The first four titles at the 2026 JOOLA Europe Youth Series Czech Open have been decided in Pilsen, with Greece, Poland, Sweden and Romania celebrating victories in the Team competitions. The finals at Hala Krašovská brought three days of Team action to a close, with the focus now shifting to the Singles and Mixed Doubles events.
See pictures by Michal JANIK here.
Greece claimed the U13 Boys’ Team title with a 12-7 victory over Poland. Theofanis MARKOULAKIS and Nikolaos ALEXIDIS combined to overcome a determined Polish pair of Jakub BLASZCZYK and Adam KEDZIERSKI.
BLASZCZYK gave Poland a strong start by defeating ALEXIDIS 3-1, but MARKOULAKIS responded with a straight-games victory over KEDZIERSKI. The Greek pair then took the Doubles 3-1 to gain the advantage.
BLASZCZYK kept Poland in contention by overcoming MARKOULAKIS in five games, but ALEXIDIS secured the title with a 3-0 victory over KEDZIERSKI.
Greece had reached the final by defeating Germany 1 by 11-5, while Poland overcame Germany 2 by 9-1 in the semi-finals.
Poland celebrated gold in the U13 Girls’ Team event, defeating Portugal 11-4 in the final.
Julia SZARMACH played a decisive role, winning both her Singles matches and combining with Kamila BYRDZIAK for a straight-games Doubles victory over Leonor ASCENCO and Lara MONTEIRO.
SZARMACH opened with a 3-1 victory over ASCENCO, while MONTEIRO kept Portugal in contention by defeating BYRDZIAK in five games. However, the Polish pair dominated the Doubles before SZARMACH sealed the title with a convincing 3-0 win over MONTEIRO.
In the semi-finals, Poland defeated Germany 11-7, while Portugal produced an impressive performance to overcome top-seeded Lithuania 11-6.
Sweden 1 secured the U15 Boys’ Team crown with a 10-3 victory over Austria.
Joel ISAKSSON was unbeaten in the final, defeating Joshua SAMS in straight games before combining with Tomas LARSSON to win the Doubles 3-0. ISAKSSON then completed Sweden’s triumph with another straight-games victory, this time against Sung CHEN.
Austria had started strongly, with CHEN defeating LARSSON 3-1 in the opening Singles encounter, but Sweden took control of the remaining matches.
The Swedish pair had booked their place in the final with a convincing 9-1 semi-final victory over Germany. Austria advanced after a dramatic 11-11 contest against the combined Finland/Israel team, progressing on the tie-break.
Romania 1 completed the list of champions by defeating Germany 10-6 in the U15 Girls’ Team final.
Kariss SERBAN delivered an outstanding performance, winning both her Singles matches without dropping a game. She defeated Lotta ROTHFUSS 3-0 before securing the title with another straight-games victory over Chenhao CHEN.
Germany had taken the opening Singles through CHEN, who defeated Nadalia IONASCU in five games, and later won a closely contested Doubles encounter 3-2. However, SERBAN’s two victories proved decisive for Romania.
Romania had reached the final with a 10-4 victory over Israel 1, while Germany overcame Portugal 12-8 in the other semi-final.
With the Team champions crowned, the JOOLA Europe Youth Series Czech Open continues in Pilsen with the individual competitions.
