European Youth Championships | 21 Jul 2024
Austria's SKERBINZ and FUCHS Win Under 15 Girls Doubles Title
Photo: Manfred SCHILLINGS
Newly crowned Under 15 Girls Doubles champions are Nina SKERBINZ and Elina FUCHS of Austria, seeded only as the 5th pair in Sweden. At the European Youth Championships in Malmö, the Austrian pair overcame Renata Shypsha and Irina GIMENO FONT of Spain. Bronze medalists are Nora DOHOCZKI and Sophie BARCSAI of Hungary, and Julia LEAL of Portugal and Andreea BAIASU of Romania.
Nina SKERBINZ and Elina FUCHS were under severe pressure as SHYPSHA and GIMENO FONT proved to be resilient adversaries. The Austrian girls won against the No. 13 seeds, with all three games decided by the narrowest of margins.
SKERBINZ remarked, “We feel really great. I am proud and happy about this. It’s our first medal in the European Championships.”
FUCHS added, “I am also very happy. We didn’t think that we would win, but we gave everything all the time.”
In the penultimate stage, SKERBINZ and FUCHS had a better start against No. 3 seeds Dora DOHOCZKI and Sophie BARCSAI of Hungary. Although the Hungarian duo managed to close the gap, the match was decided in the fifth game with a narrow win for the Austrian pair.
FUCHS commented, “It was important that we kept our persistence. Eventually, at the end, we got a bit of luck.”
SKERBINZ explained, “We played a very good first ball with a lot of spin. We fought hard and tried to put each ball on the table. When you go after each ball, then you might have a little luck on your side.”
In the other semi-final match, Renata SHYPSHA and Irina GIMENO FONT prevailed in straight games against Julia LEAL of Portugal and Andreea BAIASU of Romania.
GIMENO FONT said, “We are so excited to play in this final. We are going to try to take first place. This is amazing, and we are very happy about this.”
SHYPSHA added, “In the final, we think it’s possible to win. They are very strong, but so are we, so I think we are going to do great.”
Under 15 girls Doubles event
Final
Nina SKERBINZ, Elina FUCHS Austria – Renata SHYPSHA, Irina GIMENO FONT Spain 3-1 (11-9, 7-11, 12-10, 13-11)
Semi final
Nina SKERBINZ, Elina FUCHS Austria – Nora DOHOCZKI, Sophie BARCSAI Hungary 3-2 (11-2, 8-11, 11-6, 9-11, 11-9)
4 Julia LEAL Portugal, Andreea BAIASU Romania – Renata SHYPSHA, Irina GIMENO FONT Spain 0-3 (3-11, 9-11, 7-11)
