Frenchman Christo Popov is in line for a double at the European Championships in in Huelva, Spain. He beat brother Toma Junior in the men’s singles and the duo teamed up to qualify for the men’s doubles final as well.
The championships also saw Bulgaria’s Stoeva sister – Stefani and Gabriela clinch the women’s doubles title for the fifth time while the experienced Mathias Christiansen-Alexandre Boje claimed their first mixed doubles crown.
Christo will take on Denmark’s Anders Antonsen in the men’s singles final.
It was a repeat of the German Open final from five weeks ago, for Christoin the semi-finals. Just like at the German Open, it was the younger brother, Christo, who came out on top, winning 21–18, 27–25.
Top seeded Antonsen faced another French player in the form of Arnaud Merkle in the other semi-finals. Merkle had defeated his compatriot and higher ranked Alex Lanier in the quarterfinals.
However, the Danish showed great form as he secured his place in the final with a 21–18, 21–13 victory.
The Popov brothers defeated giant-killers Alex Green-Zach Russ 21–9, 21–14 in the men’s doubles semi-finals. The English duo has upset top seeds Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen in the quarter-finals but were completely outplayed by the French pair.
Their opponents in the final will be the Danish duo of Daniel Lundgaard-Mads Vestergaard. The pair had beaten England’s Ben Lane-Sean Vendy 21–19, 21–17.
The women’s singles semi-finals saw Mia Blichfeldt defeating her Danish teammate Line Kjærsfeldt 21-16, 22-20 to book her final spot against Scottish veteran Kirsty Gilmour.
Gilmour came back from a game down to defeat Neslihan Arin from Türkiye 16-21, 21-14, 21-11. It will Gilmour’s sixth European Championships final. Despite five previous appearances, Gilmour is still chasing her first title.
Stefani-Gabriela secured the women’s doubles title with a 21–11, 21–17 victory over Bengisu Erçetin-Nazlıcan İnci from Türkiye. It marks the best result for Erçetin-İnci, who previously won a bronze medal at the 2024 European Championships.
In addition to their five European Championship gold medals, the sisters have also won two European Games titles in 2015 and 2023.
With the latest victory, the Stoeva sisters become the most successful women’s doubles pair in European Championships history. Before today, the record was held by Kamilla Rytter Juhl and Christina Pedersen, who won four titles together between 2012 and 2017.
Thirty-two-year-old Mathias Christiansen and 26-year-old Alexandra Bøje won the mixed doubles title defeating Callum Hemming-Estelle Van Leeuwen from England 21-19, 21-14.
The English pair had impressed throughout the tournament, notably defeating top seeds Thom Gicquel-Delphine Delrue as well as the reigning European champions Jesper Toft-Amalie Magelund.
SEMI-FINAL RESULTS
Men’s singles: Christo Popov (Fra) bt Toma Junior Popov (Fra) 21-18, 27-25; Anders Antonsen (Den) bt Arnaud Merkle (Fra) 21-18, 21-13
Men’s doubles: Ben Lane-Sean Vendy (Eng) bt Daniel Lundgaard-Mads Vestergaard (Den) 21-19, 21-17; Christo Popov-Toma Junior Popov (Fra) bt Alex Green-Zach Russ (Eng) 21-9, 21-14
Women’s singles: Line Hoejmark Kjaersfeldt (Den) bt Mia Blichfeldt (Den) 21-16, 22-20; Kirsty Gilmour (Sco) bt Neslihin Arin (Tur) 16-21, 21-14, 21-11
FINAL RESULTS
Women’s doubles: Gabriela Stoeva-Stefani Stoeva (Bul) bt Bengisu Ercetin-Nazlican Inci (Tur) 21-11, 21-17
Mixed doubles: Mathias Christiansen-Alexandre Boje (Den) bt Callum Hemming-Estelle Van Leeuwen (Den) 21-19, 21-14
