The knockout stage of the European Team Championships in Zadar brought a day full of drama, long battles, and emotional moments. Several underdogs who had caused upsets in the group stage entered the Round of 16 determined to challenge Europe’s elite, and they delivered fierce performances that pushed the favourites to their limits. Portugal – Spain 3–2 In a clash of epic proportions lasting over three and a half hours, Portugal secured their place in the quarter-finals after a dramatic 3–2 victory over Spain. Spain’s youthful lineup, Juan PÉREZ (23), Daniel BERZOSA (19), and Miguel PANTOJA (21), pushed Portugal’s experienced trio of João GERALDO (30), Tiago APOLÓNIA (39), and João MONTEIRO (42) to the edge before last Championships’ bronze medallists finally prevailed to reach the Round of 8. PÉREZ was the standout for Spain, scoring impressive wins over both GERALDO and APOLÓNIA, who made his first appearance at the Championships following recovery from a left knee injury. “It was a really tough match against a very young and fiery team,” said GERALDO. “We managed to control our emotions very well. Spain played with so much energy and passion, they were big fighters. But we managed to absorb that energy in the right way and finish the match with a victory.” Reflecting further, GERALDO added: “It’s very hard to control their spin, everyone struggles with it. But the most important thing was to stay emotionally stable and believe until the end that we would win. PÉREZ was on fire today; he played two great matches. The third match was crucial, João MONTEIRO won 3–0 but was down 10–7 in the first and had another very tight set. That win gave us a big push. Then Tiago and I beat BERZOSA, who’s also a talented young player coming up. I’m sure he will be one of the best one day. But today, Tiago and I relied on our experience and qualities, and we proved that it still counts.” GERALDO also praised the emerging generation of players: “Many countries now have strong young players, and Portugal as well. We have Tiago ABIODUN, who’s already shown he can compete at senior level. The level of the new generation is really high, there are many more young players than in my time, or even in the generations of Tiago, Marcos, and MONTEIRO. It’s exciting to see who will become the best in the future. Meanwhile, I’ll keep fighting to stay among the best too.” Speaking about APOLÓNIA’s recovery, he added: “Tiago is improving day by day. Playing today was an important step, he’s getting better and better.” Slovenia – Moldova 3–1 Slovenia’s trio of Deni KOZUL, Darko JORGIC, and Bojan TOKIC secured a solid 3–1 victory over Moldova’s Vladislav URSU, Andrei PUTUNTICA, and Denis TERNA, booking their place in the quarter-finals. After Moldova had previously stunned Austria and nearly defeated Croatia in the group stage, Slovenia approached the match with caution. “I think they could have even finished first in their group,” explained JORGIC. “Their match against Croatia was 50–50. We watched it in the hall and knew they weren’t an easy opponent. We were prepared from the start to the end for a tough fight, and that’s exactly what happened.” URSU continued his strong form, defeating KOZUL in the opening match. “URSU is playing really well. He already played in the Olympic qualification last year and has improved a lot,” said JORGIC. “Deni didn’t find his rhythm, and URSU was dominant. The first game could have gone either way, but in the end, we managed to turn the match around.” JORGIC then led by example, winning both of his matches, against PUTUNTICA and URSU, while TOKIC’s experience sealed the team’s victory. “I started my match a bit under stress, it’s difficult to play when you’re 0–1 down and the team expects you to win,” admitted JORGIC.“But in the end, Bojan was fantastic. His experience made the difference. He showed exactly why we needed him here.” This result marks Slovenia’s return to the top eight and proves they are on the good way to repeat their memorable run in 2017, when they last reached the medal podium. “It’s a great result for us, honestly, we didn’t expect it, but everything is possible,” said JORGIC. “We’ll keep fighting and look forward to facing Portugal or Spain next. Hopefully, we can deliver another strong performance and maybe celebrate a medal again like in 2017.” France – Slovakia 3–0 France’s team of Alexis LEBRUN, Félix LEBRUN, and Simon GAZY advanced to the quarter-finals after a convincing 3–0 victory over Slovakia’s Yang WANG, Alexander VALUCH, and Jakub ZELINKA. The French trio, one of the tournament favourites, handled the challenge with efficiency, securing a straightforward path into the last eight. “Everything’s going well so far, we’re very happy to be in the quarter-finals and can’t wait for the competition to continue,” said Félix LEBRUN. “At 1–0 and 3–0 up against VALUCH, I kind of switched off a bit, and he quickly came back to 4–3. I didn’t necessarily play my best at that point, he raised his level compared to the earlier games, so the match evened out a little. But so far in this tournament, I’ve managed to win all my matches even when that happens, so it’s not a big issue. The important thing is to get the win, though I hope I’ll have fewer dips in my level of play as we move forward. Here at the European Championships, the goal is to build momentum, to find your rhythm, stay focused on every point, and, little by little, make fewer mistakes. If you can avoid them altogether, that’s even better.” Germany – Denmark 3-0 Germany’s Benedikt DUDA, Patrick FRANZISKA and Dang QIU justified their status by overcaming Denmark’s Jonathan GROTH, Anders LIND and Martin ANDERSEN. Right from the opening game between Benedikt DUDA and Jonathan GROTH, the match was spectacular. Duda saved four game points against the Dane before finally taking the opener 15–13. Although the

On the fifth day of play at the European Team Championships in Zadar, the top 16 teams battled for a place in the quarter-finals. Poland – Austria 3–2 Poland advanced to the quarter-finals after a thrilling 3–2 victory over Austria. For the Polish side, Natalia BAJOR, Zuzanna WIELGOS, and Katarzyna WĘGRZYN each contributed to the decisive scoreline. In Austria’s team, Sofia POLCANOVA secured two wins, but Karoline MISCHEK and Yuan LIU were unable to provide the needed support. “The key was to stay in the match despite POLCANOVA’s two wins, we knew she would get them,” said WIELGOS.“For me, the receive is the most important part of my game, and I’m happy it worked well today. I was very stressed; playing a decisive match at such an important stage of the Championships didn’t make it easier.However, I managed to stay focused until the end.” Ukraine – Hungary 3–0 Ukraine’s trio of Margaryta PESOTSKA, Veronika MATIUNINA, and Tetyana BILENKO halted Hungary’s progress with a commanding 3–0 victory. For Hungary, Georgina POTA, Rebeka NAGY, and Johanna PETERY were unable to find a way through. PESOTSKA’s opening win over POTA (3–1) proved decisive, setting the tone for Ukraine’s overall success. “My match against POTA was very close because we’ve played each other many times and know each other’s game well,” explained PESOTSKA. “I needed to stay calm and focused in the key moments. I managed to do that, and it was a very tight win. The crucial part of our team victory was to stop Georgina.” Portugal – Luxembourg 3–0 Portugal’s trio Fu YU, Jieni SHAO, and Julia LEAL advanced to the quarter-finals with a 3–0 victory over Luxembourg’s Sarah DE NUTTE, Tessy DUMONT, and Enisa SADIKOVIC. One of the biggest surprises of the Women’s Team group stage, Luxembourg failed to claim a single individual win this time, but the scoreline does not fully reflect how hard-fought the match was. Sarah DE NUTTE came back from 0–2 down to level the score before narrowly losing 10–12 in the decisive game, while Enisa SADIKOVIC also pushed LEAL to the full distance. “At this level, it’s normal that we have to be at the top of our game,” said LEAL. “It’s already Day 5 of the Championships, and I’ve gained a lot of confidence here. Against Ukraine, I expect a really tough match.” Netherlands – Czechia 3–1 Led by the refreshed Jie LI, the Netherlands defeated Czechia 3–1 to reach the quarter-finals. The Dutch team, Jie LI, Britt EERLAND, and Shuohan MEN, overcame Hana MATELOVA, Veronika POLAKOVA, and Hanka KODET in a hard-fought encounter. LI claimed victories over both MATELOVA and POLAKOVA, while EERLAND prevailed against POLAKOVA. KODET secured the only point for the Czech side with a win over MEN. “It feels like in every European Championship we somehow have to play Czechia,” reflected EERLAND with a smile. “We were even a little surprised we didn’t face them in the group stage, it’s as if it was meant to happen in the last 16. It’s always a tough match against them. MATELOVA is a well-known player, and their younger ones already have medals from the youth circuit, so you can’t underestimate them. Sometimes it’s even more difficult because you don’t know exactly how they’ll play or what they’ll bring that day, maybe they catch fire and win big matches.” EERLAND underlined the team’s determination: “No matter what happens, we want to be there as a full, united team. We didn’t want to underestimate them at all. They also changed their order, so LI had to play MATELOVA at the end that was expected to be tight. It became a match with some extra tension, but LI fought through it really well. She didn’t put herself under pressure, she kept the pressure on the table, and that made the difference.” Speaking about her own win against POLAKOVA, she added: “Starting 1–0 up helped me to settle in. I noticed she played with a different rhythm and timing, so sometimes it was better just to slow the pace, touch the ball softly, and keep it on the table. I focused on small details, that’s how I won points. I’m happy I could keep that level for all three games.” EERLAND also commented on Shuohan MEN’s loss to KODET: “Our number three had already beaten KODET once before, so we knew she could be dangerous again. But when you’ve beaten someone before, you also expect from yourself to do it again and that brings extra pressure. We told her: ‘You don’t have to win, they’re the ones who must. Just put the pressure on them.’ She really tried to fight her own nerves, you could see how much she wanted it. In the end, it was a bit of a mental game. It’s a pity she couldn’t take the match, but we were confident that LI could finish it for us and she did. I’m proud of how we handled it as a team. In the end, we did it together, and that’s what matters most.” Spain – Sweden 0–3 Sweden’s team of Linda BERGSTRÖM, Christina KÄLLBERG, and Filippa BERGAND advanced to the quarter-finals after a commanding 3–0 victory over Spain’s Maria XIAO, Huan ZHANG, and Elvira RAD. BERGSTRÖM and KÄLLBERG produced impressive performances against XIAO and ZHANG, setting the tone for Sweden’s success. In the closing match, BERGAND was pushed to the limit by RAD, but held firm to complete the sweep. BERGSTRÖM on her match:“It was almost a perfect match. I could play the way I wanted throughout the three sets, and I’m happy I could secure the first point for the team.” On the team’s performance: “It’s really strong to beat Spain 3–0. Stina played a very good match against an opponent she doesn’t like to face that much, and Filippa finished it off with a very strong win. It feels great to win 3–0.” On the next opponent (likely Germany): “It will be tough, they’re probably the best team here. But we’ll

Both the Men’s and Women’s Events were marked by surprises in the group stage, but several of the teams that arrived in Zadar as favourites managed to recover after early setbacks and bounce back strongly to secure their place in the Final Stage of the European Team Championships 2027, which will be held in Porto. After two rounds of play-off matches, Slovenia and France in the women’s event, and Austria and Czechia in the men’s event, booked their tickets for the next stage of the continental competition. In the Women’s Team event, France, represented by Jia Nan YUAN, Prithika PAVADE, and Leana HOCHART, recorded convincing 3–0 victories over both Wales and Türkiye to finish in positions 17–18 and secure qualification. Slovenia’s trio of Ana TOFANT, Sara TOKIĆ, and Katarina STRAŽAR faced far greater pressure, going the full distance in both of their encounters against Greece and Bulgaria, but ultimately prevailed to join France among the qualified teams. In the Men’s Team event, Austria’s Andreas LEVENKO, Robert GARDOS, and Maciej KOŁODZIEJCZYK overcame Ukraine and the Netherlands to clinch their spot in the Final Stage. Czechia’s Lubomir JANČAŘÍK, Pavel ŠIRUČEK, and Radim MORÁVEK also delivered a strong performance, defeating Italy and Hungary by identical 3–1 margins.

On the third day of play at the European Team Championships in Zadar, the teams seeded No. 2 and No. 3 in their respective groups fought for their remaining positions in the Round of 16, which will be played on Thursday. Additionally, the teams that reached the last 16 also confirmed their qualification for the 2026 World Championships in London. England – Greece 1–3 Group D: Portugal 2–0, Greece 1–1, England 0–2 Despite a strong start, highlighted by Tom JARVIS’s win over Ioannis SGOUROPOULOS, Greece secured their spot in the knockout stage as the second-placed team in the group. Panagiotis GIONIS overcame both JARVIS and Paul DRINKHALL, while Georgios STAMATOUROS prevailed against Samuel WALKER. “Today we knew we had to win 3–0 or 3–1, because England beat Portugal. England is a very good team, even though they are here without PITCHFORD, for them that’s a big loss,” said Panagiotis GIONIS. “We played freely, we believed we could do it, and I think all the guys played perfectly. If Ioannis had been a little luckier, he could have won the first match as well, and maybe we could have taken first place in the group. But in the end, we’re very happy. We focused a lot on this game, believed in ourselves, and fought hard. We were a little luckier today, and we won.” Asked if he had any preferences for the Round of 16 draw, GIONIS smiled: “Of course, we have some preferences. If you play against Sweden, France, or Germany, it’s tougher, you have to be honest about that. But our goal was to qualify, and now we’ve done it. We’ll just play, enjoy the moment, and see what happens. For us, it’s already good to play another match, and we’re very happy with our performance. If we get a good draw, well, I’m dreaming a little (laughs), maybe if we can have Belgium, that would be a very good draw for us. But we’ll see.” The Greek Olympian added:“When you qualify from such a difficult group, you start believing in everything. We know it’s tough to beat the top teams, but in sports, you never know what can happen. Now we’ll play more freely, it’s a great experience, especially for the young players, as it’s their first time reaching the top 16 at the Europeans. All our young players are getting more experienced; they play in strong leagues. What’s most important is that we enjoy it, stay relaxed, prepare well, and stay focused. In the end, anything can happen, we’ve seen many surprises in recent years, and everyone can beat everyone if you believe in yourself. The key is to work, practice, and believe.” Finland – Poland 1–3 Group H: Belgium 2–0, Poland 1–1, Finland 0–2 Poland recovered from their opening-round defeat against Belgium and advanced to the knockout stage after a solid victory over Finland. Milosz REDZIMSKI was the backbone of the team’s success with two wins, against Benedek OLAH and Aleksi RASANEN, while Marek BADOWSKI added one more point by beating RASANEN. Alex NAUMI scored Finland’s only win, overcoming Samuel KULCZYCKI. “For me, it was really nice,” said Milosz REDZIMSKI. “I wasn’t feeling great in the morning at the beginning, but after overcoming some problems with low energy, I played quite well. I didn’t see much of Samuel’s game, but I saw it was very close. Marek played great and won quickly, so we’re very happy. We feel strong and ready to fight for a medal.” “We’ve played many times against Benedek OLAH because he competes in the Polish League, so we were very well prepared tactically. That preparation was the key, we knew we needed to beat him to win the team match, and we did it. We’re really happy.” Marek BADOWSKI added: “We fight for every game. We know our potential, and we know we can beat very good teams here. We’re prepared and ready to give everything. We had a very tough match against Belgium, and we wanted to do things right today, we prepared well for this match.” Netherlands – Slovakia 1–3 Group F: Romania 2–0, Slovakia 1–1, Netherlands 0–2 Slovakia advanced to the next stage after a 3–1 victory over the Netherlands. Gabrielius CAMARA gave the Dutch team a better start with a win over Lubomir PISTEJ, but Yang WANG was in splendid form, defeating both Kas VAN OOST and CAMARA. Alexander VALUCH added the third point with a win over Barry BERBEN. “They have a very young and competitive team, so we knew it would be a tough match. We played them last time in Malmö, we won 3–0, but all the matches were very close, so we knew it would be hard again,” explained the experienced Lubomir PISTEJ. “I didn’t start well, but my adversary played really good and deserved to win. Then WANG Yang came back with an easy victory; he’s in very good shape. At one moment he was down 1–11 and 0–4, that’s 15–1 in total, and then he came back somehow! Lucky for us, because it was really not an easy match today. We knew this was our most important match in the group, and we managed to win, so we’re very happy.” PISTEJ added:“Two points from WANG were the key, but also VALUCH, he didn’t play yesterday, and today he got the chance and took it from position three. It was good for us to lead 2–1; it helped Yang mentally as well. I was ready to step in if needed. I think we are normally the stronger team, but you always have to prove it on the table.” Serbia – Ukraine 3-2 Group C: Germany 2-0, Serbia 1-1, Ukraine 0-2. Serbia secured a hard-fought 3–2 victory over Ukraine in Group C, with Dimitrije LEVAJAC making a triumphant return to the line-up after recovering from a shoulder injury. Playing his first matches of the championships, LEVAJAC won both encounters confidently overcoming Anton LIMONOV, and then staging a remarkable comeback against Andrii GREBENIUK. Trailing

The last day of the Group Stage matches at the European Team Championships in Zadar brought decisive clashes for the remaining places in the Round of 16. Additionally, the teams that reached the last 16 also secured qualification for the World Championships in London 2026. Belgium – Czechia 1–3 Group 4: Portugal 2–0, Czechia 1–1, Belgium 0–2 Czechia recovered from their earlier defeat against Portugal and, with a win over Belgium, secured a place in the Round of 16. Hana MATELOVA beat both Margo DEGRAEF and Julie VAN HAUWAERT, while Veronika POLAKOVA overcame Margo DEGRAEF. Lilou MASSART claimed Belgium’s only point, prevailing against Karin GROFOVA in a tight five-game duel. “I think Veronika started off really well, winning 3–2, and that gave me a nice sense of calm as well,” said Hana MATELOVA. “For me, it was actually quite an advantage that the Belgian team changed their lineup. I won both of my matches comfortably, so that’s great. I’m really enjoying the young energy and spirit in our team, we’re always taking photos, Snapchats, stories, but I don’t mind. It’s all part of it.” Spain – Netherlands 0–3 Group 3: Netherlands 2–0, Spain 1–1, France 0–2 Both Netherlands and Spain secured their place in the second stage by overcoming France in the previous two rounds. Today, the Dutch team confirmed their top position in the standings and a better draw position by defeating Spain in straight matches. Netherlands’ Britt EERLAND, Jie LI, and Shuohan MEN overcame Maria XIAO, Sofia-Xuan ZHANG, and Maria BERZOSA without due alarm. “I think after beating France we were, of course, a little bit more confident, but we didn’t really think ahead yet. We also watched the match between France and Spain, and we saw that Spain really pushed France hard, they wanted to win, not just play. From that match, we felt the pressure too, knowing they would come strong against us, so we had to go all in. Of course, nobody wants to lose, so we stayed super focused. Maybe not always the nicest, but very focused, and that showed in our performance. For me, for Jie, and for Shuohan at number three, she was a little nervous, but I’m happy she could finish the match for us,” said Britt EERLAND. Asked about the next goal, EERLAND continued: “It would be great to go for a medal, of course. But as I said before, we’re the type of team that just wants to win, it doesn’t matter if it’s the semifinals, final, or group stage, we just want to win. So we’ll keep fighting and try to make it as difficult as possible for everyone. Most importantly, we’ll play our own game and our best table tennis.” “You never know, any match can be the deciding one, any point can turn the momentum. So if we have a chance, even a small one, we have to take it. I’m also very happy for Shuohan that she could win her match; it’s great for her confidence going forward in the tournament. Of course, we still have to see who we’ll play next and how we can prepare, because we also have Tanja, so we’ll do everything to play our best table tennis and find the best possible tactics.” Austria – Greece 3–0 Group 5: Sweden 2–0, Austria 1–1, Greece 0–2 After Aikaterini TOLIOU defeated Yuan LIU in a long and hard-fought duel, Austria shifted into a higher gear. Sofia POLCANOVA beat both Malamatenia PAPADIMITRIOU and TOLIOU in straight games (3–0), while Karoline MISCHEK prevailed against Ioanna GERASIMATOU to complete the victory. “It was our goal to qualify for the last 16 and also to secure a place at the World Championships in London 2026, so now that we’ve done it, we are, of course, really happy,” said Sofia POLCANOVA. “Today we showed that we are one team and that we did what we had to do. I might be the number one in the team, but we’re all one unit — I’m happy when everyone can play and win. As the top player, I do feel the pressure, but I believe that if I can win two matches, the other girls can also deliver, and today, that was exactly the case.” Although Nina SKERBINZ did not play in this match, POLCANOVA spoke warmly about her young teammate’s debut. “This is our first tournament together with Nina, and I hope she can gain valuable experience here at the European Championships, not only from me, but also from the other players on the team.” England – Italy 3-2 Group 7: Croatia 2-0, England 1-1, Italy 0-2. England emerged victorious in a tense five-match duel against Italy, clinching second place in Group 7 and a spot in the Round of 16. It was Italy who started stronger, as Giorgia PICCOLIN defeated Tin-Tin HO in the opening encounter. England then responded with Tianer YU’s convincing win over Gaia MONFARDINI. The balance shifted again when Nicole ARLIA overcame Jasmin WONG, but HO and YU held their nerve to seal England’s overall 3–2 triumph. “The first match against Giorgia PICCOLIN was a tough loss for me. I had control for most of it, but unfortunately she changed a few things and I couldn’t find a way to win,” said HO. “In my second match against Gaia MONFARDINI I felt really good, she played my game, and I’m happy that I managed to win 3–0. Overall, we’re so happy that we reached the Round of 16 and showed some really good table tennis.” Overall we are so happy that we managed to get in the round of 16 and showed a good game,”said HO. Slovenia – Serbia 0–3 Group 2: Germany 2–0, Serbia 1–1, Slovenia 0–2 Serbia’s Izabela LUPULESKU, Sabina ŠURJAN, and Aneta MAKSUTI overcame Slovenia’s Sara TOKIĆ, Ana TOFANT, and Katarina STRAŽAR to secure second place in the group and a spot in the Round of 16. “We’re satisfied. We knew our opponents wouldn’t be easy. It’s true, we were

The Day 2 of the European Team Championships in Zadar brought long and dramatic clashes in the Men’s Event. See all pictures here. Teams already secured the place in the Round of 16 are: Sweden, France, Germany, Romania, Croatia and Belgium. After a tense battle, the bronze medalists from Malmö, team Portugal, suffered a shock defeat at the hands of England. All three English players, Samuel WALKER, Tom JARVIS, and Paul DRINKHALL, posted victories, while Joao GERALDO won both his matches for Portugal. “In the first match, I really took all my chances and played the way I needed to. In the second match, I was leading 1–0 and 2–1, 5–2… It was a good match,” said Tom JARVIS, who eventually lost his second encounter against GERALDO. Sam WALKER shared his thoughts on the team’s goals: “We’ve done it with the dream of medals. I mean, that would be great, but it’s not something easy. Of course, we believe we can do it, but it’s not something we’re particularly thinking about. We’re just trying to focus on each match.” Experienced Paul DRINKHALL summarized: “We know Portugal are a strong side. We came in as underdogs, but we all managed to get a win today, so it was a great team performance. We did the right things at the right time, which got us over the line. It’s a good performance.” Tomorrow England will face Greece. “I think that one is a 50–50 match, and tomorrow will be the same,” added JARVIS. “We’ve got to go in again and make sure things go our way.” Drama also unfolded in the other first-round duel between Belgium and Poland, which eventually went in favor of Cédric NUYTINCK, Adrien RASSENFOSSE, and Martin ALLEGRO. Milosz REDZIMSKI gave Poland a dream start by defeating NUYTINCK, but RASSENFOSSE leveled with a win over Maciej KUBIK. Once again, Marek BADOWSKI put Poland ahead, and REDZIMSKI looked on course to seal the victory for Poland when RASSENFOSSE recovered from a 1–2 deficit to push Belgium into a decisive fifth match. KUBIK and NUYTINCK fought fiercely and produced another tense battle before Belgium finally sealed the victory. France were in furious mode. In under an hour, they swept Hungary to secure a place in the Round of 16. Felix LEBRUN beat Csaba ANDRAS, Alexis LEBRUN prevailed against David SZANTOSI, and Simon GAUZY overcame Balazs LEI. Felix LEBRUN said:“They played well, they had solid matches. I was playing in position two, against their number one, so we knew it wasn’t going to be easy for me. I’m happy to win and to take the match 3–0. We know him; he plays in the Bundesliga and already has some good results, so we knew he could play well. It really feels like now the team is clicking, everyone’s winning, and we’re finding our rhythm step by step. However, a 3–0 team win always feels good. Now we’ve got two days off, so we’ll train well and prepare for the second stage of the tournament after the Round of 16.” Asked about how the team will use the rest days, he continued: “We’ll talk about it after this, but I think we’ll do two training sessions tomorrow and maybe a physical session the next day. It depends on each player, everyone prepares in their own way so that we’re all ready for the next stage.” On how they spend downtime during the tournament, he smiled: “We just spend time together. We’ve got a great hotel, there’s a pool, the sea is right next to us, we go for walks… and we also brought the PlayStation, so we play together. It’s pretty classic; we just try to enjoy the breaks and spend time as a team.I t’s nice, honestly, and we enjoy being together. But of course, if someone wants to do their own thing, they can. It’s all about balance, we each have our space, but everyone’s happy to hang out together, so it’s easy.” On his own form, Felix added: “Pretty good, I feel fine, everything’s going well. The conditions are great, the venue is amazing. I’ve felt good in practice so far. In matches, I can still play better and build up more rhythm. That’s the goal for the next two days of training. I made a few rushed decisions today that I’ll try to avoid next time. But we have time to prepare properly. It’s basically a second tournament starting from Thursday, so it’s going to be exciting.” Asked about a minor injury:“At one point I felt something in my left arm. It’s nothing serious, just a small strain. It’s not bothering me much, but I put some ice on it afterward to reduce the inflammation. Nothing major.” Simon GAUZY reflected on his own improvement:“Personally, my goal was to do better than yesterday. I lost against a strong player, but I wasn’t happy with how I handled the match, he caused me a lot of trouble. Today, I was more solid; I played a complete match, my service and receive game were much better, and I was more aggressive. I’m happy with that.” Alexis LEBRUN added:“I’m also very happy with my performance today. I think I played well, I won 3–0, so I’m really pleased and looking forward to the rest of the tournament.” Simon GAUZY continued:“Right now, I don’t think any of us feel too much pressure. The tournament is long, and we don’t want to be nervous too early. We just want to take it match by match. We have two days off now, a chance to recover and practice. The real pressure will start in the knockout stage, so we just want to be ready when it comes.” Finally, Alexis LEBRUN looked ahead:“In my opinion, the strongest team is Germany. They have very strong players and have won so many titles at the European Championships. It’s always tough to face them, but I really hope we can meet them later in the tournament.” It was back

On the second day of play at the European Team Championships in Zadar, the high pressure took its toll. Bronze medalists from Malmö, team France, failed to reach the Round of 16. After their surprising loss to the Netherlands on the opening day, today Spain, seeded No. 15, proved stronger than the No. 3 seeds. Their place in the Round of 16 already secured: Germany, Romania, Portugal, Sweden, Poland, Croatia, Netherlands, Spain and Ukraine. See all pictures here. Maria XIAO, Sofia-Xuan ZHANG, and Maria BERZOSA secured a memorable victory over Jia Nan YUAN, Prithika PAVADE, and Charlotte LUTZ. Both XIAO and ZHANG were pushed the full distance but held their nerve in the decisive moments, winning by narrow margins. “We went out there with nothing to lose. They were clearly the favorites, so we had to fight for every point. Things worked out because we believed in our chances and tried to take control of the match, and it went our way,” said Maria XIAO. Sofia-Xuan ZHANG admitted that tension was high throughout: “Honestly, I was really nervous. Even at the end, when I was shaking hands with the girls, I was still in my own world, it didn’t feel like it was really over. The match was very close: two went 3–2, another 3–1, all of them tight. We knew we were in a tough group, and if we wanted to advance, we had to find the right tactics and fight until the end. We did that, and it paid off. We’re happy with the result and ready for more.” For Maria BERZOSA, this was her first appearance at the senior European Team Championships, and she rose to the challenge. “To be honest, when I went into the match, I was very nervous. I played the first game nervously, but then I told myself, ‘I don’t feel like losing.’ She was the favorite, on paper she should have won, and we were already ahead. So I thought, ‘I have to give it my all,’ and the nerves went away.” In Group H, the leaders Ukraine justified their status, securing top position and a rest day before the Round of 16, with no need to worry about the outcome of the third group match. After their opening win over Türkiye, Ukraine also defeated Slovakia. Margaryta PESOTSKA won both of her encounters, against Barbora VARADY and Ema LABOSOVA, while Veronika MATIUNINA also overcame LABOSOVA. Slovakia’s only point came from Tatiana KUKULKOVA, who earned a strong consolation victory. Sweden’s Christina KALLBERG, Linda BERGSTRÖM, and Filippa BERGAND overcame Austria’s Sofia POLCANOVA, Nina SKERBINZ, and Yuan LIU, with POLCANOVA earning both of Austria’s points by defeating KALLBERG and BERGSTRÖM. “I felt nervous going into the deciding game. It was a match I was supposed to win, so it’s always special,” said Christina KALLBERG. “I got a good start, and her playing style suited me well, so it felt comfortable in the end. I also want to give credit to our bench today, they really showed our great team spirit.” It is second win for Sweden after they prevailed against Greece yesterday, so they will have two days for rest. “It feels great to win the group, and I think we deserve it. Of course, they have one of the best number ones in POLCANOVA, but I believe we are stronger as a team.” Poland finished the first phase of the Championships at the top of their group. After defeating Bulgaria, the No. 6 seeds went on to overcome Hungary (seeded No. 12). Zuzanna WIELGOS went the full distance against Georgina POTA, Natalia BAJOR needed one game fewer to beat Judit NAGY, and Katarzyna WEGRZYN prevailed over Rebeka NAGY. Speaking about her match against the experienced Hungarian, Zuzanna WIELGOS said: “I was a little bit stressed because this was my first match of the tournament. I played against POTA for the first time, but I knew she is a really good player. I was leading 2–0, but then she played some very good points, so we went into the decider. I’m happy that I managed to stay focused and win the fifth set. Overall, it was a great team performance, and we will keep fighting in the next rounds.” Hana ARAPOVIC won full distance thriller against Giorgia PICCOLIN, but Gaia MONFARDINI leveled with the win over Lea RAKOVAC. Ivana MALOBABIC returned Croatia back in the lead with win over Debora VIVARELLI. MONFARDINI showed splendid shape and recorded second win over ARAPOVIC to push Italy into decider and in breathtaking finish RAKOVAC sealed the victory. Croatia’s Women’s Team Coach Dragutin ŠURBEK addmited:“It was a very stressful match, we went from victory to defeat and back again, it was extremely tense, just as I predicted. I take a bow to the girls. Of course, we are satisfied, this is a success but we haven’t said our last word yet. We don’t intend to stop here. Even finishing first in the group doesn’t mean much, because this championship is full of surprises.” Lea RAKOVAC: “I don’t even know what to say. Congratulations and full respect to every single girl, Hana, Ivana, everyone played great. Even those of us who lost to Monfardini, Gaia played really, really well, and I have huge respect for her. I also lost to her, but I can’t say I’m unhappy with my performance. She just played superbly! The most important thing is that our whole team played fantastically. Everyone on the bench, not just those on court, plus the crowd who supported us all the way. Absolutely everyone, we are all winners. The whole of Croatia won today. Hana ARAPOVIC helped me a lot before the last match, since she had already played and beaten PICCOLIN. I have to say, this was a victory for the entire team.” Hana ARAPOVIĆ: “This victory is proof of our teamwork, and I believe it has given us even stronger motivation going forward. Our first goal was to qualify for the World Championships, but now we’re