 17 October. There is no bronze-medal play-off at the European Championships, so every quarter-final winner is guaranteed at least a bronze medal.

Duda and Mittelham win a classic mixed final

The mixed doubles final was decided by the narrowest of margins. Duda and Mittelham won the first game 11-7, lost the second 7-11, took the third 13-11 and dropped the fourth 6-11. The fifth went to extra points, with the German pair saving four match points before converting their own chance to win it 17-15.

It is Duda's first European mixed doubles title and Mittelham's second, after she previously won the event with Dang Qiu. It was also the fifth time a German player has been part of a winning European mixed doubles pair. Duda summed up the moment simply: "A European title is a European title."

For Lebrun and Lutz, silver still marked a strong debut campaign. The French pair only began playing together in July, and it was Lutz's first European Championships medal. Romania's Eduard Ionescu and Bernadette Szocs and Sweden's Kristian Karlsson and Christina Kallberg took bronze.

Doubles finals still to come

Alexis and Felix Lebrun, the defending men's doubles champions, face Sweden's Karlsson and Kallberg in the men's doubles final on Saturday, 17 October. The championships finish on Sunday, 18 October.

Key takeaways

• Borgar Haug beat third seed Truls Moregard 4-2 and plays Anton Kallberg in the quarter-finals.
• Leo de Nodrest knocked out Slovenian fourth seed Darko Jorgic 4-3 in front of his home crowd.
• Felix and Alexis Lebrun, the top two seeds, both reached the last eight, along with three German players.
• Benedikt Duda and Nina Mittelham beat Alexis Lebrun and Charlotte Lutz 3-2, winning the fifth game 17-15.

FAQ

Who won the mixed doubles at the 2026 European Table Tennis Championships? Germany's Benedikt Duda and Nina Mittelham beat France's Alexis Lebrun and Charlotte Lutz 3-2 in the final in Ljubljana.

Who are the men's singles quarter-finalists in Ljubljana? Felix Lebrun, Alexis Lebrun, Patrick Franziska, Benedikt Duda, Anton Kallberg, Borgar Haug, Leo de Nodrest and Dang Qiu.

When do the European Championships end? The quarter-finals and the men's doubles final are scheduled for Saturday, 17 October, and the championships end on Sunday, 18 October.

Sources: European Table Tennis Union, tischtennis.de, franceinfo