Italy will meet Romania in the final of the Under 15 Boys teams event at the European Youth Championships in Malmö. Türkiye and Czechia lost their semifinal duels and will have their consolation in bronze. Seeded at position no. 2 Italy beat no. 6 seeds Türkiye in straight matches but despite the result the nail-biting duel generated great tension and drama. Danilo FASO and Francesco TREVISAN on one side and Görkem ÖÇAL and Kenan KAHRAMAN on the other knew each other very well. All four players were members of the mixed teams that clashed in the final of the European Under 13 Championships played two years ago in Zagreb. In contrast to that clash Italy won the match in Sweden. “It was a difficult match but we are used to playing with each other and we knew how to achieve good focus. We are very happy with the place in the final but also we are very satisfied with our game ” said TREVISAN. Danilo FASO added “It is good to be in the final. We did not forget what happened in Zagreb. It is good to win. They challenged us the most so far in the Championships.” Speaking of their next adversary Romania he said “We will give our best. We do not think about our adversary. We are focused only on our performance.” No. 3 seed Romania prevailed against Czechia. Jan SKALDA overcame Mihai NAGY at the beginning of the match but from that point Romania was in the driving seat. Robert Alexandru ISTRATE overcame Jakub KABELKA who also suffered at the hands of NAGY in his second singles match. “It was a tough match. Both teams played very well. We fought really hard. In the end we were a bit stronger. We are looking forward to meeting Italy in the final. They have two really strong players in their team ” explained ISTRATE. The final will be played tomorrow at 17:30 CET.

Slovakia created the biggest upset of the Under 19 Boys teams event at the European Youth Championships. Led by no. 10 seed in singles Samuel ARPAS Slovakia secured a medal after pushing themselves forward from Level 2 of the competition. Slovakia was placed at position no. 17 at the start of the Championships. Leon BENKO gave Croatia a dream start with a victory over Samuel PALUSEK in the opening duel of the match against Slovakia. However ARPAS changed the course of the match and with a victory over Borna PETEK started a row of victories. Damian FLORO beat Ivan HENCL before ARPAS beat BENKO again. In the semifinal later today they will meet last year’s bronze medalists and no. 3 seeds Germany. In a match that was much closer than the 3-0 result suggests Andre BERTELSMEIER Wim VERDONSCHOT and Manuel PROHASKA beat Giacomo ALLEGRANZA Federico VALLINO and Giacomo IZZO. All three matches were extended to the full distance. In the top half of the draw titleholders Romania overcame Poland 3-1. Mateusz ZALEWSKI won the only point for Poland beating Darius MOVILEANU before Iulian CHIRITA leveled the match with a victory over Dawid MICHNA. CHIRITA secured his second win with a 3-1 victory over ZALEWSKI. Last year’s bronze medalists France equaled their previous result. In the quarters they overcame Hungary 3-1. Flavien COTON won both his matches against Balazs LEI and David SZANTOSI. Nathan LAM lost to LEI but Antoine Jean Christian NOIRAULT overcame Botond Zoltan VARGA.

Titleholders in the Under 15 Girls teams event Germany secured their place in the semifinal of the European Youth Championships. In the penultimate stage they will meet Portugal a team seeded only at position no. 9. The no. 2 and no. 3 seeds Poland and Czechia are also in the semifinals. Germany’s Koharu ITAGAKI Lisa-Sophie WANG and Josephina NEUMANN in doubles left no chance to Austria’s Nina SKERBINZ and Mariia LYTVYN. All three matches concluded in straight games. Portugal also resolved their quarterfinal duel in straight matches. Beatriz PINTO and Julia LEAL proved too strong for Spain who won bronze last year in Poland. This year Irina Gimeno FONT and Irina SHYPSHA failed to equal that result. Poland ranked at position no. 2 in the seedings halted the progress of last year’s finalists France. Alexia NODIN Eva LAM and Lisa ZHAO lost after five full matches against Maja LAKOMA and Katarzyna RAJKOWSKA. Czechia no. 3 seed and last year’s bronze medalists beat Croatia in straight matches. Czechia was represented by Simona HOLUBOVA and Hanka KODETOVA while Franka MISKIC Leeloo Han VUKELJA and Franka MISKIC played for Croatia.

In the Under 19 Girls teams event at the European Youth Championships in Malmö the top four seeds underlined their status by remaining unbeaten in the quarterfinals. By doing so they secured their places on the medal rostrum. In the semifinal Poland will meet France while Romania will play against Germany. Top seeds Poland represented by Zuzanna WIELGOS Anna BRZYSKA (who won the bronze medal last year in Poland) and Natalia BOGDANOWICZ overcame Slovakia’s Ema CINCUROVA Dominika WILTSCHKOVA and Nina DAROVCOVA in straight games today. In a similar style Nina Guo ZHENG Leana HOCHART and Clea De STOPPELEIRE of France prevailed against Spain’s Maria BERZOSA Silvia COLL and Eugenia SASTRE. France also won the bronze medal last year. Last year’s finalists Germany represented by Lorena MORSCH Mia GRIESEL and Eireen KALAITZIDOU had a much tougher duel. Portugal’s Matilde PINTO Mariana Santa COMBA and Susana COSTA put them to a severe test. PINTO won both her matches against MORSCH and GRIESEL but the rest of the team failed to follow. Rejuvenated Romania’s team with Bianca MEI ROSu as the only remaining member of last year’s gold medal-winning team beat Czechia. MEI ROSU prevailed against Helena SOMMEROVA and Veronika POLAKOVA. POLAKOVA was stretched to full distance against Alesia Sofia SFERLEA but won that point. Andrea TEGLAS beat Vendula SICHANOVA.

In the morning session of the Under 15 Boys Teams event at the European Youth Championships in Malmö four teams secured their medals. Later this afternoon we will follow the semifinals while the finals are scheduled for Tuesday at 17:30 CET. In the semifinal Romania will meet Czechia while Türkiye will play against Italy. The longest duel of the round was between France and Italy seeded at position no. 2. Last year’s bronze medalists France were denied a spot on the medal rostrum this year. Sandro CAVAILLE and Noah VITEL managed to stretch Danilo FASO and Francesco TREVISAN to the full distance but the no. 2 seed in singles FASO won both his singles and doubles matches. Italy will meet Türkiye; Görkem ÖÇAL and Kenan KAHRAMAN prevailed against England’s Abraham SELLADO Max RADIVEN and Kacper PIWOWAR. Türkiye lost in the round of 16 last year. The duel between top-seeded Poland and no. 3 seed Romania ended in favor of the lower-ranked team. Robert Alexandru ISTRATE and Mihai NAGY confirmed their bronze clinched last year and with a 3-1 win over Patryk ZYWORONEK and Samuel MICHNA proved they can aim higher. No. 1 seed in the under 15 singles event ZYWORONEK beat NAGY but lost to ISTRATE 2-3. Czechia’s Jan SKALDA and Jakub KABELKA showed no mercy against Germany with a 3-0 win. Germany’s Jonas RINDERER Lukas WANG and Ivo QUETT failed to win a game in their respective duels.

The top seeds in the Under-19 Boys’ Teams Event at the European Youth Championships in Malmö Romania booked their place in the quarterfinals. In a surprising turn of events Romania will face Poland in the next stage a match many had anticipated would be the final clash. Poland’s unexpected loss to Sweden in the group stage pushed them into the same part of the draw as Romania. Although Sweden occupied the lower half of the draw in the Round of 16 they failed to progress to the quarters losing to Slovakia in a dramatic duel. Romania’s Andrei ISTRATE Darius MOVILEANU and Iulian CHIRITA overcame Slovenia’s Brin VOVK PETROVSKI Miha PODOBNIK and Matic COPAR in straight games. Poland needed all five games to survive a fierce performance from last year’s Under-15 singles champion Tiago ABIODUN who won both his matches against Rafal FORMELA and Mateusz ZALEWSKI. However Pedro BRANDAO and Rafael KONG couldn’t match Tiago’s level allowing Poland to advance to the quarters. Sweden engaged in a tough battle before losing to Slovakia. Isak ALFREDSSON gave Sweden a dream start by defeating Samuel PALUSEK 3-0 but Samuel ARPAS scored twice against ALFREDSSON 3-2 and against William BERGENBLOCK 3-0. FLORO beat David BJORKRYD in another five-game thriller. “I feel incredible. Sweden was playing very well against us and they didn’t lose any matches in the group. We were playing in the second division because last year we fell down. This year we went match by match and this win is very sweet for us ” said ARPAS. Asked about his last match that went the full distance against ALFREDSSON Samuel said “I think that neither of us played our best. It was more of a tactical match. Now we will meet Croatia and I really think we can beat them. We have three good players they have three good players. It’s 50/50 and we will see.” The French team represented by Flavien COTON Nathan LAM and Antoine Jean Christian NOIRAULT prevailed against Austria’s Zhenlong LIU Petr HODINA and Tobias HOLD in straight matches. However the opening duel was challenging. “I’m very happy with myself and our team against Austria. It was a good match. The first one we succeeded to win 3-2. This helped us. I started very well and succeeded to win 3-0 ” said NOIRAULT. Speaking about their goals in Sweden he added “We’re gonna look at our opponents then prepare the best we can. Hopefully we can reach the semifinals.”  

Top two seeds Germany and Poland booked their place in the Under-15 Girls’ Teams event at the European Youth Championships in Malmö securing their progress to the quarterfinals without any alarm. However the drama was reserved for the duel between Portugal and Sweden. Three out of four matches went the full distance. Siri BENJEGÅRD gave Sweden a dream start with a win over Beatriz PINTO but Portugal quickly turned the tide. Julia LEAL overcame Gabriela AALTONEN and Siri BENJEGÅRD while the doubles match concluded in five games with Portugal winning three of them 11-9. Angelina BEBAWY joined BENJEGÅRD in doubles for Sweden while LEAL and PINTO played for Portugal. “I still feel nervous. It was very tough matches going 3-2 3-2 3-2. Everything was so tense and I’m still shaking. After the last match I felt amazing. This is what I really needed. I started tense but then I could play more freely and then it was comfortable. We will continue to fight for every point in this tournament ” said LEAL. The reigning European Under-15 singles champion Hanka KODETOVA along with Simona HOLUBOVA launched Czechia to the quarterfinals after a 3-1 win over Hungary’s Nora DOHOCZKI and Sophie BARCSAI. “We played well in singles and our tactic was to go much with forehand. The opponents played well but in the end our team was the strongest ” said KODETOVA. Germany’s Koharu ITAGAKI and Lisa-Sophie WANG won their singles matches against Türkiye’s Duru KIRBAÇ and Ela Su YÖNTER. Then Josephina NEUMANN joined ITAGAKI to secure the win in the doubles. Germany will face Austria in the semifinals. In the lower half of the draw Poland’s Maja LAKOMA and Katarzyna RAJKOWSKA overcame Slovakia’s Nela ONDRUSOVA and Liliana Alicja GUASSARDO in straight matches. Poland will play against France in the quarterfinals.  

Top seeds in the Under-15 Boys’ Team Event Poland secured their place in the quarterfinals of the European Youth Championships in Malmö by defeating Spain in straight matches. Despite the straightforward result and seeding positions suggesting an easy match the duel was anything but ordinary. A thrilling encounter and impressive performances raised more than a few eyebrows today in the Round of 16. The most attention-grabbing match was between Poland’s Patryk ZYWORONEK the top-seeded player in singles and Spain’s Ladimir MAYOROV. Although MAYOROV will only turn 11 next week he put the 15-year-old ZYWORONEK to a severe test. The young Spanish player did not give ZYWORONEK time to breathe presenting a game that was both logical and creative earning much respect. MAYOROV a semifinalist in the Under-13 European Championships last month in Bucharest eventually lost the opening match but not without forcing ZYWORONEK to go the full distance. It was only ZYWORONEK’S experience and power that pushed the Polish player forward. Samuel MICHNA overcame Dario SALCEDO in another close encounter before the Polish doubles sealed the duel but not before going the full distance once again. The 3-0 match lasted one hour and 45 minutes. Ladimir comes from a table tennis background with his father Eduard MAYOROV being present in Sweden as a coach. His mother Svetlana MAYOROVA formerly BAKHTINA played with Elena TIMINA and Irina PALINA. Next Poland will face Romania. Today Robert Alexandru ISTRATE and Mihai NAGY overcame Sweden’s Sigge HEDBLAD and Adam WALLIN. “It feels very good right now. It was a really tough match and we are very happy with the result we managed to achieve. We had a very good team spirit and supported each other all the way. The rest of the tournament will be really tough; we will face very strong players but we are ready to fight for every point and see what we can do ” said ISTRATE. The clash between Germany and Portugal ended in favor of Jonas RINDERER and Lukas WANG who overcame Dinis YE and Carlos GONÇALVES in the singles while Alexander UHING and Ivo QUETT prevailed in doubles. The match went the full distance and in the decisive clash RINDERER won the second game against GONÇALVES 23-21. “In my last match it was very important to win the second game 23-21. Both of us were nervous and made easy mistakes. After that it was easier and it feels very good to win ” said RINDERER.

The favorites marched through the Round of 16 in the Under-19 Girls’ Team Event at the European Youth Championships in Malmö. Six out of eight matches concluded in straight sets showing the dominance of the top-seeded teams. At the top of the draw Poland overcame Croatia with ease. Zuzanna WIELGOS Anna BRZYSKA and Natalia BOGDANOWICZ lost only one game on their way to the quarterfinals in their clash against Bruna BOROVEC Dora COSIC and Victoria PUSTAJ. At the bottom of the draw Germany’s Lorena MORSCH Mia GRIESEL and Eireen KALAITZIDOU prevailed against Denmark’s Mille LYNGSØE STOFFREGEN Maja HANSEN and Emma VENDELBO CLEMENT without dropping a game. “I think we as a team are very happy. We were the favorites before the game. In the group stage we played pretty well so we were hoping that we would win this match. We know that Denmark has some good players and that they’re all really motivated and fight a lot so we knew we had to do our best to win the match. In the end we managed to win 3-0. Some games were close so I think it was a good match ” said Eireen KALAITZIDOU. She also spoke about their next adversaries: “Portugal has a strong team. We played against some players from Portugal.” Germany’s next adversaries Portugal’s Matilde PINTO Mariana Santa COMBA and Susana COSTA overcame Bulgaria’s Viktoria PERSOVA Tsvetelina GEORGIEVA and Sidelya MUTLU. “It was a bit difficult to find my game against Persova in the beginning. After a while it felt better and I found a better tactic ” explained Pinto who went full distance against Viktoria. “We fought hard together and I’m very proud of my team. It was a strong team effort.” Spain’s Maria BERZOSA Silvia COLL and Eugenia SASTRE overcame Hungary’s Emma SZOSZNYÁK Kendra MOLNAR and Judit NAGY. France with Nina Guo ZHENG Leana HOCHART and Clea De STOPPELEIRE prevailed against Belgium’s Lilou MASSART Sara DEVOS and Eloise DUVIVIER. In a full five-match showdown Slovakia overcame Ukraine. Veronika MATIUNINA won both matches for Ukraine while Slovakia’s Ema CINCUROVA Dominika WILTSCHKOVA and Nina DAROVCOVA each posted a win. Romania’s Bianca Mei ROSU Alesia Sofia SFERLEA and Andrea TEGLAS posted a 3-0 win over Türkiye’s Busra DEMIR Aybuke Banu SIMSEK and Asude Tuba SIMSEK.

Last year’s bronze medalists in the Under 19 Girls Event the no. 1 seeds team Poland secured the round of 16 at the European Youth Championships in Malmö. Reiging champions Romania runners up Germany and semi finalsts France followed the suit. Poland’s Anna BRZYSKA Zuzanna WIELGOS Zuzanna PAWELEC and Natalia BOGDANOWICZ overcame Italy Portugal and England. Italy’s Nicole ARLIA Miriam CARNOVALE and Sofia MINURRI in the direct clash against Portugal in the last round of the Group Stage secured their spot in the main draw. Nicole ARLIA expressed her emotions after the victory: “It’s an amazing feeling I just finished crying. It was an unbelievable match and it was so important to win today. Now we have secured our place in the first division. It was painful to play this match because of a lot of emotion but we won and we are so so happy. I cried at the end because of all the emotions and the happiness.” In group B Germany’s Mia GRIESEL Lorena MORSCH eireen KALAITZIDOU and Maxi MERK beat Spain Croatia and Türkiye. Spain’s Maria BERZOSA Silvia COLL and Eugenia SASTRE joined them with the one win less. Silvia COLL shared her joy: “I’m feeling very happy and very proud of my team and teammates. It was a difficult group but we’re happy to finish second and to continue believing in ourselves like this.” In group C Nina GUO ZHENG Leana HOCHART and clea DE STOPPELEIRE secured all three wins to underlie their status. France overcame Czechia Slovakia and Bulgaria. The progress of France is expected but Bulgaria’s Viktoria PERSOVA Tsvetelina GEORGIEVA and Sidelya MUTLU success was not according to the rankings. Placed only as the fourth team in the group Bulgaria last year’s quarterfinalists moved to the main draw with wins over Czechia and Slovakia respectevly. In group D romania’s Bianca MEI ROSU Alesia Sofia SFERLEA and Andrea TEGLAS showed no mercy against the adversaries from Ukraine Belgium and Lithuania. The second spot went to Ukraine’s Daria KOVALOVA Alina OVRIAKH and Veronika MATIUNINA.