The European Table Tennis Union (ETTU) is the governing body of the sport of

table tennis Table tennis (also known as ping-pong) is a racket sport derived from tennis but distinguished by its playing surface being atop a stationary table, rather than the Tennis court, court on which players stand. Either individually or in teams of ...

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, and is the only authority recognised for this purpose by the

International Table Tennis Federation The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) is the Sport governing body, governing body for all national table tennis associations that use ITTF-approved sponge table tennis rackets. The role of the ITTF includes overseeing rules and regula ...

. The ETTU deals with all matters relating to table tennis at a European level, including the development and promotion of the sport in the territories controlled by its 58 member associations, and the organisation of continental table tennis competitions, including the

European Championships A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

History

Following their decision to make the

World Table Tennis Championships The World Table Tennis Championships are table tennis competitions sanctioned by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF). The World Championships have been held since 1926, biennially since 1957. Five individual events, which include men ...

a biennial event from 1957 onwards, the

(ITTF) invited the separate European table tennis associations to consider holding a European Championships in the intervening, even-numbered years. At a meeting on 13 March 1957 in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

during that year's World Championships, the European Table Tennis Union (ETTU) was created by the associations of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Finland, France, Hungary, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, the USSR, Wales, West Germany and Yugoslavia. A board of seven was elected, including Frenchman Jean Belot as the first chairman, and the first

took place in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

in 1958. At a meeting in 1960, the ETTU decided to introduce a competition for European club teams, and the first European Club Cup of Champions for men took place in early 1961, with a women's event added three years later. In 1964, the ETTU assumed responsibility for youth competitions in Europe, and in 1970 the main competition for youth players was renamed the European Youth Championships. An experimental classification tournament was held in 1971, featuring the top twelve-ranked European players in a round robin-style competition. This event would go on to be held annually as the Europe Top-12. In 1984, Nancy Evans retired from her role as Honorary General Secretary, having held that role for 27 years since the formation of the ETTU. In recognition of her outstanding service, she was appointed as the ETTU's first Honorary Life Member. Between 1991 and 1995, the number of ETTU member associations increased dramatically from 37 to 52, largely due to applications from table tennis associations of nations that were formerly part of the

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

, in addition to the dissolution of

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

. In 1998, the European Champions League was created for men's club teams (a women's Champions League followed in 2005), and in 1999, the ETTU entered into their first TV contract with ITTF/TMS, which enabled Champions League matches to be broadcast live on

Eurosport Eurosport is a group of pay television networks in Europe and parts of Asia, owned and operated by Warner Bros. Discovery through its WBD Sports unit, it operates two main channels—Eurosport 1 and Eurosport 2—across most of its territorie ...

. In 2000, a decision was taken to switch the

to odd-numbered years from 2003 onwards. This was in response to the ITTF's decision to start holding

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

every year, alternating between individual events in odd-numbered years and team events in even-numbered years. From 2007, the European Championships became an annual event, and from 2016, the Championships will feature singles and doubles events in even-numbered years, with team events in odd-numbered years. Following the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

, the ETTU Executive Board banned Russian and Belarusian players and officials from ETTU events, in accord with the recommendations of the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...

(IOC), and in March 2022 its Russian president Igor Levitin self-suspended himself.

Member Associations

The 58 member associations of the ETTU as of September 2022, include: * - Albanian Table Tennis Federation * - Fédéració Andorrana de Tenis de Taula * - Armenian Table Tennis Federation * - Österreichischer Tisch-Tennis Verband * - Azerbaijan Table Tennis Federation * - Belarus Table Tennis Federation (players and officials banned from events) * - Fédération Royale Belge de Tennis de Table *

Bosnia-Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to the north a ...

- Table Tennis Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina * - Bulgarian Table Tennis Federation * - Croatian Table Tennis Association * - Cyprus Table Tennis Association * - Czech Table Tennis Association * - Danish Table Tennis Association * - Table Tennis England * - Estonian Table Tennis Association * - Bordtennisamband Foroya * - Finnish Table Tennis Association * - Fédération Française de Tennis de Table * - Table Tennis Federation of Georgia * - Deutscher Tischtennis-Bund * - Gibraltar Table Tennis Association * - Hellenic Table Tennis Association * - Greenland Table Tennis Federation * - Guernsey Table Tennis Association * - Hungarian Table Tennis Association * - Icelandic Table Tennis Association * - Irish Table Tennis Association * - Isle of Man Table Tennis Association * - Israeli Table Tennis Association * - Italian Table Tennis Federation * - Jersey Table Tennis Association * - Table Tennis Federation of Kosovo * - Table Tennis Federation of Latvia * - Liechtensteiner Tischtennisverband * - Lithuanian Table Tennis Federation * - Fédération Luxembourgeoise de Tennis de Table * - Macedonian Table Tennis Association * - Malta Table Tennis Association * - Moldova Table Tennis Federation * - Fédération Monégasque de Tennis de Table * - Table Tennis Association of Montenegro * - Nederlandse Tafeltennisbond * - Norges Bordtennisforbund * - Polish Table Tennis Federation * - Federação Portuguesa de Ténis de Mesa * - Federația Română de Tenis de Masă * - Table Tennis Federation of Russia (players and officials banned from events) * - Federazione Sammarinese Tennistavolo * - Table Tennis Scotland * - Table Tennis Association of Serbia * - Slovak Table Tennis Association * - Slovenian Table Tennis Association * - Real Federación Espanola de Tenis de Mesa * - Swedish Table Tennis Association * - Swiss Table Tennis Federation * - Turkish Table Tennis Federation * - Ukraine Table Tennis Federation * - Table Tennis Association of Wales

Competitions

The ETTU authorises the following competitions:

Nations

– held since 1958, and annually since 2007; the main continental championships featuring singles, doubles and team events * Europe Top 16 – held annually since 1971; features Europe's top 16 players, with the top three finishers guaranteed a place at the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

. * European Under-21 Championships – new event for under-21 players, held for the first time in 2017 * European Youth Championships – held annually since 1955; the main continental championships for junior (under-18) and cadet (under-15) players * Europe Youth Top 10 – held annually since 1985; features Europe's top 10 junior (under-18) and top 10 cadet (under-15) players. *

Euro-Asia Cup The Euro-Asia Cup, more recently known as the Asia-Euro Cup or Asia-Europe All Stars Challenge, is a table tennis team competition currently held annually in China between teams of professional players representing Asia and Europe. History Fir ...

– alternated between Europe and Asia from 2009 until 2012; authorised by the ATTU and held annually in China since 2013 *

European Games The European Games is a continental multi-sport event in the Olympic tradition contested by athletes from countries served by national Olympic committees within the European Olympic Committees (EOC), the regional association for such committ ...

– singles and team events held as part of the European Games, every four years from 2015 onwards *European Olympic Qualification Tournament – held in Olympic years to determine European qualifiers for

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

singles events *European Veterans' Championships – held in odd-numbered years since 1995, with competitions in eight different age categories *

European Para Table Tennis Championships European Para Table Tennis Championships are a biennial sport event for para table tennis players who represent a European country. It is one of the first regional para table tennis championships to be held. France have so far earned the most meda ...

* Europaliga since 1967/68 to 2002/03. * European Nations Cup (Men) since 1991 to 1998. * European Nations Cup (Women) since 1994 to 2000. * European Masters Cup since 1991 to 1999. * Euro Super Cup. * European U13 Championship since 2023. *

Clubs

* European Champions League – replaced the ''European Club Cup of Champions'' (see below) as the most important international club competition in Europe; the men's competition has been held annually since 1998/99, with the women's competition held annually since 2005/06. * ETTU Cup – the second tier international club competition in Europe; the men's competition has been held annually since 1964/65, with the women's competition starting one year later. * European Club Cup of Champions (defunct) – former club competition, replaced by the ''European Champions League''; the men's competition was held annually from 1960/61 until 2000/01, with the women's competition held annually from 1963/64 until 2004/05 * ETTU Europe Trophy is the third most important continental tournament for clubs in

, after the European Champions League and the ETTU Cup since 2022.

Hall of Fame

In September 2015, the ETTU introduced the European Table Tennis Hall of Fame, with the aim of honouring champions, legendary players and other individuals who have made exceptional contributions to the sport of table tennis in Europe.

Inductees

The following people have been inducted into the Hall of Fame: 2015 * Maria Alexandru *

Mikael Appelgren Kent Mikael Appelgren (born 15 October 1961 in Stockholm) is a Swedish former table tennis player. Table tennis career He was 4-times World Champion, 9-times European Champion, 2-times Europe Top-12 winner, and World Cup winner. He also won ...

* Otilia Bădescu * Viktor Barna * Csilla Bátorfi *

Stellan Bengtsson Stellan Bengtsson (born 26 July 1952) is a Swedish former table tennis player. He became the first Swede to win the men's singles at the World Table Tennis Championships in 1971.Zoltán Berczik *

Richard Bergmann Richard Bergmann (10 April 1919 – 5 April 1970) was an Austrian-British international table tennis player. Winner of seven World Championships, including four Singles, one Men's Doubles, two Team's titles and 22 medals in total. He is conside ...

* Tamara Boroš * Fliura Bulatova * Gizi Farkas *

Jean-Philippe Gatien Jean-Philippe Gatien (, born 16 October 1968, in Alès, France, is a retired French table tennis player. He competed in four Olympics Games from 1988 to 2000, winning silver in the singles at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and bronze in doubles (wi ...

* Gábor Gergely * Andrzej Grubba * Jill Hammersley * Marie Hrachová * Kjell Johansson * István Jónyer * Tibor Klampár * Éva Kóczián *

Johnny Leach John Alfred Leach MBE (20 November 1922 – 5 June 2014) was a British table tennis player, coach, and author. He began competing at a relatively old age, 17, before serving in World War II. During the war, he greatly elevated his game a ...

* Judit Magos * Mária Mednyánszky * Jörgen Persson * Valentina Popova * Gertrude Pritzi * Jörg Roßkopf * Angelica Rozeanu * Zoja Rudnova * Werner Schlager * Eberhard Schöler * Ferenc Sidó * Dragutin Šurbek *

Bettine Vriesekoop Hubertina Petronella Maria "Bettine" Vriesekoop (born 13 August 1961) is a former table tennis player from the Netherlands. She was European champion in 1982 and 1992 individually and in 1982 in mixed doubles. She competed at the 1988, 1992 and 1 ...

* Jan-Ove Waldner * Ella Zeller-Constantinescu 2016 * Hans Alsér *

Žarko Dolinar Žarko Dolinar (3 July 1920 – 9 March 2003) was a Croatian biologist and table tennis player who won eight medals at the World Table Tennis Championships. He was born in a family of Slovene economic immigrants to Croatia. In 1939, at the ag ...

* Marie Kettnerová * Fred Perry * Jean-Michel Saive * Diane Schöler * Agnes Simon * Anna Sipos * Bohumil Váňa 2017 * Vlasta Depetrisová * Roland Jacobi *

Jacques Secrétin Jacques Secrétin (; 18 March 1949 – 25 November 2020) was a French international table tennis player. He was selected for the French national team at the age of 13 and became one of the most successful table tennis players in French history. ...

* Nicole Struse 2019 * Peter Karlsson * Li Jiao * Antun Stipančić

References

External links

European Table Tennis UnionEuropean Table Tennis Hall of Fame
{{National Members of the International Table Tennis Federation International organisations based in Luxembourg City International Table Tennis Federation Table tennis governing bodies

Table Tennis Table tennis (also known as ping-pong) is a racket sport derived from tennis but distinguished by its playing surface being atop a stationary table, rather than the Tennis court, court on which players stand. Either individually or in teams of ...

Table tennis in Europe