France’s Leana HOCHART made a perfect start to the Under 19 Girls event at the Europe Youth Top 10 in Antibes, emerging as the only player with three victories after the opening day.
See the pictures by Anthoine BERTHELEMY here.
HOCHART began with an impressive 4-0 win over compatriot Alexia NODIN before overcoming Poland’s Karolina HOLDA 4-1. In the final round of the day, she faced Belgium’s Lilou MASSART and secured another 4-1 victory to complete an unbeaten opening day on home soil.
Behind HOCHART, six players finished the first three rounds with two wins and one defeat, underlining how open the competition remains.
NODIN responded strongly after her opening defeat. She produced a commanding 4-0 victory over Romania’s Bianca MEI-ROSU in Round 2 and followed with another straight-games success against Romania’s Alesia SFERLEA.
MEI-ROSU also ended the day with two wins. She opened with a 4-0 victory over compatriot SFERLEA, lost to NODIN and then recovered to beat HOLDA 4-1.
Germany’s Koharu ITAGAKI, last year’s U15 Girls winner, made a strong start in her first Europe Youth Top 10 appearance in the U19 category. She beat Czechia’s Veronika POLAKOVA 4-1 and SFERLEA by the same score before suffering her first defeat against Portugal’s Julia LEAL. ITAGAKI recovered from 2-0 down to lead 3-2, but LEAL responded to take the final two games and prevail 4-3.
POLAKOVA also recovered well from her opening defeat to ITAGAKI. She beat LEAL 4-1 before overcoming Poland’s Natalia BOGDANOWICZ 4-2 in the evening session.
BOGDANOWICZ started with a 4-1 win over compatriot HOLDA and then came from two games down to defeat MASSART 4-2, before POLAKOVA ended her unbeaten run.
MASSART and LEAL also collected victories during a competitive opening day, with LEAL’s seven-game success against ITAGAKI providing one of the highlights of the third round.
After three of nine rounds, HOCHART is the only player with a perfect record, but with six rounds still to come, the battle for the U19 Girls title remains wide open in Antibes.
Under 19 Girls
- Bianca MEI-ROSU (ROU) – Alesia SFERLEA (ROU) 4-0 (9, 9, 4, 3)
- Alexia NODIN (FRA) – Leana HOCHART (FRA) 0-4 (-5, -6, -9, -9)
- Karolina HOLDA (POL) – Natalia BOGDANOWICZ (POL) 1-4 (-7, -4, 8, -6, -6)
- Lilou MASSART (BEL) – Julia LEAL (POR) 4-2 (-7, -7, 6, 6, 8, 7)
- Veronika POLAKOVA (CZE) – Koharu ITAGAKI (GER) 1-4 (8, -7, -8, -10, -7)
Round 2
- Alesia SFERLEA (ROU) – Koharu ITAGAKI (GER) 1-4 (3, -6, -9, -9, -10)
- Julia LEAL (POR) – Veronika POLAKOVA (CZE) 1-4 (-9, -9, -10, 9, -5)
- Natalia BOGDANOWICZ (POL) – Lilou MASSART (BEL) 4-2 (-10, -8, 7, 9, 5, 3)
- Leana HOCHART (FRA) – Karolina HOLDA (POL) 4-1 (6, 8, -5, 4, 5)
- Bianca MEI-ROSU (ROU) – Alexia NODIN (FRA) 0-4 (-7, -2, -9, -6)
Round 3
- Alexia NODIN (FRA) – Alesia SFERLEA (ROU) 4-0 (8, 8, 6, 6)
- Karolina HOLDA (POL) – Bianca MEI-ROSU (ROU) 1-4 (10, -9, -6, -6, -6)
- Lilou MASSART (BEL) – Leana HOCHART (FRA) 1-4 (-7, -8, 11, -8, -12)
- Veronika POLAKOVA (CZE) – Natalia BOGDANOWICZ (POL) 4-2 (4, -8, 9, 4, -6, 6)
- Koharu ITAGAKI (GER) – Julia LEAL (POR) 3-4 (-9, -8, 10, 8, 5, -5, -8)
Schedule
Round 4 – 11:40
- Alesia SFERLEA (Romania) – Julia LEAL (Portugal)
- Natalia BOGDANOWICZ (Poland) – Koharu ITAGAKI (Germany)
- Leana HOCHART (France) – Veronika POLAKOVA (Czechia)
- Bianca MEI-ROSU (Romania) – Lilou MASSART (Belgium)
- Alexia NODIN (France) – Karolina HOLDA (Poland)
Round 5 – 15:40
- Karolina HOLDA (Poland) – Alesia SFERLEA (Romania)
- Lilou MASSART (Belgium) – Alexia NODIN (France)
- Veronika POLAKOVA (Czechia) – Bianca MEI-ROSU (Romania)
- Koharu ITAGAKI (Germany) – Leana HOCHART (France)
- Julia LEAL (Portugal) – Natalia BOGDANOWICZ (Poland)
Round 6 – 19:00
- Alesia SFERLEA (Romania) – Natalia BOGDANOWICZ (Poland)
- Leana HOCHART (France) – Julia LEAL (Portugal)
- Bianca MEI-ROSU (Romania) – Koharu ITAGAKI (Germany)
- Alexia NODIN (France) – Veronika POLAKOVA (Czechia)
- Karolina HOLDA (Poland) – Lilou MASSART (Belgium)
Round 7 – 11:40
- Lilou MASSART (Belgium) – Alesia SFERLEA (Romania)
- Veronika POLAKOVA (Czechia) – Karolina HOLDA (Poland)
- Koharu ITAGAKI (Germany) – Alexia NODIN (France)
- Julia LEAL (Portugal) – Bianca MEI-ROSU (Romania)
- Natalia BOGDANOWICZ (Poland) – Leana HOCHART (France)
Round 8 – 15:40
- Alesia SFERLEA (Romania) – Leana HOCHART (France)
- Bianca MEI-ROSU (Romania) – Natalia BOGDANOWICZ (Poland)
- Alexia NODIN (France) – Julia LEAL (Portugal)
- Karolina HOLDA (Poland) – Koharu ITAGAKI (Germany)
- Lilou MASSART (Belgium) – Veronika POLAKOVA (Czechia)
Round 9 – 19:00
- Veronika POLAKOVA (Czechia) – Alesia SFERLEA (Romania)
- Koharu ITAGAKI (Germany) – Lilou MASSART (Belgium)
- Julia LEAL (Portugal) – Karolina HOLDA (Poland)
- Natalia BOGDANOWICZ (Poland) – Alexia NODIN (France)
- Leana HOCHART (France) – Bianca MEI-ROSU (Romania)
