Noah TESSIER and Lou-Anne BOCQUET of France are the newly crowned champions in the Under 15 Mixed Doubles event at the European Youth Championships in Ostrava. In the final, they overcame Germany’s Lukas WANG and Koharu ITAGAKI with a confident 3-1 victory. The bronze medals were awarded to Francesco TREVISAN of Italy and Hanka KODET of Czechia, and to the Swedish duo Emil ELLERMANN and Siri BENJEGÅRD. The French pair beat several notable opponents on their way to the title, and in the final, they showed remarkable composure and control throughout the match. “For both of us, this is our first EYC and actually the first time we’ve played mixed doubles together, so to be honest, we didn’t expect to win a medal at all. We still can’t believe we made it,” they shared. “The tactic in this match was to target forehand shots against ITAGAKI and use more spin against both of them.” Coach Vivien SAUVAGE praised the pair’s chemistry: “They had a preparation camp before the EYC, and even back then, my coaching colleagues and I could already see that they made a great pair. We told them they could win!” In the semi-final, the top seeds Francesco TREVISAN of Italy and Hanka KODET of Czechia were upset by TESSIER and BOCQUET. KODET, last year’s runner-up with Jan SKALDA and now paired with TREVISAN, entered the tournament with high expectations, but the French duo, seeded only no. 43, handled the pressure and produced a standout performance. TESSIER said: “We’re really happy to beat the number one seeds. We played really well, it was a close match, 3-2. Honestly, I had no expectations before this tournament. It’s my first EYC. We’re a good team, we complement each other well. BOCQUET has really good serves, we earned a lot of points from them. I have a strong forehand, and we combined our strengths to win. We didn’t expect anything from the final, just wanted to enjoy it and go for the win.” In the other semi-final, WANG and ITAGAKI defeated Sweden’s ELLERMANN and BENJEGÅRD in a less dramatic fashion. “Our opponents played really well. There were a lot of long rallies,” said ITAGAKI. “Our tactic was to keep the ball short and play smart, without rushing. We tried to vary the rhythm throughout the match. We had no expectations for the final, they’re both really strong players. We just wanted to enjoy the moment and give our best.” Final Semi-finals

Daniel BERZOSA of Spain and Veronika MATIUNINA of Ukraine clinched the title in the Under 19 Mixed Doubles event at the European Youth Championships in Ostrava. Silver medalists are Iulian CHIRITA of Romania and Anna HURSEY of Wales. The bronze medals went to Tiago ABIODUN of Portugal and Bianca MEI ROSU of Romania, as well as to Samuel ARPAS of Slovakia and Maria BERZOSA of Spain. The final began with early dominance from the Romanian-Welsh pair, but BERZOSA and MATIUNINA quickly shifted momentum in their favor. While the next two games were closely contested, the eventual champions elevated their performance in the deciding game. “We lost the first game 3-11—they were just killing every ball. But the most important thing was that we stayed focused the whole time and continued to play our game. We stayed active and fought for every point, and it worked. In the last game, we played really well, placed every ball on the table, we knew it was our last chance to win the gold,” explained MATIUNINA. BERZOSA added: “I think we were calmer than them—they seemed more nervous, and the pressure was on their side. Our tactic was to receive short balls because in the first game they killed everything. That was the key. We entered this final with one goal, to win, and we made it happen.” The semifinals featured a historic moment for the European Youth Championships: the first-ever mixed doubles match between a brother and sister. Reigning champions BERZOSA and MATIUNINA narrowly defeated Samuel ARPAS and Maria BERZOSA 3-2 in an emotionally charged encounter. “In the beginning, it was mentally hard, because BERZOSA was playing against his sister,” said MATIUNINA. “I asked him how he felt before the match and he said he was okay, but I knew it would be difficult for him—they are really close. It was a nervous match, but we managed to win 3-2, and I’m really happy. Every game was tough, but the last one was the most important. We were leading, they came back, and at that point, it was all about staying focused.” BERZOSA added: “It was the strangest match of my life, to be honest. Of course, I wanted to win, but it was hard. I had to respect my partner Veronika and our coach, so I gave it my all, even though it was against my sister. I think we both played our best, and the winner is the winner.” Veronika concluded: “For the final, we just wanted to do our best. We knew our opponents were strong and had great results, but I believe Daniel and I form a really good mixed doubles team, especially with him being left-handed, which is a big advantage in doubles.” The match between the BERZOSA siblings was the first of its kind at the EYC. However, there have been two previous mixed doubles finals between twin sisters: in 2001, Gaby ROHR (GER) and Benjamin RÖSNER lost to Meike ROHR and Christian SÜSS; and in 1990, Tatjana KULAGINA (URS) and Vladimir SAMSONOV defeated twin sister Ekaterina and Evgeny FADEEV. Second seeds ABIODUN and MEI ROSU were eliminated in the semifinals by CHIRITA and HURSEY, who played confidently and tactically sound. “It was a really tough match against Tiago and Bianca, they are a very good doubles team,” said CHIRITA. “We knew from the start that we had to play really well and put pressure on them, and we did that. We fought for every point, and I’m very happy we managed to win. It’s our first mixed doubles appearance at the EYC, and I hope there are many more to come. We were well prepared, Anna’s coach John advised us to use more spin and stay close to the table, and we followed that plan. For the final, it was a new match, and we knew we had to stay focused and review our tactics. I truly believed in our team, because we were ready.” Final Semi-finals

The eighth day of play at the European Youth Championships in Ostrava welcomed the top 16 seeds into the singles stage across all four categories, bringing a wave of excitement, intense rallies, and several early upsets. In the Under 19 Girls’ Singles Event, a few notable names made an unexpected exit. The highest-ranked player to fall in the Round of 64 was Lilou MASSART of Belgium, the no. 9 seed, who was defeated by Lizaveta TSIMASHKOVA (AIN), seeded only 98th. Marziyya NURMATOVA of Azerbaijan is also out, while no. 50 seed Hannah SILCOCK of Jersey advanced with a strong performance. Karolina HOLDA of Poland, seeded no. 10, narrowly escaped elimination after a dramatic seven-game duel against Irina GIMENO FONT of Spain (no. 48). “I started the match really well and was leading 3-1, but then GIMENO FONT started playing much better. She kept the ball on the table, and we had a lot of long rallies, some over 20 balls. That was the toughest part for me,” said HOLDA. “In the last game, she had two match points at 10-8, but I stayed focused and just tried to play my best table tennis. The key was to stay calm and play every ball to the table. Honestly, I perform better under pressure, it really helped me win this one.” Julia LEAL of Portugal (seeded no. 35) added to the list of surprises by eliminating Germany’s no. 13 seed, Lorena MORSCH. In the Under 19 Boys’ Singles Event, Uros NINKOVIC of Serbia (no. 67 seed) advanced to the Round of 32 for the first time by defeating Portugal’s Clement LAINE. “We played a year and a half ago in Varazdin, and I lost. I learned my lesson, and this time I got my revenge,” said NINKOVIC. “He beat me 3-1 after I had a 1-0 lead and match point at 10-9. That loss stayed with me.” NINKOVIC will now face another familiar name: England’s Connor GREEN. “He beat me twice in the team event. I’m pretty sure he has a game plan for me,” he added. Serbia finished 19th in the team event in Ostrava. Several other seeded players exited earlier than expected. Tom CLOSSET of Belgium (no. 10) lost 0-4 to Denmark’s Dominykas SAMUOLIS. Sweden’s William BERGENBLOCK (no. 13) fell 2-4 to Martin FROSETH of Norway. Itay AVIVI of Israel overcame France’s Nathan PILARD, and no. 14 seed Rafael KONG of Portugal was defeated by Luxembourg’s Aaron SAHR (no. 56). In the Under 15 Girls’ Singles Event, the Round of 64 brought its share of surprises. Croatia’s Lena BENKO (no. 9 seed) was eliminated by Italy’s Manon LOTH (no. 55) in five games. Poland’s Lena PUZIO (no. 64 seed) also exceeded expectations by defeating Czechia’s Simona HOLUBOVA (no. 24 seed) in straight games. Austria’s no. 3 seed Mariia LYTVYN faced tremendous pressure but recovered from a 1-3 deficit to beat Poland’s Aleksandra NAWROCKA (no. 51). Türkiye’s Enya HU, seeded no. 16, found herself in even deeper trouble, trailing 0-3 against Gali BEZALEL of Israel (no. 90), before dramatically turning the match around to win. Top two seeds, Germany’s Koharu ITAGAKI and Czechia’s Hanka KODET, safely secured their places in the Round of 32. In the Cadet Boys’ Singles Event, there were no surprises among the top-ranked players. Danilo FASO of Italy and Gorkem OCAL of Türkiye advanced with solid performances. However, Germany’s no. 8 seed Lukas WANG suffered an early exit after a tight seven-game battle against Bulgaria’s Viktor DIMITROV (no. 72). Tianxiang ZOU of Spain (no. 63) delivered a standout performance by defeating Slovakia’s Filip NAGY (no. 20 seed) in straight games. Meanwhile, Israel’s Lion Koren SEREF showed great composure to neutralize the defensive style of Sweden’s Albin INGESTROM, winning in straight but hard-fought games to eliminate the no. 12 seed.