Following a successful first Future outing in Lignano, attention immediately heads to the coastal region of Costa Brava as the greats of Para table tennis prepare for four days of thrilling competition.
A strong cast list ahead
A familiar mainstay of the Para circuit, Costa Brava and Para table tennis competitions continue to go hand-in-hand. So familiar is Costa Brava to our sport that even during pandemic times, competition was able to continue. From Tuesday 11th to Friday 14th March, resilience will once again be the buzzword as the second Future event takes place.
As always, we are set to see an impressive home contingent of players battle it out for early season success. Paris 2024 bronze medallist Ander Cepas is the standout of that group, his return coming after reaching the C9 podium at the Paralympic Games. Cepas is one of 15 Spanish singles stars making up part of a 165 strong rollcall.
With 30 nations represented, big performances are on the horizon. Twelve years separated golds number one and two, but Tommy Urhaug comes into Costa Brava as the Paralympic MS5 champion once again. The Norwegian defeated Cheng Ming-chih in the Paris final, and in the mixed MS4-5 class will come up against the likes of French duo Alexandre Delarque and veteran Sydney 2000 Paralympic champion, Emeric Martin.
Those two aren’t the only two of a fearsome French setup that also includes Fabien Lamirault. A stalwart of the circuit who has won everything there is to win, Lamirault comes to Costa Brava off the back of two Paralympic bronze medals less than 20km from the town he grew up. The three-time World champion will meet Federico Crosara, the winner in the MS2 category last weekend in Lignano.
In a WS10 class with four competitors confirmed, all eyes will be on Brazil’s Bruna Alexandre. Alexandre kept up a remarkable record in Paris last September – with two more to the collection, she maintained a run of taking two medals home from every Games since Rio 2016. Not only that, but Alexandre did the Parisian double in another way: by competing in both the Olympics and Paralympics.
What happened last weekend?
The opening weekend in the new Para circuit structure was never going to disappoint, but in many ways it exceeded expectations. With 16 singles titles decided and eight more finals in the doubles, the weekend provided the perfect launchpad for the run of events to come.
Hosts Italy found themselves at the centre of some of the biggest results, with the iconic Giada Rossi taking the Class 2 crown. Other home successes came from Federico Crosara, Matteo Parenzan and Carlotta Ragazzini. There was also a notable title for Aino Tapola (FIN), overcoming rival Dorota Buclaw in Class 1. For full results from Lignano, click here.
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A recap on the three-tiers
Announced in November 2024, the new structure of the Para circuit incorporates three separate tiers: Future, Challenger and Elite.
- Future is designed as a development point for emerging talents to hone their skills on the international stage and build their ranking.
- Challenger is the next step on the ladder. Competitions will tend to be larger and adopt a higher intensity. With up to eight Challenger events in 2025, each one promises to create big stories and develop exciting rivalries.
- Elite is where you can expect the very top stars of Para sport to meet. Huge showdowns, moments of pure magic and exhilarating competition are all guaranteed.
Each event in 2025 has something major at stake: valuable ranking points. Points will be awarded based off performances at each event, with the rankings adjusting throughout the course of the year to track who has been performing at the most consistent level.
For 2025, there is a one-year transition period which allows players to defend those points accumulated over the previous 52 weeks.
Last weekend saw the Future circuit begin, with 10 more ahead in that tier across this year.
What’s coming up next?
From Lignano to Costa Brava, it’s been a frantic start to the season and things are unlikely to calm down anytime soon.
Although the Future rounds take a few weeks break before those next events (April in Lahti, Finland before heading to Amman, Jordan), the Challenger series gets started in the meantime. The final week of March will see action take place in Wladyslawowo, Poland. In April, competitions are set for Sao Paulo, Brazil, and Montenegro’s capital of Podgorica.
There are also the exciting matters of continental championships to come towards the end of the year too as Auckland (NZL), Sao Paulo (BRA), Beijing (CHN), Giza (EGY) and Helsingborg (SWE) play host to the strongest from their continents.
How to follow the action
Select live streaming of this extended competition will be available to watch on our YouTube channel.
To keep up-to-date with the action as it happens, follow the schedule and results page on our website. And head to our events page to recap everything we have seen so far.
