Elizabet Abrahamyan, the Yerevan-born table tennis player who represents Russia, has won the women’s singles title at the 2026 European Table Tennis Championships in Ljubljana, Slovenia, reports Zartonk Sports.
The 23-year-old beat Germany’s Annett Kaufmann 4:3 in Sunday’s final, in a match that went the full seven games: 15:13, 11:5, 5:11, 9:11, 12:10, 6:11, 11:6.
Abrahamyan entered the tournament seeded 35th and came through qualifying, becoming the first player in the history of the European Championships to win the women’s singles title after starting in the qualification rounds.
Her run to the final was built on comebacks. In the semifinal against France’s Prithika Pavade, she saved a match point while trailing before taking the deciding seventh game 13:11. In the final against Kaufmann, a friend since their junior years, she recovered from 10:8 down in the fifth game and closed out the decider 11:6.
Abrahamyan reached Ljubljana despite an injury, visa complications, and lost luggage on her way to the tournament. “I think this is the best match I’ve ever played,” she said after the final.
Born in Yerevan, where she began training, Abrahamyan moved to Nizhny Novgorod with her family at the age of 8. She is a two-time European under-19 champion.
