Croatia’s Hana ARAPOVIC and Linda ZADEROVA of Czech Republic won the title in the Under 19 Girl’s Doubles Event at the 2022 Dunav Osiguranje European Youth Championships in Belgrade. In the final they overcame Sophie EARLEY of Ireland and Anna HURSEY of Wales (11:9 11:4 11:8). Poland’s pairings Ilona SZTWIERTNIA and Wiktoria WROBEL as well as Germany’s Mia GRIESEL and Lea LACHENMAYER shared third step at the medal rostrum. “We feel that we played very good throughout the whole tournament. We felt a little under pressure at the beginning of the final match when we were down 2:5 in the opening game but when we recovered to win it everything went our way ” said Hana. In the semis Hana ARAPOVIC and Linda ZADEROVA overcame Poland’s pairings Ilona SZTWIERTNIA and Wiktoria WROBEL in straight games (11:8 11:7 11:4). “Two times before we clinched bronze medals at the European Youth Championships as cadets and as juniors we will finally go step further ” said ZADEROVA. HANA added: “Against Ilona and Wiktoria we managed to play our game with lot of rotations and good first top spin. In addition with our receive we controlled the match very well.” In other penultimate round match Sophie EARLEY and Anna HURSEY overcame Germany’s Mia GRIESEL and Lea LACHENMAYER (7:11 11:6 7:11 11:8 11:7). “Mia and Lea was choking semi finalists after their victory over the ZAHARIA and KAUFMANN but we were ready to play to whoever come against us ” said HURSEY.”For us the most difficult match was also the quarterfinal duel when we beat BRZYSKA and WIELGOS of Poland. “

Romania’s Bianca MEI ROSU and Poland’s Natalia BOGDANOWICZ are the crowned champions in the Under 15 Girl’s Doubles Event at the 2022 Dunav Osiguranje European Youth Championships. In the final they overcame Germany’s Koharu ITAGAKI and Josephina NEUMANN (11:6 11:8 13:11). Büşra DEMIR and Aybüke Banu ŞIMŞEK of Turkiye and Jade Quynh-Tien HUYNH and Elise PUJOL of France won bronze. After the straight matches final MEI ROSU felt relieved that she defended her last year’s title. “In Varazdin I won it with Annett KAUFMANN “ reminded MEI ROSU.”Today we had a very good start; we had 2:0 and 10:5 but then Koharu ITAGAKI and Josephina NEUMANN managed to rise the level of their play and everything become harder for us.” In the semi final Koharu ITAGAKI and Josephina NEUMANN accounted for Büşra DEMIR and Aybüke Banu ŞIMŞEK of Turkiye after full five games thrilling match (7:11 11:7 12:10 3:11 11:6). “We were in the very good positive mood before the start of the match. Turkish pairings are good but we had study their game and we believed we could win ” said Josephina NEUMANN. Bianca MEI ROSU and Natalia BOGDANOWICZ overcame Jade Quynh-Tien HUYNH and Elise PUJOL of France and they needed one game less (11:7 6:11 11:3 11:8). “For Natalia and me this is the first European Championships together but we are doing just fine. The reason for that is good chemistry. We are good friends we are feeling good by plying together and there is always good atmosphere when we play. That kind of spirit pushes us forward and gives us strength. I am feeling tired after so many matches here but in the court it was not case at all. I felt fresh ” said MEI ROSU.

In all-French final of the Under 15 Boy’s Doubles Event Flavio MOURIER and Antoine Jean Christian NOIRAULT prevailed against Flavien COTON and Nathan LAM to secure the title. Balazs LEI of Hungary and Samuel ARPAS of Slovakia and Bulgaria’s Yoan VELICHKOV and Austria’s Julian RZIHAUSCHEK won bronze. In the final Flavio MOURIER and Antoine Jean Christian NOIRAULT overcame their teammates in four games (8:11 11:7 12:10 12:10). “We played very smart we know each other well. We put COTN and LAM under pressure with our top spin. We are very strong in that part ” agreed both MOURIER and NOIRAULT together. In the semi final at two tables both French pairings had 2:0 advantage before their adversaries increased the pressure. Bulgaria’s Yoan VELICHKOV and Austria’s Julian RZIHAUSCHEK and Balazs LEI of Hungary and Samuel ARPAS of Slovakia managed just to extend the match to additional game. Flavio MOURIER and Antoine Jean Christian NOIRAULT beat top seeds Balazs LEI and Samuel ARPAS (11:9 11:7 9:11 12:10). “It was important to stay calm after we lost third game after we had 9:4 lead. Balasz and Samuel recovered to win that game 11:9. We did not give up we continued to play aggressive ” said Flavio MOURIER. Flavien COTON and Nathan LAM overcame Yoan VELICHKOV and Julian RZIHAUSCHEK in similar style (11:3 11:8 5:11 12:10). “We are playing since 2018 together but this is our first year at the European Championships together. This combination of left-hander/right-hander proved right. I am also happy that whatever happened France will have the gold at the end. It will be difficult for us since we lost against this very doubles last month in straight games ” said COTON.

Romania’s Iulian CHIRITA and Germany’s Annett KAUFMANN reached the top of the medal rostrum in the Under 19 Mixed Doubles Event at the 2022 Dunav Osiguranje European Youth Championships. In the final they overcame Milosz REDZIMSKI and Wiktoria WROBEL of Poland (1 13 -6 9) . “It is first time that we are playing together and I am so happy that we won gold. There were so many good pairings on our way to the title. In two opening matches against Tom CLOSSET and Sara TOKIC and then against Mauro SCHARRER and Sara DEVOS was really difficult but when we settled into the rhythm everything was easier. Hardest challenge was the semi final against Romania’s pairings ” said CHIRITA. In the penultimate stage earlier today Milosz REDZIMSKI and Wiktoria WROBEL of Poland overcame Ivor BAN and Hana ARAPOVIC of Croatia without due alarm (11:7 12:10 11:9). “Match was very tough. The most important tactical moment was to receive good Ivor BAN’s service. His service game is amazing but we were focused and hungry for medals and especially gold. The last game was very important ” said REDZIMSKI. BAN and HANA eliminated second seeds PUPPO and ARLIA of Italy on their way to the semis. Top seeds Darius MOVILEANU and Elena ZAHARIA of Romania had a match ball at 2:1 against Iulian CHIRITA and Annett KAUFMANN but Romania’s / Germany’s combination prevailed (13:11 4:11 11:7 11:13 8:11). “It is unbelievable; the match was very close. It was the hardest duel for us throughout the tournament. I am so proud that we managed to win it. We communicate very well and we enjoy playing together. After we were 1:2 in reverse and when we recovered after 9:10 to win fourth game we took over the control. We were able to play much freely ”said Annett.

New champions in the Under 15 Mixed Doubles Event at the 2022 Dunav Osiguranje European Youth Championships are Artur GROMEK and Natalia BOGDANOWICZ of Poland. In the final they overcame Nathan LAM and Jade Quynh-Tien HUYNH of France (7 -10 4 8). “It is fantastic. I do not know to describe the feeling. We played together for 8 years and we won a lot of titles in Poland but this is my best result at the Europeans ” said GROMEK. In the semi final Flavio MOURIER and Elise PUJOL of France lost to Artur GROMEK and Natalia BOGDANOWICZ of Poland in straight games (5:11 11:13 8:11). “We played very well. This was our best match at the tournament. We managed to control the duel from the opening game and French pairings failed to change the course ” said GROMEK. “However the hardest match at the tournament was against Portugal in third round when Tiago OLHERO and SANTA COMBA recovered from 0:2 in reverse to level the match. After that we also played five games duel against Norway/Lithuanian combination of LAM JUCHNAITE. In other Nathan LAM and Jade Quynh-Tien HUYNH faced two match balls against Yoan VELICHKOV and Sidelya MUTLU of Bulgaria but eventually prevailed (11:8 4:11 11:6 9:11 10:13). “We are very happy. We managed to stay calm until the last point despite the Bulgaria’s two match balls against us ” said Jade Quynh-Tien HUYNH.

As it was expected top two seeds at the Under 19 Boy’s Singles Event at the 2022 Dunav Osiguranje European Youth Championships in Belgrade Maciej KUBIK of Poland’s and DARIUS MOVILEANU of Romania secured their places in the semi final. In the quarters KUBIK overcame Iulian CHIRITA of Romania (9 9 3 -9 8). ”I was very focused and I am very happy with my performance ” said KUBIK. He will meet surprising semi finalists Italian Andrea PUPPO. PUPPO overcame Hugo DESCHAMPS of France (8 -8 8 -6 5 10) before he beat ISTRATE . “The emotions are very high now. I can not stop crying. It was my goal to win the medal but beating Hugo in the process is remarkable. He is very good player. For a first time in my life I reached the semi final at the European Championships. I have been in the quarters in mixed doubles before but never in singles said PUPPO. In lower half of the draw the place in the final will be decided in the match between two players from Romania Eduardo IONESCU beat Adrien RASSENFOSSE of Belgium. “ RASSENFOSSE beat me in the team’s event and that defeat still hurts. I knew from the beginning what I can expect. This was the hardest match for me here. At 1:1 I had advantage 10:5 and he narrowed the gap at 10:9 ” said IONESCU. MOVILEANU beat Thibault PORET of France (3 8 -5 -10 -7 5 2). “With our record you can expect such outcome of the match. We went full distance although I had 2:0 lead and it was very difficult to play against him ” said Darius. I the Round Maciej KUBIK of Poland easily prevailed but seed no. two MOVILEANU faced severe pressure. Milosz REDZIMSKI of Poland forced him to go full distance. In the semi final of the under 15 Boy’s Singles Event Flavien COTON of France will meet Balasz LEI of Hungary and Julian RZIHAUSCHEK will play against Samuel ARPAS of Slovakia. Samuel beat Rafal FORMELA of Poland in the quarters (6 7 10 -7 6). “I beat Julian in the Team’s event in straight games so I see I have more chances here. Of course it will be more difficult this time ” said Samuel speaking about his next encounter. Julian beat Rares CUESDEAN of Romania: “It was a very close game and the win did not come easy. Even when I had 3:1 lead he did not give up ” said RZIHAUSCHEK. Balasz LEI overcame Yoan VELICHKOV of Bulgaria (-10 -6 -5 5 8 7 7): “I started badly. My game was not good but as the match progressed it become better and better.” In the Round of 16 of the Under 15 Boy’s Singles Event Romania’s Rares CUESDEAN overcame top seeded French representative Nathan LAM after seven grueling games (-6 9 -8 8 -9 6 4). In Doubles Under 19 Event top seeds Eduardo IONESCU and Darius MOVILEANU of Romania overcame Simon BELIK and Adam STALZER of Czech Republic and they will meet Alexis KOURAICHI and Adrien COTON of France in the semi final. In other penultimate stage match Hugo DESCHAMPS and Thibault PORET of France will play against Louis LAFFINEUR and Adrien RASSENFOSSE of Belgium. In Under 15 Doubles Event Hungary’s Balasz LEI and Slovakia’s Samuel ARPAS will meet Flavio MOURIER and Antoine Jean Christian NOIRAULT of France. In other semi final Yoan VELICHKOV of Bulgaria and Austria’s Julian RZIHAUSCHEK will play against Flavien COTON and Nathan LAM of France.

At the penultimate day of the play at the 2022 Dunav Osiguranje European Youth Championships we know all the medal winners. Tomorrow the places at the podium will be decided. In the Under 19 Girl’s Singles Event top seeded Elena ZAHARIA of Romania overcame Hana ARAPOVIC of Croatia to book her place at the medal rostrum (8 -9 -8 8 9). “I am so proud with this win because it was so difficult to beat Hana. I lost against her in straight games in the Team’s Event and I was so nervous today. We know each each other so long many years…The turning point was at 2:2 but all the games were intense and long ” said ZAHARIA. Romania’s player will meet Charlotte LUTZ in the semis. French representative beat Naomi PRANJKOVIC of Germany. Wiktoria WROBEL of Poland overcame Tsvetlana GEORGIEVA of Bulgaria (-8 11 9 1 7). Her coach explained that the victory came as a surprise to all. Wiktoria will meet Annett KAUFMANN of Germany in the penultimate stage. “It was much harder than the 4:0 result predicts. Each time when it was 10:10 and it happened in two games I was more determined in the finishing stages. I was calm but I played more aggressive ” said KAUFMANN. In the Round of 16 Tsvetlana GEORGIEVA of Bulgaria added another victory on her record. After Ines MATOS of Portugal she overcame Sara DEVOS of Belgium in superb style (3 11 9 3). From quarterfinal Romania remained without representatives in the Under 15 Girl’s singles event. Top seeded Bianca MEI ROSU suffered by the hands of Belgium’s Lilou MASSART 4:2 (-7 14 9 9 -6 8). In addition Veronika POLAKOVA of Czech Republic made another blow to Romania by beating Alesia SFERLEA (-5 -8 6 -11 4 9 7). In the Round of 16 Portugal’s SANTA COMBA suffered by the hands of Sidelya MUTLU of Bulgaria in straight games (9 6 10 12). Josephina NEUMANN of Germany was the first to book her place in the semi final thanks to the straight games victory over Kendra MOLNAR of Hungary (8 9 5 2). “I was very excited even before the game and I was very happy that I reached the quarterfinals. I was not afraid; just decided I will give my best. It worked just fine and here I am – in the semi final ” said NEUMANN. Germany’s player will meet Lilou MASSART who add another win to her record. She beat Nina GUO ZHENG in the quarters. “I was quite nervous but I managed somehow to calm dow I did not expect to reach this far but now I am so happy that I have an opportunity to ply in the semi final “said MASSART. In the lower half of the draw in the quarters Natalia BOGDANOWICZ of Poland overcame Sidelya MUTLU of Bulgaria. She will play against Veronika POLAKOVA of Czech Republic. In dramatic fashion after being 0:3 down POLAKOVA recovered to beat Eireen KALAITZIDOU of Germany. “It is so difficult to explained what happened. I was 0:3 down and then I won 4:3. I did not change anything. I played in the same pace all match ” said POLAKOVA. In Under 19 Doubles Mia GRIESEL and Lea LACHENMAYER of Germany were in charge for top rated upset. They overcame Elena ZAHARIA of Romania and Annett KAUFMANN of Germany and it was one of the rare occasions when KAUFMANN was completely outplayed. Germany’s duo will meet another unexpected pairings in the semis – Anna HURSEY of Wales and Sophie EARLEY of Ireland. They accounted for Anna BRZYSKA and Zuzanna WIELGOS of Poland. Hana ARAPOVIC of Croatia and Linda ZADEROVA of Czech Republic will play against Wiktoria WROBEL and Ilona SZTWIERTNIA of Poland in other semis. In Under 15 Doubles Event in the semis Romania’s Bianca MEI ROSU and Poland’s Natalia BOGDANOWICZ will play against Jade Quynh-Tien HUYNH and Elise PUJOL of France. The other finalists will be known after the clash between Germany’s Koharu ITAGAKI and Josephina NEUMANN vs. Busra DEMIR and Aybuke SIMSEK of Turkiye.  

Ukraine’s players continued with the good performance in the Singles at the 2022 Dunav Osiguranje European Youth Championships in Belgrade. One of the biggest upsets in the Under 19 Girl’s Singles Event was caused by Alina VYDRUCHENKO who beat Ireland’s Sophie EARLY in seven games (-11 10 4 -9 -10 2 8). After re-run of the match we saw two days earlier in the final of the Team’s Event between Romania and Poland Wiktoria WROBEL repeated the success to overcame the favorite Romania’s Ioana SINGEORZAN by the same margin 4:2 (7 8 -7 -6 10 8). Clea DE STOPPELIERE of France also exited earlier than her rankings predicted. Tsvetelina GEORGIEVA of Bulgaria accounted for her (10 -2 5 -1 9 9). In Under 15 Girl’s Singles Event Jana HAVELA of Serbia brought joy to host nation supporters by reaching the Round of 32. She overcame Karolina HOLDA of Poland in straight games (5 7 8 6). Sidelya MUTLU of Bulgaria was also in charge of the upset. She beat Hungary’s Sophie BARCSAI in six games (3 10 -11 7 -11 7). Croatia’s neva GOJKOVIC is also out. Gabija ABARAVICIUTE beat her in seven games (-6 -12 6 7 -4 5 11). In Under 15 Boy’s Event Artur GROMEK of Poland faced early exit. Jan SKLADA of Czech Republic was in charge for upset in straight games (8 10 7 9). Tiago OLHERO of Portugal added another surprise to the list by beating Luca OPREA of Romania (5 9 6 -2 9). In Under 19 Mixed Doubles event top seeds Romania’s Darius MOVILEANU and Elena ZAHRIA will play against Iulian CHIRITA of Romania and Annett KAUFANN of Germany. After surprising win over Romania’s Eduard IONESCU and Ioana SINGEORZAN Milosz REDZIMSKI and Weronika WROBEL of Poland progrssed to other semi final. They will meet Croatia’s Ivor BAN and Hana ARAPOVIC In Under 15 Mixed Doubles Bulgaria’s Yoan VELICHKOV and Sidelya MUTLU beat Antoine Jean Christian NOIRAULT and Nina GUO ZHENG of France to secure the place at the medal rostrum. In the semi final they will meet nother French pairings Nathan LAM and ade Quynh-Tien HUYNH. They overcame Romania’s Robert PODAR and Cristina SINGEORZAN. In other semi final Flavio MOURIER and Elise PUJOL of France will meet Artur GROMEK and Natalia BOGDANOWICZ of Poland.

At the Under 15 events at the 2022 Dunav Osiguranje European Youth Championships in Belgrade Hannah SILCOCK put a new milestone for Jersey. For a first time Jersey’s player recorded the victory in the main draw. In the Singles event SILCOCK reached the Round of 32 whilst in doubles with Sienna JETHA of England she is in 16. In Mixed doubles with Larry TRUMPAUSKAS also of England SILCOCK played in Round of 16. In the Round of 64 in Singles Hannah beat host nation representative Teodora GOJKOV 4:2 (11:13 11:1 11:8 11:7 9:11 11:4). “Teodora is a player with a very aggressive style of play. She attacked a lot but I managed to slowed her down and to forced her into the longer rallies ” explained Hannah. In mixed doubles she teamed up with Larry TRUMPAUSKAS for a first time at this tournament and instantly it resulted in the elimination of the top seeds Rares Lucian CUESDEAN and Bianca MEI ROSU of Romania in the Round of 32. “We never played with each other together so we needed some time to used to each other. We were cautious at the beginning letting top seeds showed their weak and strong points and then we attacked “explained Hannah. In the next round they lost to French pairings Antoine Jean Christian NOIRAULT and Nina GUO ZHENG. However SILCOCK is still play with Sienna JETHA in Doubles. In second Round they overcame Olha PONKO of Ukraine and Beatriz PINTO of Portugal in full five games. “It was very close match. We were 1:2 down and we won the fourth game 20:18 furthermore in fifth it was 12:10 ” reported SILCOCK. SILCOCK is still living in Jersey but very often she is coming to England for trainings. “ I started when I was 10 but after age of 13 I was allowed to join the England team on their sessions. It improved my game a lot ” said SILCOCK.