The Women’s Doubles quarterfinal line-up at the European Championships in Ljubljana is complete following eight Round of 16 encounters, with top seeds Bernadette SZOCS and Elizabeta SAMARA of Romania advancing alongside strong performances from Germany, France and Poland. Serbia’s Sabina ŠURJAN and Izabela LUPULESKU produced the most dramatic comeback of the day, recovering from two games down to keep their medal hopes alive.
Top seeds Bernadette SZOCS and Elizabeta SAMARA continued their campaign with a straight-games victory over Croatia’s Lea RAKOVAC and Hana ARAPOVIC (11-9, 11-8, 11-6). Although the Croatian pair remained competitive throughout the opening stages of each game, the experienced Romanian combination showed greater consistency and composure at the decisive moments.
“We both played very well. We complemented each other perfectly, and I think that was the key to winning the match. We are very positive about the next round because we played really well together,” said SZOCS.
The Romanian player highlighted communication and anticipation as the decisive factors.
“The most important thing was communication. We knew where the ball was going and where we needed to move. We also avoided making easy mistakes. Our opponents played amazingly well at the beginning of the games, but they tended to make mistakes towards the end. We knew it would be a difficult match, so we stayed focused from the very beginning. I think our shots had more quality, and our ball placement prevented them from playing their own game,” explained SAMARA.
France’s Prithika PAVADE and Charlotte LUTZ, seeded 11th, delivered one of the standout performances of the day, defeating fourth seeds Andreea DRAGOMAN and Adina DIACONU of Romania in straight games (14-12, 11-5, 11-7).
The opening game proved crucial, with the French pair prevailing 14-12. From that moment, PAVADE and LUTZ took control, maintaining their attacking rhythm and putting their opponents under pressure.
“It was definitely not an easy match. The first game was really tight, and we managed to win it. After that, I think we dominated, but we had to stay focused on every point because we felt they could come back at any moment,” said PAVADE.
The French combination have set their sights on reaching at least the semifinals, although LUTZ stressed the importance of approaching each match without unnecessary pressure.
“We have very big goals in this tournament. We really want to reach the semifinal and even further if possible. But we will prepare for the next match as usual, treating it like a normal match so we don’t put too much pressure on ourselves. Whoever we face, it will be tough. We will prepare as well as possible and give 100 percent,” said LUTZ.
Second seeds Annett KAUFMANN and Nina MITTELHAM of Germany also secured their place in the last eight, overcoming Sweden’s Christina KÄLLBERG and Filippa BERGAND 3-1 (11-8, 11-7, 8-11, 11-5).
The German pair established a two-game advantage before the Swedes responded by taking the third. However, KAUFMANN and MITTELHAM quickly regained control, dominating the fourth game to close out the contest.
In another German success, sixth seeds Xiaona SHAN and Sabine WINTER defeated Luxembourg’s Xia Lian NI and Sarah DE NUTTE, seeded 12th, in four games (11-8, 9-11, 11-2, 13-11).
After sharing the opening two games, the German duo produced a commanding display in the third, allowing their opponents just two points. The fourth proved much tighter, with the Luxembourg pair fighting to extend the contest, but SHAN and WINTER held their nerve to seal victory 13-11.
The most dramatic encounter of the day saw Serbia’s Sabina ŠURJAN and Izabela LUPULESKU recover from two games down to defeat Italy’s Gaia MONFARDINI and Nicole ARLIA 3-2 (7-11, 8-11, 12-10, 14-12, 11-2).
The Serbian duo, bronze medallists at the 2024 European Championships in Linz, struggled in the opening stages as the Italians established a commanding advantage. However, ŠURJAN and LUPULESKU refused to surrender, edging two extremely tight games before dominating the decider.
“I think we started playing in a very nervous and almost panicky way. We are defending our medal from Linz, and I personally felt a lot of pressure. But after going 0-2 down, we managed to calm ourselves, started taking it point by point and began playing much smarter. I think that was the key to turning the match around,” explained ŠURJAN.
LUPULESKU highlighted the strong emotional connection between the two players and the importance of supporting each other during difficult moments.
“I draw a lot of energy from Sabina. If she is nervous, I become nervous too. If she is calm, I become even calmer. In our partnership, Sabina is usually the one who finishes the points, while I create opportunities and set things up for her. When things aren’t going well for her, I try to take more responsibility and help her regain her confidence,” said LUPULESKU.
The Serbian player admitted that the pair had not produced their best performance but was delighted with their fighting spirit.
“As my father always says, the quality of great players is that they find a way to win even when they aren’t playing well. That’s the attitude we’re taking forward. We are going into the quarterfinals with confidence, and we’ll see what happens,” added LUPULESKU.
Poland’s Zuzanna WIELGOS and Anna BRZYSKA also progressed to the quarterfinals after defeating Anna HURSEY of Wales and Tin-Tin HO of England 3-1 (11-9, 11-8, 6-11, 11-7).
The Polish combination established an early advantage by winning the first two games, but HURSEY and HO responded strongly in the third. However, WIELGOS and BRZYSKA regained control in the fourth to secure their place in the last eight.
BRZYSKA pointed to the importance of the opening game, when the Polish pair saw a comfortable lead almost disappear.
“It was a very difficult match because we knew they were very strong opponents, even though we had never played against them before. We had a very good tactical plan and knew how we wanted to play. I think the first game was a key moment. We were leading 10-6, but they came back to 10-9. We took a timeout and managed to win the game 11-9. That was very important for us,” explained BRZYSKA.
Looking ahead to the quarterfinals, the Polish player stressed that their focus had been entirely on the Round of 16 encounter.
“We hadn’t really thought about the next match because we were concentrating on this one. Now we will discuss it and prepare our tactics. I think we played against our next opponents once before, a long time ago in the junior category, and it was a very close match. We hope we can win tomorrow,” said BRZYSKA.
Mariia TAILAKOVA and Elizabet ABRAAMIAN of Russia, produced a convincing straight-games victory over Portugal’s Julia LEAL and Matilde PINTO (11-5, 11-8, 11-5).
The Russia’s pair controlled the match from the beginning, maintaining their advantage throughout the contest and allowing their Portuguese opponents few opportunities to establish a rhythm.
” Of course, it was a tough match. Yesterday, we also had a very difficult match against France, and coming back from 0-2 gave us a lot of motivation and confidence. We understood better how we needed to play. Today, in my opinion, we performed much better and were well prepared. We watched our opponents’ previous match, analysed their game and knew exactly which tactics we needed to use. We listened to each other and communicated a lot. Everything worked well, and I’m very happy with this victory,” said ABRAAMIAN.
TAILAKOVA: “I think the most important thing was the connection between us. This is only the third time we have played together, and at first and second didn’t go very well. Now we have talked a lot about how to approach matches, how to communicate and what to say to each other during play. I think we have developed a very good connection, and that was the key today.”
In the remaining encounter, Slovakia’s Tatiana KUKULKOVA and Poland’s Natalia BAJOR overcame Spain’s Sofia-Xuan ZHANG and Elvira RAD 3-1 (11-9, 7-11, 11-0, 12-10).
After taking the opening game, BAJOR and KUKULKOVA saw the Spanish pair level the match. However, they responded emphatically, winning the third game 11-0 before facing a much tougher challenge in the fourth.
The Polish-Slovak combination had led 7-4 but found themselves trailing 7-8, prompting a crucial timeout. They eventually prevailed 12-10 to complete the victory.
“We started very well, but after the second game, I think our opponents found better tactics against us. At 1-1, we started attacking more and won the third game 11-0. The fourth game was very important. We were leading 7-4, but suddenly we were trailing 7-8. We called a timeout, and I think that was a very important moment,” explained BAJOR.
KUKULKOVA praised her partner’s performance and the tactical adjustments made at the decisive stage.
“First of all, Natalia played very well. I didn’t play so well, but I’m getting better! During the timeout, we spoke with our coaches, who told us what we needed to change tactically, and fortunately it worked. At 10-10, we changed our receive slightly, and that also worked. It was very important to win 3-1 because, if it had gone to 2-2, the deciding game would have been 50-50,” said KUKULKOVA.
The pair, who won bronze together at the 2024 European Championships in Linz, are now looking to continue their successful partnership with another strong result in Ljubljana.
Women’s Doubles – Round of 16 results
- Bernadette SZOCS / Elizabeta SAMARA (ROU) – Lea RAKOVAC / Hana ARAPOVIC (CRO) 3-0 (11-9, 11-8, 11-6)
- Prithika PAVADE / Charlotte LUTZ (FRA) – Andreea DRAGOMAN / Adina DIACONU (ROU) 3-0 (14-12, 11-5, 11-7)
- Annett KAUFMANN / Nina MITTELHAM (GER) – Christina KÄLLBERG / Filippa BERGAND (SWE) 3-1 (11-8, 11-7, 8-11, 11-5)
- Xiaona SHAN / Sabine WINTER (GER) – Xia Lian NI / Sarah DE NUTTE (LUX) 3-1 (11-8, 9-11, 11-2, 13-11)
- Zuzanna WIELGOS / Anna BRZYSKA (POL) – Anna HURSEY / Tin-Tin HO (WAL/ENG) 3-1 (11-9, 11-8, 6-11, 11-7)
- Mariia TAILAKOVA / Elizabet ABRAAMIAN (ETTU2) – Julia LEAL / Matilde PINTO (POR) 3-0 (11-5, 11-8, 11-5)
- Sabina ŠURJAN / Izabela LUPULESKU (SRB) – Gaia MONFARDINI / Nicole ARLIA (ITA) 3-2 (7-11, 8-11, 12-10, 14-12, 11-2)
- Tatiana KUKULKOVA / Natalia BAJOR (SVK/POL) – Sofia-Xuan ZHANG / Elvira RAD (ESP) 3-1 (11-9, 7-11, 11-0, 12-10)
