The quarterfinal line-up in the Under 19 Girls Teams event at the European Youth Championships in Gondomar is now complete. France will face Spain, Bulgaria will take on Germany, Portugal will meet Austria, and Poland will play Romania. Top seeds France advanced to the quarterfinals with a commanding 3-0 victory over 13th seeds Slovakia. Jade HUYNH gave France the opening point with a straight-games victory over Nina DAROVCOVA, maintaining control throughout to win 11-9, 11-7, 11-9. Leana HOCHART then doubled France’s advantage with an emphatic performance against Sara HABAROVA, before Nina GUO ZHENG completed the clean sweep in equally dominant fashion, defeating Emma MOLNAROVA 11-3, 11-4, 11-5 to send the top seeds safely into the last eight. Sixth seeds Germany progressed to the quarterfinals after defeating 12th seeds Croatia 3-1. Lisa-Sophie WANG gave Germany the perfect start with a dominant straight-games victory over Lana BENKO, while Koharu ITAGAKI doubled the advantage by overcoming Leeloo HAN VUKELJA in straight games. The Croatian offered her strongest resistance in the third game, but ITAGAKI held her nerve to close it out 13-11. Croatia stayed in contention through Franka MISKIC, who defeated Elisa NGUYEN in four games. WANG then returned to secure Germany’s place in the last eight with another assured straight-games victory, defeating HAN VUKELJA 11-5, 11-5, 11-9. Third seeds Poland advanced to the quarterfinals with a 3-0 victory over 22nd seeds Denmark. Katarzyna RAJKOWSKA gave Poland the opening point with a straight-games victory over Stella ROSENMEIER, edging two tight games 12-10 after taking the opener comfortably. Natalia BOGDANOWICZ then came through the closest contest of the tie against Maja HANSEN. After the players shared the opening four games, BOGDANOWICZ took control of the decider to prevail 11-6. Karolina HOLDA completed the sweep with a four-game victory over Fiona OVERGAARD. After losing the opening game, HOLDA responded strongly to secure Poland’s place in the quarterfinals. Second seeds Romania progressed with a 3-1 victory over ninth seeds Hungary. Alesia Sofia SFERLEA gave Romania the perfect start by defeating Judit NAGY in straight games. After edging a competitive opening game 12-10, SFERLEA took control to complete an impressive victory. Bianca MEI ROSU doubled Romania’s advantage with another commanding display, overcoming Johanna PETERY in straight games. The Romanian held her nerve to win a tight second game 14-12 before comfortably taking the third. Hungary reduced the deficit through Nora DOHOCZKI, who defeated Patricia STOICA in four games to keep her team in contention. MEI ROSU then returned to seal Romania’s place in the last eight in emphatic fashion, allowing Judit NAGY just 13 points in a dominant straight-games victory. Seventh seeds Austria progressed to the quarterfinals after defeating 16th seeds Türkiye 3-1. Nina SKERBINZ gave Austria the perfect start with a straight-games victory over Aybuke SIMSEK. After comfortably winning the opening two games, SKERBINZ held her nerve in a thrilling third game, edging it 15-13. Mariia LYTVYN doubled Austria’s advantage in another hard-fought contest. She recovered after dropping the second game on deuce to Busra DEMIR, winning the next two convincingly to secure a four-game victory. Türkiye reduced the deficit through Asude Tuba SIMSEK, who produced a straight-games win over Elina FUCHS, keeping her team in contention. SKERBINZ returned to finish the job, allowing DEMIR just 15 points in another dominant straight-games victory to seal Austria’s place in the quarterfinals. Fifteenth seeds Bulgaria produced one of the biggest upsets of the Round of 16, defeating 10th seeds Ukraine 3-1 to reach the quarterfinals. Anita PETKOVA gave Bulgaria the opening point after edging Daria KOVALOVA in a dramatic five-game battle. Nina NIKOLOVA then doubled Bulgaria’s advantage with another five-game victory, this time over Olha PONKO. The Bulgarian won the opening two games, saw PONKO force a decider, and then regained control to prevail 11-8. Ukraine stayed in contention through Veronika VASYLENKO, who recovered from two games down to defeat Sidelya MUTLU 13-11 in the deciding game. NIKOLOVA returned to finish the tie, overcoming KOVALOVA in straight games. After edging the opener 13-11, she took firm control of the next two to secure Bulgaria’s place in the last eight. PETKOVA was delighted with both her team’s performance and their composure under pressure. “We’re very happy with the way we played as a team. It was a very emotional match because the first three singles all went to five games. I think our victory came down to both our mentality and our tactics. We managed the important points better and stayed calm in the decisive moments. Winning the opening match was very important because it gave the whole team confidence and belief that we could win the tie. Then Nina also came through another five-game battle, which gave us even more momentum. By the time we went into the fourth match, we felt much more confident and comfortable with the situation, and that helped us finish the job.” Fifth seeds Spain booked their place in the quarterfinals after edging eighth seeds Belgium 3-2 in a dramatic encounter. Maria BERZOSA gave Spain the perfect start with a commanding straight-games victory over Kathe DE MEYER, but Belgium responded through Lilou MASSART, who defeated Camila MOSCOSO in four games to level the tie. Renata SHYPSHA restored Spain’s advantage with a convincing straight-games victory over Lessia LEWYCKYJ, putting the Spaniards one point away from qualification. Belgium refused to surrender as MASSART produced another outstanding performance, and beat BERZOSA in five games. MOSCOSO held her nerve in the winner-takes-all contest. After dropping the opening game to DE MEYER, she responded strongly to claim the next three games 11-8, 11-7, 11-5, securing Spain’s place in the last eight. Fourth seeds Portugal completed the quarterfinal line-up by overcoming 17th seeds Czechia 3-2. Veronika POLAKOVA gave Czechia the perfect start with a commanding straight-games victory over Mariana SANTA COMBA, but Julia LEAL responded for Portugal by edging Hanka KODET in five games. LEAL won the opening two games, saw KODET force a decider, and then regained control to prevail 11-6. Beatriz PINTO put Portugal ahead with

The quarterfinal line-up in the Under 15 Girls Teams event at the European Youth Championships in Gondomar is complete after an exciting Round of 16 featuring several major upsets. Top seeds Czechia, France, Germany, Lithuania and Romania progressed, while Sweden, Portugal and Switzerland all eliminated higher-seeded adversaries. In Monday’s quarterfinals, Czechia will face Sweden, Romania will take on France, Portugal will meet Germany, and Lithuania will play Switzerland. Top seeds Czechia booked their place in the quarterfinals with a commanding 3-0 victory over 33rd seeds Moldova. Laura MARSICKOVA faced the toughest challenge in the opening singles, edging Andreea DELEV in two deuce games before closing out the match 12-10, 13-11, 11-3. Adela BRHELOVA quickly doubled the advantage with a dominant straight-games victory over Camelia LIPOVAN, conceding just 10 points. MARSICKOVA and BRHELOVA then completed the clean sweep in emphatic fashion with a straight-games doubles success. Czech coach Jakub MERTA was delighted with his team’s display. “We keep improving with every match, and this was our best performance of the tournament. Everything worked perfectly, the girls, the team spirit and the support from the bench. It was a very clear victory. The quarterfinals will certainly be much tougher, but we are the top seeds and I believe we are capable of dealing with that challenge as well.” Fifth seeds France also progressed comfortably, defeating Belgium 3-0. Albane ROCHUT gave France the perfect start with a straight-games victory over Amandine RIFFLART, before Chloé HUANG doubled the lead by overcoming Temperance TANG in the closest match of the tie, edging the opening two games 12-10. ROCHUT and Eva LAM completed the sweep with a dominant doubles victory. Lithuania advanced to the last eight with a convincing 3-0 victory over Hungary. Emilia PSCOLOVSKA opened with a four-game win over Borbala VASS, sealing the fourth game 12-10. Kaja TVOROGAL followed with a straight-games success against Zsófia FEGYVER, including a tight 14-12 second game, before PSCOLOVSKA and TVOROGAL completed the victory in four-game doubles. Third seeds Germany progressed with a 3-0 victory over 13th seeds Italy. Amelie Guzi JIA defeated Alice BORSANI in four games before Anna WALTER survived the closest contest of the tie, recovering after Claudia BERTOLINI forced a deciding game to prevail 11-9. WALTER and JIA then dominated the doubles against Matilde BUZZONI and BERTOLINI to complete the clean sweep. Seventeenth seeds Switzerland produced one of the biggest surprises of the day by eliminating ninth seeds Spain 3-0. Enya HU gave Switzerland the lead with a straight-games victory over Eloisa BARREDA, before Ilvi ULRICH survived a spirited comeback from Mireia PARAU, winning the deciding game 11-5. HU and Michelle WU then sealed the upset in a dramatic five-game doubles match, edging Esther HASEK and BARREDA 12-10 in the decider. Fourth seeds Sweden knocked out second seeds Poland with a 3-1 victory. Siri BENJEGARD opened with a dominant straight-games win over Lucja KOBOSZ, but Aleksandra NAWROCKA levelled the tie after edging Nike LUNDQVIST 16-14 in the deciding game. Sweden regained control in the doubles as BENJEGARD and LUNDQVIST defeated KOBOSZ and NAWROCKA in straight games. BENJEGARD then completed the upset with another composed display, overcoming NAWROCKA in four games, winning three of them by the narrowest of margins. Tenth seeds Portugal also upset the seedings, edging eighth seeds Croatia 3-2. Maria RUIVO put the hosts ahead with a four-game victory over Sara RIVETTI, but Karla IVCIC responded by defeating Irina SILVA. Portugal regained the advantage in the doubles as RUIVO and SILVA recovered from losing the opening game to beat RIVETTI and IVCIC. IVCIC forced a deciding match by overcoming RUIVO, but SILVA held her nerve against RIVETTI. After trailing 5-0 in the deciding game, the Portuguese player produced a stunning comeback to win 11-6 and send the home crowd into celebration. RUIVO admitted Croatia had surprised them with the strength of Karla IVCIC. “We didn’t know the Croatian team that well. We watched a few videos, but we didn’t expect Karla to win both of her singles. The doubles turned out to be the key moment. We’ve been playing really well together throughout the tournament and winning that match gave us the confidence we needed going into the remaining singles.” SILVA revealed what was going through her mind during the dramatic deciding match. “When I was 5-0 down in the fifth game, my coach kept encouraging me. He told me he was proud of me whatever the result, that he believed in me and that I should just give everything, even if I made mistakes. I told myself, ‘I don’t care anymore, just put the ball on the table and fight for every point.’ After we changed ends, I felt that side of the table had been lucky for us. I started playing much better, came back to lead 9-5 and eventually won 11-6. It was an incredible feeling to secure the victory for Portugal.” Sixth seeds Romania completed the quarterfinal line-up after edging seventh seeds Türkiye 3-2. Bianca TOMA gave Romania the perfect start with a five-game victory over Ela Su YONTER, before Kariss SERBAN doubled the advantage by defeating Ceren KAHRAMAN in four games. Türkiye responded by winning both the doubles and YONTER’s second singles to level the tie. The deciding match also went the distance, but TOMA held her nerve, pulling away in the fifth game to defeat KAHRAMAN 11-6 and send Romania into the last eight.

The quarterfinal line-up is set in the Under 15 Boys Teams event at the European Youth Championships in Gondomar. Top seeds Spain will face third seeds Germany, eighth seeds France meet fifth seeds Czechia, ninth seeds Romania take on fourth seeds Poland, while Sweden will play Türkiye for the remaining semifinal place. Top seeds Spain progressed with a 3-1 victory over 15th seeds Italy. Ladimir MAYOROV gave Spain the opening point with a four-game victory over Tommaso SIMI, controlling the first two games before holding his nerve to close out the fourth 12-10. Italy responded through Pietro CAMPAGNA, who produced a commanding straight-games victory over Alexander MALOV, edging the third game 12-10 to level the tie. Spain regained the advantage in the doubles as Marcos GOMEZ and MAYOROV defeated CAMPAGNA and SIMI in straight games, winning each game 11-7. MAYOROV then returned to complete the job, beating CAMPAGNA in straight games to send Spain into the last eight. Eighth seeds France also enjoyed a comfortable passage, sweeping 23rd seeds Israel 3-0. The opening singles proved the closest contest of the tie as Nolan JOHNSTON recovered from losing the first game to defeat Nir ENGLER in four. Noah TESSIER then comfortably overcame Maor NICHANEVICH before TESSIER and Quentin SANDONA dominated the doubles, allowing their Israeli opponents just 15 points to book a quarterfinal meeting with Czechia. Fifth seeds Czechia advanced with a convincing 3-0 victory over 11th seeds Ukraine. Ondrej MORAVEK edged Mark VORONOI in three competitive games before Oliver OLEJNIK defeated David DROBOV in straight games after surviving a tight opening game 13-11. MORAVEK and OLEJNIK then completed the sweep with a straight-games doubles victory over Ivan BUR and VORONOI. Third seeds Germany also progressed in straight matches, defeating 18th seeds Slovakia 3-0. Lukas WANG overcame Filip NAGY in four games before Tien Nghia PHONG produced a dominant straight-games victory over Rastislav SVEC, conceding only 18 points. Slovakia offered much stronger resistance in the doubles, but WANG and PHONG prevailed 11-6 in the deciding game to complete the sweep. Ninth seeds Romania produced one of the biggest upsets of the Round of 16, eliminating seventh seeds Austria 3-1. Louis FEGERL gave Austria the lead with a straight-games victory over Tudor SAFTOIU, but David TORO responded by defeating Sung Bing CHEN in four games. The turning point came in the doubles. FEGERL and CHEN raced into a two-game lead before TORO and SAFTOIU staged a superb comeback, conceding just seven points across the next two games before taking the decider 11-8. TORO then completed Romania’s comeback with an emphatic straight-games victory over FEGERL. Fourth seeds Poland also had to recover from behind before defeating 21st seeds Bulgaria 3-2. Miroslav SCHMIDT gave Bulgaria the opening point by edging Jakub TURECKI in five games. Hubert KWIECINSKI restored parity with a four-game win over Stefan BONCHEV, but Bulgaria moved back in front after SCHMIDT and BONCHEV claimed the doubles. KWIECINSKI forced a deciding match with a straight-games victory over SCHMIDT before TURECKI completed Poland’s comeback, recovering twice against BONCHEV to prevail 11-6 in the deciding game. Sweden booked their quarterfinal place after edging Azerbaijan 3-2. Onur GULUZADE defeated Joel ISAKSSON in five games to put Azerbaijan ahead, but Emil ELLERMANN levelled the tie with a dominant straight-games victory over Ruslan KARIMOV. ELLERMANN and Erik KOGERFELT then gave Sweden the lead with a four-game doubles victory. GULUZADE forced a deciding match by overcoming ELLERMANN, but ISAKSSON secured Sweden’s place in the quarterfinals with a commanding straight-games victory over KARIMOV. Sweden’s coach Sebastian LUNDHAL praised his team’s collective effort. “I think it was a very good performance. We worked together as a team and that made the difference. The doubles were definitely crucial. We also know we can challenge the number one players from other teams. We came close in both of those matches, but our doubles are very strong. We don’t rely on one outstanding player. Instead, we have three players at a similar level and teamwork is our biggest strength.” ELLERMANN was pleased with both his own display and the team’s approach. “I think it was a good performance. I won my first match quite comfortably, but in the second I started well before my opponent found his rhythm after a very close second game. From then on he played at a really high level and it became much more difficult. As a team, everyone gave their best. We fought for every point, especially in the key moments, and stayed together throughout the match. We feel comfortable here, we’re playing well, and it doesn’t matter who we face next. We’ll just play our game.” Türkiye completed the quarterfinal line-up after fighting back to defeat England 3-2. Görkem OCAL opened with a dominant straight-games victory over Dimitar DIMITROV, but Pablo RAMIREZ RIOJA edged Emre BUCAK in five games to level the tie. England moved ahead by winning a dramatic doubles contest, with Oscar NIKOLLI and RAMIREZ RIOJA overcoming OCAL and Ali Enes SEREN 14-12 in the deciding game after the Turkish pair had forced a fifth. OCAL once again proved decisive, producing another commanding straight-games victory over RAMIREZ RIOJA before BUCAK defeated DIMITROV in straight games to complete Türkiye’s comeback and secure a place in the quarterfinals.

The quarterfinal line-up is complete in the Under 19 Boys Teams event at the European Youth Championships in Gondomar. Top seeds France will face sixth seeds Italy, second seeds Poland meet fifth seeds Sweden, third seeds Slovakia take on Spain, while Austria and Romania will battle for the remaining semifinal place. Top seeds France justified their status with a commanding 3-0 victory over 12th seeds Switzerland. Nathan LAM set the tone by defeating Noe KEUSCH in straight games, allowing his opponent just 14 points. Nathan PILARD then doubled the advantage with another dominant display, overcoming Lowis VOGLER 11-7, 11-5, 11-3. The closest contest came in the third singles, where Antoine NOIRAULT had to save game points before edging Severin SCHERER 13-11 in the opener. After surviving that early scare, NOIRAULT took full control, winning the next two games 11-7, 11-7 to complete France’s convincing victory. Fifth seeds Sweden also advanced with a 3-0 win over 18th seeds Bulgaria. Noa DAHLSTROM opened with a four-game victory over Stefan DIMITROV before Adam WALLIN defeated Yoan VELICHKOV in three closely contested games. William BERGENBLOCK wrapped up the tie with a dominant straight-games success over Daniel DIMITROV, conceding just 12 points. BERGENBLOCK praised the collective effort: “Everyone gave their best and played very well. We fought for every point, especially in the crucial moments, and we did it together as a team. We focused on playing our own game and stayed united throughout the match.” Looking ahead to the quarterfinal against Poland, he remained composed. “We’ll just play our game and see how it goes.” Second seeds Poland were pushed to the limit before defeating 19th seeds Denmark 3-0, with every singles match going the full five games. Samuel MICHNA recovered twice from behind to overcome Dominykas SAMUOLIS before Marcel BLASZCZYK produced an even more remarkable comeback, rallying from 0-2 down against Johan HAVSTEEN and edging the deciding game 14-12. Mateusz SAKOWICZ completed the sweep in similar fashion, recovering twice against Adam NOTTELMANN before dominating the deciding game . BLASZCZYK credited Poland’s mentality for the victory. “It was a very close match and we knew Denmark had very strong players. The biggest difference was our mentality. Everyone came under pressure during their matches, but we stayed focused, trusted our tactics and kept believing. In the end we managed to win, so we’re very happy.” He also explained how Poland approached the physical challenge posed by their opponents. “Their height definitely made a difference. When you’re a bit smaller it’s easier to move around the table, while taller players have to move their whole body and have less space close to the table. Our plan was to push the ball deep and, when they stayed close to the table, block deep to the forehand. We felt that was the best way to put them under pressure.” Third seeds Slovakia defeated 14th seeds Belgium 3-1 to secure their place in the last eight. Samuel ARPAS gave Slovakia the perfect start with a straight-games victory over Charles JANSSENS, but Belgium responded as Per GEVERS edged Damian FLORO in five games. Pavol KOKAVEC restored Slovakia’s advantage with a convincing win over Maxime DEGIVE, before ARPAS returned to defeat GEVERS in another five-game battle, recovering after letting a two-game lead slip to take the decider 11-6. Sixth seeds Italy overcame eighth seeds Czechia 3-1. Francesco TREVISAN opened with a four-game victory over Jindrich MORAVEK, while Danilo FASO recovered from losing the first game to defeat Jan SKALDA in four. Jakub KABELKA kept Czechia alive by beating Jacopo CIPRIANO, but FASO completed the job in dramatic fashion. After trailing MORAVEK by two games, he fought back to win the next three, dominating the decider 11-5. Spain progressed with a 3-1 victory over Hungary. Francesc CARRERA recovered after losing the opening game to Balazs LEI, while Botond VARGA levelled the tie by defeating Luca KHIDASHELI. Dario SALCEDO restored Spain’s lead with a dominant straight-games victory over Mark GERGELY, before KHIDASHELI returned to overcome LEI in four games and seal Spain’s place in the quarterfinals. Austria recovered from an early setback to eliminate hosts Portugal 3-1. Tiago ABIODUN gave Portugal the lead by defeating Julian RZIHAUSCHEK, but Petr HODINA levelled the tie with a four-game victory over Guilherme CARDOSO. Tobias HOLD then put Austria ahead by overcoming Lourenço SARDINHA, before RZIHAUSCHEK secured qualification with a straight-games victory over CARDOSO, surviving a thrilling opening game 16-14. Romania completed the quarterfinal line-up with a 3-1 victory over England. Robert ISTRATE opened by defeating Abraham SELLADO in four games before Robert PODAR edged Max RADIVEN in a five-game battle to double Romania’s lead. Isaac KINGHAM kept England alive by beating Andrei TIBIRNA, but ISTRATE returned to finish the tie. After narrowly losing the second game 13-11 to RADIVEN, he responded by taking the next two games 11-9 and 11-8, sending Romania into the last eight.