Tbilisi’s dress rehearsal: Europe’s stars step up before the continental showdown

Tbilisi is ready for a full-on judo weekend. The Tbilisi Grand Slam 2026 runs from 20–22 March, bringing 386 competitors from 51 countries to the Olympic Sports Palace. With the 2026 European Championships set for 16–19 April in the same venue, this event feels like a pressure test—one that can set the mood for the month ahead.

Same arena, bigger stakes next month.

Europe has plenty of headline power, starting in women’s -70 kg. Croatia’s Lara Cvjetko, the world number one and a world silver medallist, makes her first Grand Slam appearance of 2026 after a standout season that included three World Tour gold medals and a European Championships bronze last year. The challenge is real: reigning world champion Shiho Tanaka of Japan leads the field, while European contenders Michaela Polleres (AUT), Ida Eriksson (SWE) and Tais Pina (POR) add serious depth.

Croatia’s presence continues in -63 kg with Iva Oberan arriving as second seed. Just behind her sits former world champion Joanne Van Lieshout (NED), a name that instantly raises the tension in any draw.

If you want a pure snapshot of European strength, look at women’s -52 kg: the top six seeds are all European. Hungary’s Reka Pupp tops the list, and Israel’s Gefen Primo returns to competition for the first time since November, adding another layer of intrigue to a category that already looks stacked.

In -78 kg, Slovenia’s Metka Lobnik leads a European-heavy group that includes Great Britain’s Emma Reid and Germany’s double European champion Alina Boehm. At +78 kg, the top two seeded spots belong to Raz Hershko (ISR) and France’s Lea Fontaine.

On the men’s side, -81 kg could be the loudest European statement of the weekend: every athlete in the top 20 of the rankings comes from Europe. Top seed Vedat Albayrak (TUR) is joined by Georgia’s Zaur Dvalashvili and Belgium’s Matthias Casse, and the depth here screams “European Championships preview.”

Host hopes lean heavily on -90 kg, a traditional Georgian stronghold. Luka Maisuradze, world champion in 2023 and European champion in 2022, comes home looking for a response after an early exit at the Paris Grand Slam earlier this year. Despite five Grand Slam medals and a world title, he is still chasing his first Grand Slam gold—doing it in Tbilisi would hit differently. Serbia’s 2017 world champion Nemanja Majdov is also in the conversation.

Elsewhere, Portugal’s Jorge Fonseca returns in -100 kg, competing in only his second event since last year’s World Championships after taking bronze at the Upper Austria Grand Prix. The category is led by Simeon Catharina (NED) with Hungary’s Zsombor Veg alongside. In +100 kg, Dutch top seed Jur Spijkers is followed by Kanan Nasibov (AZE) and Finland’s 2023 European champion Martti Puumalainen.

Georgia fields the biggest delegation with 42 athletes across all 14 categories, building momentum in front of home fans. All the action is available live on JUDOTV.COM.

Source: EJU_News