Groth Jonathan (den. Jonathan Kjaer Groth, born December 14, 1998, in Copenhagen, Denmark) is a Danish table tennis player and a member of the Danish national team. He has participated in three Olympic Games: Rio de Janeiro 2016, Tokyo 2021, and Paris 2024. At the Paris Games, he reached the Round of 16 in men’s singles and the Round of 8 in men’s team events. He is the 2016 European Champion in men’s doubles (partnering with Patrick Franziska from Germany) and a four-time European Championship medalist. Groth also claimed the silver medal in men’s singles at the 2019 European Games in Minsk and won bronze at the 2018 Europe Top 16. Additionally, he is a multiple medalist at youth European Championships in doubles and a five-time Danish national champion in men’s singles (2012–2016).
Biography
Jonathan Groth was born on December 14, 1998, in Copenhagen, Denmark. His home club in Denmark was BTK Vedbæk, located on the island of Zealand, where he played alongside notable players such as Kasper Sternberg.
Groth began competing in European Youth Championships in 2007, where he reached the quarterfinals in cadet singles. In 2009, he won a bronze medal in junior doubles with fellow Dane Tobias Lau. He also achieved success at ITTF youth tournaments, including becoming a finalist in men’s doubles at the 2009 French Junior Open and a singles finalist at the 2010 JOOLA Austrian Junior Open.
In 2010, Groth won a silver medal in men’s doubles at the European Championships alongside Kasper Sternberg, narrowly losing to the four-time champions Timo Boll and Christian Süß (0–4). Later that year, he became the European Junior Champion in doubles with Hunor Szőcs of Romania. That same year, he competed in his first ITTF World Junior Championships in Bratislava, Slovakia, reaching the Round of 16 in singles before losing to China’s Zhou Yu.
In 2011, Groth transitioned to the German league. After leaving BTK Vedbæk, he joined TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt for the 2011/12 season in the 2nd Bundesliga North. He then played for TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell’s second team in the regional league before joining TTC Hagen in 2013, which had just entered the Bundesliga. He later played for TTC Grenzau (2014/15 season) and returned to TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell.
From 2012 to 2016, Groth won five consecutive Danish national singles titles.
After the 2015 European Championships, Groth entered the top 100 in the world rankings for the first time and continued to climb. His 13:5 record in the Bundesliga helped Fulda secure the league title in 2016. With the retirement of Michael Maze, Groth became Denmark’s top-ranked player in March 2016. That year, he qualified for the Rio Olympics, reaching the Round of 16 in men’s singles, where he lost to world champion and eventual gold medalist Ma Long.
At the 2016 European Championships, Groth won the men’s doubles gold medal with Patrick Franziska and reached the Round of 16 in singles, narrowly losing to Timo Boll (3–4). Groth and Franziska also had a successful 2016 World Tour campaign, winning two golds and two bronzes in doubles and qualifying for the Grand Finals, though they had to withdraw due to Franziska’s injury.
In 2018, Groth placed third at the Europe Top 16, earning his first World Cup qualification, where he advanced to the main draw before losing to Kōki Niwa. By November, he reached a career-high world ranking of 15.
At the club level, Groth joined the Russian team KNT UGMK in 2018. He reached the Champions League final in 2019, where his team lost to Orenburg. He also earned bronze medals in the tournament in 2021 and 2022.
Groth’s second-place finish at the 2019 European Games secured his qualification for the Tokyo Olympics, where he again reached the Round of 16 in singles. In 2021, he contributed to Denmark’s surprising bronze medal finish at the European Team Championships – the country’s first since 2009.
In 2022, Groth signed with the Polish club KS Dekorglass Działdowo, where he became a two-time Polish SuperLeague Lotto runner-up and helped his team win the ETTU Cup in the 2023/24 season and reach the final in 2022/23.
In 2023, Groth won bronze in singles at the WTT Contender Lagos and WTT Contender Lima events and secured the title at WTT Feeder Doha II. At the European Championships, he led Denmark to the quarterfinals, personally winning two singles matches against Portugal before the team narrowly lost 2–3.
In 2024, Groth reached the quarterfinals at the World Team Championships in Busan, helping Denmark secure qualification for the Paris Olympics. At the Games, Denmark lost in the Round of 8 in the men’s team event to Sweden, while Groth reached the Round of 16 in singles, losing to South Korea’s Jang Woojin.
In January 2025, Groth was the runner-up at the WTT Star Contender Doha, losing in the men’s singles final to Tomokazu Harimoto of Japan.
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