The Under 19 Girls Doubles Event at the European Youth Championships in Gondomar reached the medal stage, with four pairs advancing to the semi-finals and securing at least bronze medals.
France enjoyed a perfect quarter-final session, placing both of its partnerships in the last four. Nina GUO ZHENG and Leana HOCHART produced a commanding display to defeat Germany’s Koharu ITAGAKI and Lisa-Sophie WANG in straight games. Although the second game proved competitive, the French pair maintained control to seal their place in the semi-finals.
Their teammates Jade HUYNH and Alexia NODIN had to work considerably harder before overcoming Bianca MEI ROSU of Romania and Maria BERZOSA of Spain in a gripping five-game encounter. After a challenging opening game, the French pair regrouped and gradually turned the momentum in their favour.
“Reaching the semi-finals was a huge goal for us because of how difficult our part of the draw was,” explained NODIN. “The start was terrible, we lost the first game 11-2 and we weren’t really into the match. But after that we found our rhythm, especially against the defender. We managed to make our opponents doubt themselves, while we stayed confident, even in the deciding game. We’re very happy to have secured a medal.”
The closest contest outside the French victory saw Aleksandra BOKOVA and Anastasiia IVANOVA (AIN) edge past Portugal’s Julia LEAL and Mariana SANTA COMBA in five games. The momentum shifted repeatedly before the AIN combination prevailed in the decider to keep their title ambitions alive.
Poland’s Natalia BOGDANOWICZ and Katarzyna RAJKOWSKA completed the semi-final line-up with a convincing straight-games victory over Eseniia SHIROKOVA and Zlata TEREKHOVA (AIN), controlling the match from start to finish.
Under 19 Girls Doubles – Quarter-finals
- Nina GUO ZHENG, Leana HOCHART (France) – Koharu ITAGAKI, Lisa-Sophie WANG (Germany) 3-0 (11-3, 13-11, 11-6)
- Aleksandra BOKOVA, Anastasiia IVANOVA (AIN) – Julia LEAL, Mariana SANTA COMBA (Portugal) 3-2 (11-4, 7-11, 14-12, 8-11, 11-8)
- Natalia BOGDANOWICZ, Katarzyna RAJKOWSKA (Poland) – Eseniia SHIROKOVA, Zlata TEREKHOVA (AIN) 3-0 (11-7, 11-7, 11-6)
- Jade HUYNH, Alexia NODIN (France) – Bianca MEI ROSU (Romania), Maria BERZOSA (Spain) 3-2 (2-11, 11-7, 10-12, 11-8, 11-8)
