Croatia produced another outstanding performance, overcoming 10th seeds Hong Kong, China to extend their remarkable campaign in the Stage 2 of the ITTF Mixed Team World Cup 2025 8-6. Ivor BAN and Hana ARAPOVIĆ opened with a clutch Mixed Doubles win, before Lea RAKOVAC added an early singles point in the 1-2 defeat against Chengzhu ZHU. With the score tight at 3–3, Tomislav PUCAR delivered the match of the tie, sweeping Siu Hang LAM 3–0 to give Croatia control. Hong Kong, China fought back in Women’s Doubles, but Croatia held firm. BAN and Frane KOJIĆ sealed the victory in the final match, securing a historic 8–5 result. Germany carried the momentum from their strong display against China into an impressive 8–7 victory over Korea Republic. Patrick FRANZISKA and Annett KAUFMANN gave Germany an ideal start in Mixed Doubles, followed by a solid win from Sabine WINTER, who recovered after losing the opening game. Korea replied through Woojin JANG, who beat Dang QIU 3–0 to tighten the score. But QIU struck back in Men’s Doubles alongside Benedikt DUDA, taking a tense decider. With the tie poised at 6–6, WINTER and Nina MITTELHAM stepped up in the Women’s Doubles, overturning a narrow start to clinch the tie and secure Germany’s hard-fought victory. France closed the morning session in style, defeating Sweden 8–3. Simon GAUZY and Prithika PAVADE overturned a slow start in Mixed Doubles, before Charlotte LUTZ continued her impressive form with a controlled win over Linda BERGSTRÖM. Alexis LEBRUN added another point against Mattias FALCK, and the LEBRUN brothers later teamed up to dominate the Men’s Doubles, sealing an important win as Stage 2 approaches its conclusion.
Juchnaite and Floro Crowned U21 Champions at the 2025 Finlandia Open
Lithuania’s Lukrecija JUCHNAITĖ and Slovakia’s Damian FLORO claimed the Under-21 singles titles at the 2025 Finlandia Open, staged at the Kisakallio Sports Institute in Lohja. In the U21 Women’s Singles final, JUCHNAITĖ prevailed against Ukraine’s Daria KOVALOVA with a 3–1 victory (11–8, 10–12, 12–10, 11–6). The bronze medals were awarded to Sweden’s Alice NILSSON and Ukraine’s Alina OVIRIAKH. In the U21 Men’s Singles final, Slovakia’s FLORO overcame Czech player Jakub MAKAR by the same 3–1 margin (11–8, 11–3, 10–12, 11–4). Slovakia’s Samuel PALUSEK and Sweden’s Noa DAHLSTRÖM secured the bronze medals. The men’s and women’s senior singles champions will be crowned on Sunday. The ETTU-sanctioned event features around 180 players from nearly 30 national associations. All results, live stream links and the photo gallery are available here: https://finlandia-open.sportsoftware.ai/
