Serbia’s Reka BEZEG completed one of the most remarkable turnarounds of the Women’s Singles group stage at the 2026 European Championships in Ljubljana, securing her place in the main draw despite losing her opening match. Tuesday’s decisive round also saw several lower-seeded players overturn expectations, with Norway’s Martine TOFTAKER, Lithuania’s Kornelija RILISKYTE, Czechia’s Karin GROFOVA and Russia’s Mariia TAILAKOVA all overcoming higher-seeded opponents. Meanwhile, home favourites Sara TOKIC and Ana TOFANT gave the Slovenian supporters plenty to celebrate.
BEZEG, seeded 114th, faced an uphill battle after losing her opening match 3-1 to Bulgaria’s Tsvetelina GEORGIEVA, the 73rd seed. However, she responded with a stunning straight-games victory over Wales’ Charlotte CAREY, seeded 55th, to keep her qualification hopes alive.
Her fate rested on Tuesday’s final group encounter, when CAREY recovered from two games down to defeat GEORGIEVA 3-2 (9-11, 6-11, 11-8, 11-5, 11-5). With all three players finishing on one victory and one defeat, BEZEG emerged on top of Group 23 on the game-ratio tie-break, ahead of GEORGIEVA and CAREY.
Another significant upset came in Group 5, where Norway’s Martine TOFTAKER, seeded 89th, defeated Poland’s 37th seed Zuzanna WIELGOS 3-1 (11-7, 7-11, 11-7, 11-6).
TOFTAKER had already beaten Sweden’s Nomin BAASAN in straight games, and her victory over the higher-ranked Polish player completed an unbeaten group campaign.
Another surprise came in Group 15, where Ukraine’s Anastasiya DYMYTRENKO, seeded 80th, overturned expectations to finish ahead of Romania’s Bianca MEI-ROSU, the 47th seed. DYMYTRENKO had already defeated Sweden’s Siri BENJEGÅRD 3-1 before taking the opening game 11-9 against the Romanian favourite. The encounter ended prematurely, but the result was enough to send the Ukrainian into the main draw as group winner, adding another unexpected name to the list of qualifiers in Ljubljana.
Lithuania’s Kornelija RILISKYTE, seeded 82nd, also produced an impressive result against Belgium’s Lilou MASSART, the 45th seed. RILISKYTE recovered from 1-2 down to win a dramatic five-game contest 3-2 (11-8, 12-14, 9-11, 11-9, 11-9).
The Lithuanian had previously defeated Israel’s Elinor DAVIDOV 3-1 and finished top of Group 13 with two victories.
Czechia’s Karin GROFOVA, seeded 74th, joined the list of unexpected group winners after defeating Luxembourg’s 54th seed Enisa SADIKOVIC.
GROFOVA trailed 1-2 before taking control of the final two games to win 3-2 (11-6, 12-14, 7-11, 11-6, 11-1). Her dominant performance in the decider, in which she conceded just one point, secured first place in Group 22.
Russia’s Mariia TAILAKOVA, the 69th seed, also overcame a higher-seeded opponent, defeating Greece’s Aikaterini TOLIOU, seeded 56th, in straight games (11-2, 11-6, 11-9). Having previously beaten Georgia’s Ana NIKOIANI, TAILAKOVA finished Group 24 unbeaten.
One of the most dramatic comebacks of Tuesday’s final round belonged to Sweden’s Filippa BERGAND. The 42nd seed found herself two games down against Hungary’s Nora DOHOCZKI, but refused to surrender.
After losing the opening games 9-11, 9-11, BERGAND fought back to take the next two 11-4 and 11-7 before edging a tense decider 12-10. The victory secured first place in Group 10 and completed her unbeaten campaign.
For the Slovenian supporters at Arena Stožice, there was plenty to celebrate as Sara TOKIC and Ana TOFANT both progressed to the main draw.
TOKIC, seeded 48th, continued her impressive form with a straight-games victory over Czechia’s Hanka KODET (11-4, 11-5, 11-9), following her opening 3-0 win against England’s Ella PASHLEY.
The Slovenian completed Group 16 without dropping a game, an achievement made even more satisfying by her recovery from disappointment in Mixed Doubles.
Her compatriot TOFANT, seeded 58th, also completed an unbeaten campaign. Following her 3-1 victory over the Netherlands’ Emine ERNST, she defeated Spain’s Elvira RAD 3-0 (11-6, 11-8, 11-4) to secure first place in Group 26.
Italy’s Nicole ARLIA, seeded 34th, followed Monday’s dramatic five-game comeback against Russia’s Valeriia KOTSIUR with a more commanding performance against Norway’s Christine KALVATN.
ARLIA won 3-0 (11-6, 13-11, 11-3) to finish unbeaten in Group 2 and secure her place in the main draw.
Russia’s Elizabet ABRAAMIAN, seeded 35th, also had to work hard to secure her place in the main draw. After taking a two-game lead against Ulyana MIASHCHANSKAYA, ABRAAMIAN was pushed to a decider before prevailing 3-2 (11-8, 11-3, 9-11, 9-11, 11-6) to finish top of Group 3.
Romania’s Adina DIACONU and Ioana SINGEORZAN both completed unbeaten campaigns. DIACONU, seeded 38th, defeated Austria’s Elina FUCHS 3-0 to win Group 6 without dropping a game, while SINGEORZAN, the 44th seed, overcame Finland’s Marina DONNER 3-1 (11-5, 11-8, 10-12, 11-4) to claim Group 12.
Germany’s Franziska SCHREINER, seeded 39th, was another player to progress without conceding a game. She defeated Finland’s Maria GIRLEA 3-0 (11-9, 11-4, 11-3), following her dominant opening victory against Latvia’s Aleksandra JERSOVA.
Luxembourg’s experienced NI Xia Lian, the 40th seed, continued her successful campaign with a 3-0 victory over Jersey’s Hannah SILCOCK (12-10, 11-5, 12-10), securing first place in Group 8.
Poland’s Katarzyna WEGRZYN, seeded 36th, defeated England’s Tianer YU 3-1 to win Group 4, while Austria’s Nina SKERBINZ, the 43rd seed, overcame Hungary’s Rebeka NAGY 3-1 to finish unbeaten in Group 11.
Spain celebrated victories from Sofia-Xuan ZHANG and Maria BERZOSA. ZHANG, seeded 41st, finished top of Group 9 after defeating Portugal’s Mariana SANTA and Slovakia’s Dominika WILTSCHKOVA, while BERZOSA, the 51st seed, secured Group 19 with a 3-1 victory over Wales’ Danielle KELLY.
Portugal’s Matilde PINTO, seeded 46th, was particularly convincing, winning both Group 14 matches in straight games, including a 3-0 victory over Lizaveta TSIMASHKOVA.
France’s Nina GUO ZHENG, seeded 71st, also progressed without dropping a game, defeating Czechia’s Veronika POLAKOVA and Greece’s Ioanna GERASIMATOU to win Group 27.
Her compatriot Alexia NODIN, the 57th seed, finished first in Group 25, having conceded just two points in her 3-0 victory over Kosovo’s Shega HASHANI. NODIN also received a walkover against Denmark’s Emma VENDELBO.
Türkiye’s Ece HARAC, seeded 49th, secured Group 17 with a 3-1 victory over Estonia’s Airi AVAMERI, while Ukraine’s Solomiya YAREMCHUK, the 50th seed, defeated Lithuania’s Lukrecija JUCHNAITE 3-0 to claim Group 18.
The Netherlands’ Shuohan MEN, seeded 52nd, completed an unbeaten campaign in Group 20 with a 3-1 victory over Portugal’s Julia LEAL, while Moldova’s Alexandra CHIRIACOVA, the 60th seed, finished top of Group 28 after defeating Switzerland’s Fanny DOUTAZ and the Netherlands’ Sanne DE HOOP.
With the group stage concluded for these players, attention now turns to the Women’s Singles main draw, where the qualifiers will join Europe’s leading stars in the battle for the continental title.
