France has collected the Nations' Trophy at the European Beach Tennis Championships in Crete. Of the three finals played on Sunday, six teams were vying for the gold, half of whom were French with 'Les Bleus' finally claiming one gold and two silver medals.
The men’s doubles final was an all-French affair as first to qualify for the final were fourth seeded Paul Gotarda & Maxime Moretto, who caused arguably the shock of the championships by taking out the top seeds Federico Galeazzi & Mattia Spoto of Italy in an exciting semifinal which went to the wire, taking the match 3-6 6-4 10-8.
Spoto, the world number one, was aiming to win his third gold in a row at this event, but his dream was thwarted by the French in dramatic fashion.
The Italians went naught for two after third seeds Filippo Boscolo Meneguolo & Gabriele Gini lost to the #2 seeds Nicolas Gianotti & Mathieu Guegano in the other semifinal.
In the final it was Gianotti & Guegano who took the honours over Gotarda & Moretto with a 6-3 6-2 victory over their compatriots. The win marks a third European title for both Gianotti and Guegarno, having first won in 2022 and 2018 respectively (with different partners) and then together in 2023. It's been a productive month for Gianotti, who adds the European title to his ITF World Championship won just two weeks ago [alongside Mattia Spoto].
It was a bittersweet moment beating friends and compatriots for the title, and Guegano told us, “We train and travel together. I’m happy for them that they reached the final. We are friends, but at the same time adversaries.”
The women’s final saw an authoritative performance from Veronica Casadei & Nicole Nobile, as they sought to ensure that the women’s trophy remained in Italian hands, as has been the case since the very first edition in 2008.
They faced a strong challenge from second seeded French pair Lola Barrau & Maire Bray, but showed the grit and determination that has taken them both to the ITF Beach Tennis World Tour Top 10 in wrapping up a 6-3 6-4 win.
Having finished as runner-up for the last five years, Nobile was delighted to finally win her first European Championship title. Casadei previously won gold in 2023 and said, “We are very happy. It was our goal (to win) but it is not always easy to play well when you are the favourite. The other girls played well, but we played how we needed to play.”
Spanish and Portuguese teams also made the podium, qualifying for the mixed doubles final. A topsy-turvey tussle led to a captivating match tiebreak, which was won by the elated Portuguese team of Marta Magalhaes & Martim Andrade Sousa, who eventually prevailed over Daniela Rodriguez Perera & Alvaro Garcia Gonzalez 5-4(4) 0-4 10-6.
Andrade credited the Portuguese squad’s team spirit for the success, saying “We did a great job as a team this year. We watched everybody’s matches and we were all together from the beginning until the end, so we felt the support, and it was awesome to have everyone here.”
That sense of camaraderie and team spirit is one of the characteristics that makes the European Championships a favourite event for the players, something acknowledged by Theodoros Glavas, President of the hosting Hellenic Tennis Federation. “We are very pleased to have all these participants here. We are very proud of the European Beach Tennis community, and we will be very happy to have you here again next year.”
Held for a fourth consecutive year on the Island of Crete, Greece, Tennis Europe thanks the Hellenic Tennis Federation and Lyttos Beach Resort for organising this year’s championships.
Since its debut in 2007, the event has grown from a handful of participating nations, to this year having welcomed over 100 athletes from 17 Tennis Europe member nations. The Championships is also an ITF Beach Tennis World Tour event. In recent years, special junior tournaments for players aged 14 and 18 & Under have been held alongside the main competition.
Draws and Results
Men's Doubles | Men's Bonus | Women's Doubles | Women's Bonus
Mixed Doubles | Mixed Bonus | 📷 EBTC Photo Gallery
Junior Competitions (all draws) | 📷 Juniors Photo Gallery
Final Results
Men’s EBTC (2) Nicolas Gianotti & Mathieu Guegano (FRA) d. (4) Paul Gotarda & Maxime Moretto (FRA) 6-3 6-2
Women’s EBTC (1) Veronica Casadei & Nicole Nobile (ITA) d. (2) Lola Barrau & Maire Bray France (FRA) 6-3 6-4
Mixed EBTC (7) Marta Magalhaes & Martima Andrade Sousa (POR) d. (5) Daniela Rodriguez Perera & Alvaro Garcia Gonzalez (ESP) 5-4(4) 0-4 10-6
14&U Boys (2) Riccardo Latanzi & Nicolo Zamboni (ITA) d. (1) Tom Dupuy & Kenael Navarre (FRA) 6-3 7-6(5)
14&U Girls Marina Garcia Caseiro & Tiara Vallmitjana (ESP) d. Leonor Leitao & Maite Rocha (POR) 6-0 6-1
14&U Mixed (2) Lanna Eleonora & Riccardo Latanzi (ITA) d. (1) Beatrice Guerra & Nicolo Zamboni (ITA) 4-2 4-1
18&U Boys Alex Agirelli & Giacomo Pollino (ITA) d. Louis Bepoldin & Paul Naboudet (FRA) 6-1 6-3
18&U Girls Elena Ciacci & Alice Pepa (ITA) d. (2) Maria Gomez Martinez & Laura Jimenez Torres (ESP) 6-2 4-6 [11-9]
18&U Mixed (4) Alice Pepi & Alex Agirelli (ITA) d. (2) Laura Jimenez Torres & Jorge Mendez Martinez (ESP) 4-2 3-5 [10-8]