# Europe Top-16

The Europe Top 16, also known as the Europe Top 16 Cup and previously known as the Europe Top 12, is a table tennis tournament organised annually by the European Table Tennis Union (ETTU), featuring the highest-ranked players in Europe.

## History

The first event was held in 1971 in Zadar, Yugoslavia (now part of Croatia) as an experimental classification tournament. Twelve male players and six female players took part, with István Jónyer and Beatrix Kisházi, both from Hungary, winning the inaugural men's and women's competitions respectively. The tournament would go on to be held each year in different venues, and would become known as the Europe Top 12.
From 1971 until 1989, the tournament used a round-robin format; all players played each other once, with the champion being the player who accumulated the most wins. From 1990, there was a change of format; the twelve players were divided into two round-robin groups, with the top two players from each group progressing to semi-finals, followed by a final. At the 2001 tournament the twelve players were divided into four groups for the first time, with the group winners qualifying for the semi-finals, and from 2002 it was decided that the top two players from each group would qualify for quarter-finals, with knockout rounds to decide the winner. From 2015, the number of players qualifying for both the men's and women's events was increased to 16, and the tournament's name was changed to the Europe Top 16.
Sweden's Jan-Ove Waldner is the most successful player in the history of the men's event, winning the tournament seven times and finishing runner-up on a further four occasions between 1984 and 1996. Beatrix Kisházi of Hungary and Li Jiao of the Netherlands share the record for most wins in the women's event, with four wins each. Kisházi won the first three editions of the tournament from 1971 to 1973 and regained the title in 1977, while Li's four title wins came between 2007 and 2011.

## Qualification

Since 2019, the 16 participants in both the men's and the women's tournaments qualify as follows:
* The current European Champion.
* 14 additional players based on the European rankings at the time, subject to a maximum of two players from any association.
* One player from the host nation. If a player from the host nation has already qualified by right, the next eligible player in the rankings will qualify.

## Format

Since 2018, the format of the tournament has been a knockout played over two days. The semi-final losers play off for third and fourth place. The top three players in both the men's and the women's tournaments will be guaranteed a place at the Table Tennis World Cup, subject to a maximum of two players from any association.

## Results
### Men

| Year | Host City | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| 1971 | Zadar | István Jónyer | Antun Stipančić | Dragutin Šurbek |
| 1972 | Zagreb | Antun Stipančić | Stellan Bengtsson | Dragutin Šurbek |
| 1973 | Böblingen | Stellan Bengtsson | Dragutin Šurbek | Antun Stipančić |
| 1974 | Trollhättan | István Jónyer | Milan Orlowski | Stellan Bengtsson |
| 1975 | Vienna | Kjell Johansson | Antun Stipančić | István Jónyer |
| 1976 | Lübeck | Dragutin Šurbek | Kjell Johansson | Sarkis Sarchayan |
| 1977 | Sarajevo | Milan Orlowski | Dragutin Šurbek | Jacques Secrétin |
| 1978 | Prague | Gábor Gergely | Milan Orlowski | Stellan Bengtsson |
| 1979 | Kristianstad | Dragutin Šurbek | Desmond Douglas | Jacques Secrétin |
| 1980 | Munich | Stellan Bengtsson | Ulf Thorsell | Jacques Secrétin |
| 1981 | Miskolc | Tibor Klampár | Stellan Bengtsson | Dragutin Šurbek |
| 1982 | Nantes | Mikael Appelgren | Milan Orlowski | Desmond Douglas |
| 1983 | Cleveland | Milan Orlowski | Desmond Douglas | Mikael Appelgren |
| 1984 | Bratislava | Jan-Ove Waldner | Jindřich Panský | Mikael Appelgren |
| 1985 | Barcelona | Andrzej Grubba | Jindřich Panský | Mikael Appelgren |
| 1986 | Södertälje | Jan-Ove Waldner | Desmond Douglas | Erik Lindh |
| 1987 | Basel | Desmond Douglas | Jan-Ove Waldner | Jörgen Persson |
| 1988 | Ljubljana | Jan-Ove Waldner | Jörgen Persson | Andrzej Grubba |
| 1989 | Charleroi | Jan-Ove Waldner | Erik Lindh | Jörgen Persson |
| 1990 | Hannover | Mikael Appelgren | Jan-Ove Waldner | Andrzej Grubba |
| 1991 | 's-Hertogenbosch | Erik Lindh | Jan-Ove Waldner | Jörgen Persson |
| 1992 | Vienna | Jörgen Persson | Jörg Roßkopf | Zoran Primorac |
| 1993 | Copenhagen | Jan-Ove Waldner | Peter Karlsson | Jörg Roßkopf |
| 1993 | Copenhagen | Jan-Ove Waldner | Peter Karlsson | Jean-Michel Saive |
| 1994 | Arezzo | Jean-Michel Saive | Jan-Ove Waldner | Peter Karlsson |
| 1994 | Arezzo | Jean-Michel Saive | Jan-Ove Waldner | Zoran Primorac |
| 1995 | Dijon | Jan-Ove Waldner | Erik Lindh | Jean-Philippe Gatien |
| 1995 | Dijon | Jan-Ove Waldner | Erik Lindh | Jean-Michel Saive |
| 1996 | Charleroi | Jan-Ove Waldner | Jean-Michel Saive | Jean-Philippe Gatien |
| 1996 | Charleroi | Jan-Ove Waldner | Jean-Michel Saive | Yang Min |
| 1997 | Eindhoven | Jean-Philippe Gatien | Vladimir Samsonov | Zoran Primorac |
| 1997 | Eindhoven | Jean-Philippe Gatien | Vladimir Samsonov | Jan-Ove Waldner |
| 1998 | Halmstad | Vladimir Samsonov | Peter Karlsson | Jean-Michel Saive |
| 1998 | Halmstad | Vladimir Samsonov | Peter Karlsson | Jan-Ove Waldner |
| 1999 | Split | Vladimir Samsonov | Christophe Legoût | Jean-Philippe Gatien |
| 1999 | Split | Vladimir Samsonov | Christophe Legoût | Kalinikos Kreanga |
| 2000 | Alassio | Werner Schlager | Yang Min | Jean-Philippe Gatien |
| 2000 | Alassio | Werner Schlager | Yang Min | Jörg Roßkopf |
| 2001 | Wels | Vladimir Samsonov | Peter Karlsson | Petr Korbel |
| 2001 | Wels | Vladimir Samsonov | Peter Karlsson | Jean-Michel Saive |
| 2002 | Rotterdam | Timo Boll | Vladimir Samsonov | Patrick Chila |
| 2002 | Rotterdam | Timo Boll | Vladimir Samsonov | Damien Éloi |
| 2003 | Saarbrücken | Timo Boll | Vladimir Samsonov | Michael Maze |
| 2003 | Saarbrücken | Timo Boll | Vladimir Samsonov | Werner Schlager |
| 2004 | Frankfurt | Michael Maze | Werner Schlager | Petr Korbel |
| 2004 | Frankfurt | Michael Maze | Werner Schlager | Alexey Smirnov |
| 2005 | Rennes | Alexey Smirnov | Vladimir Samsonov | Timo Boll |
| 2005 | Rennes | Alexey Smirnov | Vladimir Samsonov | Damien Éloi |
| 2006 | Copenhagen | Timo Boll | Werner Schlager | Michael Maze |
| 2006 | Copenhagen | Timo Boll | Werner Schlager | Zoran Primorac |
| 2007 | Arezzo | Vladimir Samsonov | Kalinikos Kreanga | Zoran Primorac |
| 2007 | Arezzo | Vladimir Samsonov | Kalinikos Kreanga | Alexey Smirnov |
| 2008 | Frankfurt | Werner Schlager | Vladimir Samsonov | Jean-Michel Saive |
| 2008 | Frankfurt | Werner Schlager | Vladimir Samsonov | Alexey Smirnov |
| 2009 | Düsseldorf | Timo Boll | Vladimir Samsonov | Kalinikos Kreanga |
| 2009 | Düsseldorf | Timo Boll | Vladimir Samsonov | Michael Maze |
| 2010 | Düsseldorf | Timo Boll | Vladimir Samsonov | Chen Weixing |
| 2010 | Düsseldorf | Timo Boll | Vladimir Samsonov | Kalinikos Kreanga |
| 2011 | Liège | Kalinikos Kreanga | Vladimir Samsonov | Werner Schlager |
| 2011 | Liège | Kalinikos Kreanga | Vladimir Samsonov | Alexey Smirnov |
| 2012 | Lyon | Dimitrij Ovtcharov | Kirill Skachkov | Chen Weixing |
| 2012 | Lyon | Dimitrij Ovtcharov | Kirill Skachkov | Vladimir Samsonov |
| 2014 | Lausanne | Marcos Freitas | Michael Maze | Dimitrij Ovtcharov |
| 2015 | Baku | Dimitrij Ovtcharov | Marcos Freitas | Panagiotis Gionis |
| 2016 | Gondomar | Dimitrij Ovtcharov | João Monteiro | Alexander Shibaev |
| 2017 | Antibes | Dimitrij Ovtcharov | Alexander Shibaev | Simon Gauzy |
| 2018 | Montreux | Timo Boll | Dimitrij Ovtcharov | Jonathan Groth |
| 2019 | Montreux | Dimitrij Ovtcharov | Vladimir Samsonov | Timo Boll |
| 2020 | Montreux | Timo Boll | Darko Jorgić | Robert Gardos |
| 2021 | Thessaloniki | Patrick Franziska | Marcos Freitas | Mattias Falck |
| 2021 | Thessaloniki | Patrick Franziska | Marcos Freitas | Emmanuel Lebesson |
| 2022 | Montreux | Darko Jorgić | Truls Möregårdh | Timo Boll |
| 2022 | Montreux | Darko Jorgić | Truls Möregårdh | Patrick Franziska |
| 2023 | Montreux | Darko Jorgić | Dang Qiu | Dimitrij Ovtcharov |
| 2023 | Montreux | Darko Jorgić | Dang Qiu | Liam Pitchford |
| 2024 | Montreux | Darko Jorgić | Truls Möregårdh | Alexis Lebrun |
| 2024 | Montreux | Darko Jorgić | Truls Möregårdh | Marcos Freitas |
| 2025 | Montreux | Alexis Lebrun | Darko Jorgić | Truls Möregårdh |
| 2025 | Montreux | Alexis Lebrun | Darko Jorgić | Patrick Franziska |

### Women

| Year | Host City | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| 1971 | Zadar | Beatrix Kisházi | Ilona Voštová | Alice Grofová |
| 1972 | Zagreb | Beatrix Kisházi | Maria Alexandru | Zoja Rudnova |
| 1973 | Böblingen | Beatrix Kisházi | Judit Magos | Ilona Voštová |
| 1974 | Trollhättan | Zoja Rudnova | Maria Alexandru | Judit Magos |
| 1975 | Vienna | Ann-Christin Hellman | Wiebke Hendriksen | Henriette Lotaller |
| 1976 | Lübeck | Ann-Christin Hellman | Ilona Uhlíková-Voštová | Eržebet Palatinuš |
| 1977 | Sarajevo | Beatrix Kisházi | Jill Hammersley | Ilona Uhlíková-Voštová |
| 1978 | Prague | Jill Hammersley | Bettine Vriesekoop | Valentina Popova |
| 1979 | Kristianstad | Gabriella Szabó | Maria Alexandru | Eržebet Palatinuš |
| 1980 | Munich | Jill Hammersley | Bettine Vriesekoop | Gabriella Szabó |
| 1981 | Miskolc | Jill Hammersley | Bettine Vriesekoop | Valentina Popova |
| 1982 | Nantes | Bettine Vriesekoop | Jill Hammersley | Marie Hrachová |
| 1983 | Cleveland | Olga Nemeș | Fliura Bulatova | Bettine Vriesekoop |
| 1984 | Bratislava | Marie Hrachová | Bettine Vriesekoop | Valentina Popova |
| 1985 | Barcelona | Bettine Vriesekoop | Zsuzsa Oláh | Marie Hrachová |
| 1986 | Södertälje | Fliura Bulatova | Olga Nemeș | Daniela Guergeltcheva |
| 1987 | Basel | Csilla Bátorfi | Edit Urban | Fliura Bulatova |
| 1988 | Ljubljana | Fliura Bulatova | Bettine Vriesekoop | Olga Nemeș |
| 1989 | Charleroi | Olga Nemeș | Csilla Bátorfi | Daniela Guergeltcheva |
| 1990 | Hannover | Gabriella Wirth | Olga Nemeș | Xiaoming Wang-Dréchou |
| 1991 | 's-Hertogenbosch | Mirjam Hooman | Gabriella Wirth | Bettine Vriesekoop |
| 1992 | Vienna | Csilla Bátorfi | Marie Svensson | Otilia Bădescu |
| 1993 | Copenhagen | Emilia Ciosu | Olga Nemeș | Otilia Bădescu |
| 1993 | Copenhagen | Emilia Ciosu | Olga Nemeș | Åsa Svensson |
| 1994 | Arezzo | Jie Schöpp | Otilia Bădescu | Mirjam Hooman |
| 1994 | Arezzo | Jie Schöpp | Otilia Bădescu | Nicole Struse |
| 1995 | Dijon | Otilia Bădescu | Emilia Ciosu | Jie Schöpp |
| 1995 | Dijon | Otilia Bădescu | Emilia Ciosu | Nicole Struse |
| 1996 | Charleroi | Ni Xialian | Csilla Bátorfi | Nicole Struse |
| 1996 | Charleroi | Ni Xialian | Csilla Bátorfi | Bettine Vriesekoop |
| 1997 | Eindhoven | Ni Xialian | Jie Schöpp | Otilia Bădescu |
| 1997 | Eindhoven | Ni Xialian | Jie Schöpp | Olga Nemeș |
| 1998 | Halmstad | Ni Xialian | Nicole Struse | Csilla Bátorfi |
| 1998 | Halmstad | Ni Xialian | Nicole Struse | Marie Svensson |
| 1999 | Split | Qianhong Gotsch | Jing Tian-Zörner | Tamara Boroš |
| 1999 | Split | Qianhong Gotsch | Jing Tian-Zörner | Ni Xialian |
| 2000 | Alassio | Qianhong Gotsch | Mihaela Steff | Ni Xialian |
| 2000 | Alassio | Qianhong Gotsch | Mihaela Steff | Jie Schöpp |
| 2001 | Wels | Csilla Bátorfi | Ni Xialian | Otilia Bădescu |
| 2001 | Wels | Csilla Bátorfi | Ni Xialian | Tamara Boroš |
| 2002 | Rotterdam | Tamara Boroš | Nicole Struse | Ni Xialian |
| 2002 | Rotterdam | Tamara Boroš | Nicole Struse | Viktoria Pavlovich |
| 2003 | Saarbrücken | Jie Schöpp | Tamara Boroš | Galina Melnik |
| 2003 | Saarbrücken | Jie Schöpp | Tamara Boroš | Krisztina Tóth |
| 2004 | Frankfurt | Nicole Struse | Jie Schöpp | Tamara Boroš |
| 2004 | Frankfurt | Nicole Struse | Jie Schöpp | Liu Jia |
| 2005 | Rennes | Liu Jia | Krisztina Tóth | Li Jiao |
| 2005 | Rennes | Liu Jia | Krisztina Tóth | Mihaela Steff |
| 2006 | Copenhagen | Tamara Boroš | Liu Jia | Li Jiao |
| 2006 | Copenhagen | Tamara Boroš | Liu Jia | Mihaela Steff |
| 2007 | Arezzo | Li Jiao | Nikoleta Stefanova | Liu Jia |
| 2007 | Arezzo | Li Jiao | Nikoleta Stefanova | Mihaela Steff |
| 2008 | Frankfurt | Li Jiao | Li Qian | Viktoria Pavlovich |
| 2008 | Frankfurt | Li Jiao | Li Qian | Wu Jiaduo |
| 2009 | Düsseldorf | Li Qian | Li Jie | Liu Jia |
| 2009 | Düsseldorf | Li Qian | Li Jie | Wu Jiaduo |
| 2010 | Düsseldorf | Li Jiao | Li Qian | Li Jie |
| 2010 | Düsseldorf | Li Jiao | Li Qian | Krisztina Tóth |
| 2011 | Liège | Li Jiao | Viktoria Pavlovich | Melek Hu |
| 2011 | Liège | Li Jiao | Viktoria Pavlovich | Li Jie |
| 2012 | Lyon | Wu Jiaduo | Li Jie | Ni Xialian |
| 2012 | Lyon | Wu Jiaduo | Li Jie | Viktoria Pavlovich |
| 2014 | Lausanne | Liu Jia | Viktoria Pavlovich | Li Jiao |
| 2015 | Baku | Liu Jia | Petrissa Solja | Irene Ivancan |
| 2016 | Gondomar | Shen Yanfei | Melek Hu | Liu Jia |
| 2017 | Antibes | Li Jie | Petrissa Solja | Sabine Winter |
| 2018 | Montreux | Bernadette Szőcs | Li Jie | Elizabeta Samara |
| 2019 | Montreux | Petrissa Solja | Bernadette Szőcs | Sofia Polcanova |
| 2020 | Montreux | Petrissa Solja | Britt Eerland | Sofia Polcanova |
| 2021 | Thessaloniki | Nina Mittelham | Fu Yu | Hana Matelová |
| 2021 | Thessaloniki | Nina Mittelham | Fu Yu | Bernadette Szőcs |
| 2022 | Montreux | Han Ying | Polina Mikhaylova | Sofia Polcanova |
| 2022 | Montreux | Han Ying | Polina Mikhaylova | Bernadette Szőcs |
| 2023 | Montreux | Han Ying | Sofia Polcanova | Nina Mittelham |
| 2023 | Montreux | Han Ying | Sofia Polcanova | Shao Jieni |
| 2024 | Montreux | Jia Nan Yuan | Sofia Polcanova | Bernadette Szőcs |
| 2024 | Montreux | Jia Nan Yuan | Sofia Polcanova | Nina Mittelham |
| 2025 | Montreux | Han Ying | Elizabeta Samara | Sabine Winter |
| 2025 | Montreux | Han Ying | Elizabeta Samara | Xiaona Shan |

## Statistics
### Multiple champions

Listed below are the players who have won the tournament on two or more occasions.

### All-time medal table

| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1 | Germany (GER) | 26 | 14 | 24 | 64 |
| 2 | Sweden (SWE) | 16 | 17 | 16 | 49 |
| 3 | Hungary (HUN) | 13 | 7 | 7 | 27 |
| 4 | Netherlands (NED) | 8 | 9 | 9 | 26 |
| 5 | Austria (AUT) | 5 | 5 | 12 | 22 |
| 6 | Belarus (BLR) | 4 | 11 | 4 | 19 |
| 7 | Romania (ROU) | 4 | 8 | 11 | 23 |
| 8 | England (ENG) | 4 | 5 | 2 | 11 |
| 9 | Czechoslovakia (TCH) | 3 | 7 | 5 | 15 |
| 10 | Yugoslavia (YUG) | 3 | 4 | 6 | 13 |
| 11 | Slovenia (SLO) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5 |
| 12 | France (FRA) | 3 | 1 | 14 | 18 |
| 13 | Soviet Union (URS) | 3 | 1 | 6 | 10 |
| 14 | Luxembourg (LUX) | 3 | 1 | 4 | 8 |
| 15 | Poland (POL) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| 16 | Croatia (CRO) | 2 | 1 | 8 | 11 |
| 17 | Portugal (POR) | 1 | 4 | 2 | 7 |
| 18 | Russia (RUS) | 1 | 3 | 6 | 10 |
| 19 | Belgium (BEL) | 1 | 1 | 5 | 7 |
| 20 | Denmark (DEN) | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 |
| 20 | Greece (GRE) | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 |
| 22 | Spain (ESP) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 23 | Italy (ITA) | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 24 | Turkey (TUR) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 25 | Czech Republic (CZE) | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 26 | Bulgaria (BUL) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Totals (26 entries) | Totals (26 entries) | 108 | 108 | 158 | 374 |