Panagyurishte to host the tenth edition of the Asarel Bulgaria Open table tennis tournament

The tenth edition of the strong international table tennis tournament Asarel Bulgaria Open will be held at Arena Asarel in Panagyurishte between September 8 and 13. The tournament is named WTT Contender Panagyurishte 2026 Presented by Asarel and will have a prize fund of $100,000. The most interesting events will be broadcast live on BNT 3.

The main sponsors are "Asarel-Medet" AD, a significant enterprise for the Panagyurishte region, and the pension insurance company "Sağie". The association "Asarel Bulgaria Open" is once again partnering with the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the Bulgarian Table Tennis Federation, and the Municipality of Panagyurishte. In the main draw, the first seed is Tibo Porte from France, who has already competed in Panagyurishte and is now among the main favorites; he is ranked 21st in the world.

Among the participants are also the European doubles champion Jonathan Groth from Denmark, the strong Englishman Tom Jarvis, and the silver medalist from the last Paris Olympic Games Christian Karlsson. In the team competition in Paris, the Swede reached a dramatic turnaround game against World star Wan Chuqin. In the women's event, the most attention is drawn to the Panagyurishte doubles champion from 2024 Hitomi Sato from Japan, who is 15th in the world rankings. Close to the top 20 is Sato's Japanese compatriot Miya Nagasaki (18th place).

Bulgarian participation will continue to be significant — Yoan Velichkov and Petyo Krastev receive wild cards for the men's draw, and Maria Yovkova also competes in the women's. Other Bulgarian participants include Vladimir Petkov, Ivaylo Kosev, Stefan Dimitrov, and David Kostadinov in the men’s category, as well as Kalina Hristova, Tsvetelina Georgieva, Viktoria Persova, Sidelya Mutlu, Anita Petkova, and Nina Nikolova in the women’s. Tournament director for another year will be Tsvetozar Hristov, who has a long-standing refereeing career and experience coordinating the organization and execution of one of the biggest sports events in 2026.

As usual, the most promising young Bulgarian tennis players will be awarded honorary plaques and cash prizes for preparation and participation in international tournaments.

Source: БНТ Новини