Koharu ITAGAKI of Germany was the only player in the opening round of Stage Two at the European Under 21 Championships in Bratislava to defeat a player seeded in the top 8.
Only 15 years old, ITAGAKI displayed remarkable maturity and dominance over the past two days in Bratislava. She has not lost a single game in her four singles matches and has also performed strongly in doubles — losing only one game with Josephina NEUMANN and remaining unbeaten in Mixed Doubles with Tom SCHWEIGER.
Today, she outclassed no. 7 seed Matilde PINTO with a commanding 4-0 win (11-4, 11-7, 11-9, 11-7).
“I did not expect to win in straight games, but I seized the opportunity as it came. I was very focused and maintained control throughout the match,” said ITAGAKI. “I played against PINTO once before; it was my first WTT tournament, maybe three years ago. I lost it then, but I managed to find the right tactics today.”
Despite her young age, ITAGAKI shows no signs of suffering from pressure.
“This is my first Under 21 Championships. I feel good here. Yesterday I won all my matches, which boosted my confidence. It also helped me adjust to the conditions — the hall and the ball felt a bit different, but I had plenty of time to adapt,” she added.
Koharu has already claimed two team titles at the European Youth Championships, one title in Doubles, and has twice finished second at the Europe Youth Top 10.
In other matches from the opening round of Stage Two, top-seeded Hana ARAPOVIC of Croatia beat Josephina NEUMANN of Germany 4-0 (12-10, 11-3, 11-7, 11-9), while defending champion Veronika MATIUNINA of Ukraine overcame Veronika POLAKOVA of Czechia in straight games (11-6, 11-9, 11-8, 11-3).
Anna HURSEY (Wales), Elena ZAHARIA (Romania), Ioana SINGEORZAN (Romania), Nicole ARLIA (Italy), and Zuzanna WIELGOS (Poland) also won their opening Stage Two matches.
