In the Under 19 Girls’ Team Event, top seeds France faced no difficulties. In the opening round of the tournament, the reigning champions overcame Slovakia in straight matches.
Nia GUO ZHENG, Leana HOCHART, and Jade HUYNH defeated Dominika WILTSCHKOVA, Vanda VANISOVA, and Nina DAROVCOVA without dropping a match.
The excitement was reserved for Group B, where Austria prevailed in a dramatic encounter against host nation Czechia. The no. 2 seeds in the group failed to find an answer for the outstanding Nina SKERBINZ, who secured victories over both Vendula ŠICHANOVÁ and Veronika POLÁKOVÁ.
“We played really well. It’s my first year playing U19, and the first match was not easy, new hall, new tournament, so I had to get used to it. My opening match against Vendula ŠICHANOVÁ was tough, but once I adjusted, I started playing my best,” said SKERBINZ.“My teammate Julia DUR was down 0–2 but came back to win 3–2 against Adéla SAZIMOVÁ, and that was a really important match for our team. In my last match against POLÁKOVÁ, I had a good start, going 2–0 up, but then lost two games. At 2–2, my focus wasn’t where it should be, but I told myself, ‘Come on, win this game.’ I refocused and eventually won 3–2. She didn’t start well — made many mistakes — but then played much better, and I got a bit confused. I didn’t change tactics; I just stayed strong mentally, and that helped me a lot,” she added.
Nina SKERBINZ clinched gold in Under 15 Doubles last year in Malmö, partnering Elina FUCHS.
In Group D, Ukraine secured a 3–0 win over Bulgaria, following the expected standings. However, the rest of the groups saw major upsets.
Top seeds Poland lost 1–3 to Hungary. Judit NAGY, Rebeka NAGY, and Nora DOHOCZKI displayed exceptional form against Karolina HOLDOVA, Natalia BOGDANOWICZ, and Oliwia WATOR.
Judit lost the opening match to HOLDOVA but sealed the overall victory by defeating BOGDANOWICZ.
“My playing style in the first match wasn’t as good as it could be, I struggled a bit, but the second one went much better. I really wanted to win. Our team performance was excellent. My sister Rebeka beat their number one, BOGDANOWICZ, and Nora had a very tough 3–2 win against WATOR. I think that was the most important match. If Nora didn’t win, it would’ve been very hard to beat Poland. In my last match against BOGDANOWICZ, the opening game ended 20–18. That was the most crucial moment — winning that game gave me the confidence to win the whole match,” said NAGY.
In the Under 15 Girls’ Team Event, top-seeded Germany opened with a win over Croatia. But for no. 2 seeds Czechia, the story was quite the opposite. Led by reigning European champion Hanka KODET, the Czech team suffered a 1–3 defeat against France.
Eva LAM, Lou-Anne BOCQUET, and Lisa ZHAO proved too strong for KODET and Simona HOLUBOVÁ.
Group C also brought surprises. Slovakia beat Austria, and Italy overcame Sweden. In Group D, top seeds Romania fell to Poland in another intense battle.
Maja MADAR of Romania explained:
“It was a very tough match for us but also really important. Winning the first match at the EYC is always good — it helps for the upcoming matches. I lost my first match against Wanessa KULCZYCKA, she’s a very strong player. If I had won, it would’ve been much easier for our team. The second match was a tough one for Patricia STOICA, she went full distance and won 3–2 with a great performance. In doubles, Patricia and I played really well and won 3–0, probably our best doubles match so far. Patricia then faced KULCZYCKA again and lost 1–3. It was very difficult for her, Wanessa is an extremely strong player. The most crucial point came in my last, deciding match against Lena PUZIO. It was 2–0, 10–8, and she played two great points to make it 10–10. I knew she had a strong forehand, even though I had been playing to her backhand. So I switched it up and played to her forehand. It worked and I managed to close the match.”
