Poland’s Anna BRZYSKA continued her impressive form at the ROMSTAL European Under 21 Championships, winning Group 8 in Stage 2 and securing her place in the knockout stage. The Polish player has been one of the most consistent performers in the tournament so far. She began her campaign by topping Stage 1 Group 8 with victories over Denmark’s Sofie Khanh-Linh ECKEROTH, Lithuania’s Lukrecija JUCHNAITE and Italy’s Miriam CARNOVALE, advancing with a perfect 3-0 record. BRZYSKA carried that momentum into Stage 2. She opened with a convincing 4-0 victory over Germany’s Josephina NEUMANN before producing another dominant display to defeat Spain’s Maria BERZOSA 4-0. Those results left her in a strong position heading into the final group match against France’s Elise PUJOL. The French player provided BRZYSKA’s toughest challenge of the tournament so far, but the Pole stayed composed in the key moments to secure a 4-2 victory and complete another unbeaten group campaign. Reflecting on her performance, BRZYSKA admitted that the match against PUJOL was her most difficult test. “I am very happy that I won because I had a very strong opponent. Yesterday I won both matches 4-0. It wasn’t easy, but I was happy with the way I played. Today was the hardest match. She played really well and I had to stick to my tactics throughout the match. I’m happy that I managed to win.” Behind BRZYSKA, Germany’s Josephina NEUMANN secured second place in the group. After her opening defeat to the Polish player, NEUMANN bounced back with a 4-2 victory over PUJOL before defeating BERZOSA 4-1 to book her place in the knockout stage. BERZOSA had started strongly by beating PUJOL 4-2 in her opening match, but defeats to BRZYSKA and NEUMANN saw the Spaniard finish third. PUJOL, despite pushing the group winner harder than anyone else, ended the group without a victory. Having now won six matches from six across the opening two stages of the competition, BRZYSKA heads into the knockout rounds full of confidence. “I want to play my best.”

France’s Alexia NODIN continued her impressive run at the ROMSTAL European Under 21 Championships by winning Group 7 and securing her place in the knockout stage. The 15-year-old French player has quietly put together one of the strongest campaigns of the tournament so far. Her journey was far from straightforward. NODIN began the championships with a 0-3 defeat against Germany’s Lorena MORSCH in Stage 1, leaving her with little room for error. She responded in style, beating Czechia’s Hanka KODET 3-0 and Finland’s Maria GIRLEA 3-0 to progress to Stage 2. Once there, NODIN raised her level again. Her campaign in Group 7 started with a dramatic comeback victory over Croatia’s Dora COSIC. Trailing 1-3, she recovered to win 4-3 before following up with a 4-0 victory against Portugal’s Mariana SANTA COMBA. The decisive match came against Austria’s Nina SKERBINZ, the highest-seeded player in the group. Although the scoreline ended 4-0 in NODIN’s favour, the French player insisted it was much closer than it appeared. “The games were actually quite close, even though the score was 4-0. I managed to win the important points and didn’t really give her the chance to get into the match. I’m very pleased with how I played.” Reflecting on her group campaign, NODIN admitted the opening match against COSIC had been the toughest challenge. “The first match against COSIC was quite complicated. I found myself trailing 1-3, but I managed to come back and win 4-3. I didn’t panic and stayed calm throughout the match.” Her second victory also carried extra significance. “Against SANTA COMBA, I was playing a girl I had lost to 3-0 not long ago, so I was very happy to win this time 4-0.” The results in Cluj-Napoca continue a strong season for the young French player, who has already made two WTT Youth Star Contender Under 19 finals this year. “I reached two WTT Youth Star Contender finals in the Under 19 category. I think those are my two best results of the year. Considering that I will only turn 16 this year, I’m very happy with that.” After recovering from an opening-day defeat in Stage 1 and then coming through a demanding Stage 2 group, NODIN heads into the knockout rounds with confidence and momentum on her side. Last year at the European Youth Championships NODIN clinched gold medal in doubles partnering Lou -Anne BOCQUET in Under 15 event.