Bratislava, 11 May 2025 – The 2025 European Under 21 Championships concluded in spectacular fashion, with new champions crowned and history made across all events. The final day will be especially remembered in Wales, as Anna HURSEY became the first Welsh player in history to win a European table tennis title in a women’s or youth event.
HURSEY captured gold in the U21 Women’s Singles, defeating reigning champion Veronika MATIUNINA of Ukraine in the final. She added a second gold by triumphing in the Women’s Doubles, alongside her German partner Mia GRIESEL, making her the most successful woman at the 2025 Championships.
Bronze medals in Women’s Singles went to Ioana SINGEORZAN and Elena ZAHARIA, both of Romania.
In the Men’s Singles, Flavien COTON of France produced a sensational comeback to defeat Iulian CHIRITA of Romania in a thrilling seven-game final. Down 0–2 in games and 4–7 in the decider, COTON rallied to win (16-18, 8-11, 11-1, 11-3, 11-7, 6-11, 11-9) and claim his first European U21 title.
Bronze medals were awarded to Miguel PANTOJA of Spain and Andre BERTELSMEIER of Germany, who, for the second consecutive year, was stopped in the semi-finals.
The Men’s Doubles title went to Romania’s Eduard IONESCU and Darius MOVILEANU, who overcame BERTELSMEIER and Portugal’s Tiago ABIODUN in the final (11-6, 11-5, 9-11, 11-6). Croatia’s Leon BENKO and Ivan HENCL, along with Romania’s Iulian CHIRITA and Andrei ISTRATE, reached the semi-finals.
In the Women’s Doubles, the newly formed pairing of HURSEY and GRIESEL ended the reign of last year’s champions ZAHARIA and Bianca MEI ROSU to secure the title. Bronze went to top seeds Hana ARAPOVIC (Croatia) and Ioana SINGEORZAN (Romania), and the Polish pair Zuzanna WIELGOS and Anna BRZYSKA.
MEI ROSU had a rare opportunity to become the first player to win three consecutive U21 titles, but the story took an ironic turn as she lost to her former partner GRIESEL—whom she had won the title with in 2023. While GRIESEL regained the crown, it was a first-ever European title for HURSEY, following her runner-up finish at the 2022 European Youth Championships with Sophie EARLEY.
ZAHARIA, meanwhile, remains tied with Poland’s Milosz REDZIMSKI for the most U21 titles (three), after missing out on a record fourth.
The Mixed Doubles final saw MOVILEANU and ZAHARIA secure gold for Romania after a dramatic five-game win over Germany’s Wim VERDONSCHOT and Josephina NEUMANN (9-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-13, 11-7).
With this victory, Romania confirmed its dominance in the Mixed Doubles event, having now appeared in all six U21 Mixed Doubles finals, winning four titles overall. MOVILEANU secured gold in his third final appearance, while ZAHARIA celebrated her third Mixed Doubles title in five finals, equalling REDZIMSKI’s record.
For Germany, the final marked a significant breakthrough, with VERDONSCHOT and NEUMANN delivering the country’s first-ever Mixed Doubles final appearance and medal at the European Under 21 Championships.
