Europe's Elite Eight Set for Champions League Women Showdown - European table tennis union

The 2026/27 ETTU Champions League Women enters second stage this week, with eight of Europe's leading clubs beginning their battle for places in the Final Four. 1 seeds KTS Enea Siarkopol TARNOBRZEG headline the competition, alongside French contenders Metz TT and Etival ASRTT, Germany's TTC Berlin eastside and four other ambitious challengers.

Unlike the men's competition, which moves directly into the knockout rounds, the women's Champions League features a single group of eight teams. Each club will face every other opponent once over seven rounds, making every result important in the race for the Final Four.

Six directly qualified clubs are joined by Linz AG Froschberg and SKST Plus Hodonin, who earned their places through Stage 1 in Budaörs. Both teams completed the opening stage unbeaten, recording three victories from three matches.

Polish powerhouse KTS Enea Siarkopol TARNOBRZEG returns as the defending champion after lifting the trophy at last season's inaugural Final Four. 1 seeds have retained an outstanding squad, led by Germany's Ying HAN, Portugal's Fu YU, Monaco's Xiaoxin YANG and China's Zhuojia HE.

TARNOBRZEG begins its campaign at home against fourth seeds Etival ASRTT on Tuesday, 10 November. The French side will provide an immediate test for the title holders.

Etival's squad features Portugal's SHAO Jieni, Sweden's Christina KÄLLBERG and Australia's Liu YANGZI, giving the visitors a strong international line-up. Second seeds Metz TT are among the strongest challengers to TARNOBRZEG's dominance.

The French club boasts an impressive squad led by France's Charlotte LUTZ, Serbia's Izabela LUPULESKU, Egypt's Hana GODA, Croatia's Lea RAKOVAC and Luxembourg's Sarah DE NUTTE. Metz opens its campaign away to third seeds TTC Berlin eastside on Wednesday, 11 November, in one of the most anticipated encounters of the opening round.

Berlin's experienced squad features Germany's Nina MITTELHAM and SHAN Xiaona, Poland's Natalia BAJOR and Serbia's Sabina SURJAN. With both clubs aiming for a place among the leading contenders, their opening meeting promises an early indication of the balance of power in Stage 2.

Fifth seeds UCAM Cartagena TM will also have ambitions of reaching the Final Four. The Spanish club has assembled a strong line-up featuring Spain's Maria XIAO, Wales' Anna HURSEY, England's HO Tin-Tin and Chile's Daniela ORTEGA.