Hanka KODET, last year’s runner-up alongside Jan SKALDA, reached the quarterfinal of the Under 15 Mixed Doubles event at the European Youth Championships in Ostrava, this time partnering with Italy’s Francesco TREVISAN.
In the Round of 16, top seeds TREVISAN and KODET overcame Hungary’s Lenard SZABO and Szonja SZÖGI in straight games.
“Before the match we were a little bit scared, but once we started playing, we calmed down,” said KODET. “We had a strong start, although the first game was tight at 8-8. I think winning that first game was key. After that, the second and third games were smoother, we played our own game. Honestly, we didn’t follow any specific tactic; we just knew the players from singles, combined our strengths, and focused on doing our best. Being seeded no. 1 doesn’t affect us, we’re just trying to stay focused and win.”
Second seeds Lukas WANG and Koharu ITAGAKI of Germany found themselves 1–2 down against Türkiye’s Kenan KAHRAMAN and Ayten Ceren KAHRAMAN before turning the match around to secure a victory.
However, the third seeds Danilo FASO (Italy) and Josephina NEUMANN (Germany) were knocked out. The Swedish duo Emil ELLERMANN and Siri BENJEGÅRD created a major upset, ending the favorites’ run. Last year, BENJEGÅRD (then partnered with Adam WALLIN) lost to FASO and Koharu ITAGAKI in the Round of 16, but this time the tables turned.
“I think we had really good teamwork and a clear tactic,” said ELLERMANN. “We knew they were strong, they won team gold here, so we were nervous. But we focused on enjoying the game and gave it our best. They made some unforced errors, and we tried to play short and open the game early. Our coach told us to just have fun and play—and we followed that advice. And we won!” he said with a laugh.
BENJEGÅRD added, “We also had incredible support from the crowd, which I think put extra pressure on our opponents. That helped us a lot. In the next round, we just want to stay focused and enjoy every ball.”
Spain will be represented in the quarterfinals by Ladimir MAYOROV and Renata SHYPSHA. Meanwhile, Czech duo Ondrej MORAVEK and Laura MARSICKOVA, the U13 silver medalists at the 2024 European Championships in Bucharest, eliminated Alexander MALOV and Jiaqi GUO.
France’s Noah TESSIER and Lou-Anne BOCQUET also progressed with a win over Czech pair Oliver OLEJNIK and Adela BRHELOVA.
