In the Women’s Doubles event at the European Under 21 Championships in Bratislava, Romania’s Elena ZAHARIA and Bianca MEI ROSU will face Anna HURSEY of Wales and Mia GRIESEL of Germany for a place on the highest step of the medal rostrum.
In the semi-final, the newly formed pairing of HURSEY and GRIESEL defeated the top-seeded duo Hana ARAPOVIC of Croatia and Ioana SINGEORZAN of Romania in straight games (14-12, 11-9, 12-10).
“We only played one tournament together, in Metz this year,” said HURSEY. “Our doubles partnership is quite new, but we communicate very well. We trust each other because we’ve known each other for a really long time. I think when it comes to tactics and similar stuff, it comes very easily.”
GRIESEL also emphasized the importance of communication:
“We really trust each other. Sometimes, when one of us does something really stupid or makes an easy mistake, the other one doesn’t get upset. We can be relaxed, and we know we can count on support from each other. In this match, sometimes our service wasn’t the best, or maybe the receive didn’t go as planned, but overall we played well and kept our level from the first to the last ball.”
Defending champions ZAHARIA and MEI ROSU overcame Poland’s Zuzanna WIELGOS and Anna BRZYSKA 3-1 (9-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-6).
“It was a pleasure to play once again with my teammate and clubmate from Constanța, Elena. We enjoy it to the fullest. Our goal is always clear—we’re aiming for the title, just like last year,” said MEI ROSU.
ZAHARIA reflected on the tough challenge presented by the Polish team:
“They are a very tough pairing to beat. BRZYSKA is very dangerous, but WIELGOS should not be underestimated either. They are both strong players, and we expected to fight for every point. Still, we really enjoyed playing together. Since we are in the same club and practice together, our communication is very strong.”
