Italy (boys) and Czechia (girls) have won the gold medals at this year’s 12 & Under Winter Cups by Dunlop, Europe’s indoor team tennis championships.
At its 12th edition, the Final Rounds returned to Sunderland (GBR) for a third consecutive year, once again hosting both the boys’ and girls’ events.
Road to the Finals
The competition brought many close matches and comebacks even before finals day.
In the boys’ semifinals, Cyprus played a very close tie against Romania. In the second singles match, Leontis Andreas (CYP) was leading 4-1 in the third set and was only two games away from sending his team into the final. However, Andrei Griguta (ROU) won five games in a row to turn the match around. The deciding doubles match went Cyprus’ way, sending them into the final.
On the girls’ side, Great Britain came close to playing for gold. Their semifinal against France was decided in doubles, where both teams had strong moments. It was the French who treated the second-set tiebreak with a bit more confidence, which resulted in them winning the match.
Finals Day
Boys
The final between Italy and Cyprus began with Andreas Gregoriou (CYP) against Manuel Peregalli (ITA). Gregoriou controlled the match and won 6-3 6-2, giving Cyprus the first point. Italy responded through Enrico Sesti, who won 6-4 6-3 to make the score 1-1 and force a deciding doubles match.
The doubles match, however, was far more dramatic than the singles. The first set seemed to be in the Italians’ control, but Cyprus stayed in the match and secured it 7-6. They then built a comfortable 3-0 lead in the second set, only to see the momentum shift as the Italians won six consecutive games.
The decisive match tiebreak remained close until 6-6, when Italy pulled ahead and eventually sealed victory 10-7.
Girls
In the girls’ final, Czechia faced France. The first singles match between Anna Pospisilova (CZE) and Lilou Vandeputte (FRA) was very competitive. Vandeputte won the first set in a tiebreak, while Pospisilova came back to win the second set 6-4. In the third set, both players had their chances, but Pospisilova won 6-7 6-4 7-5 to give Czechia the lead.
In the second singles, Vanessa Balej (CZE) delivered a strong performance and defeated Lylla Prolhac (FRA) 6-2 6-0 to secure the gold medal for her team.
The doubles match, won 6-7 6-1 10-5 by Balej and Ella Buresova, completed a 3-0 win for Czechia.
It is the second consecutive title for Czechia in the girls’ competition. The nation has now reached seven finals, winning five of them.
And so the three days of competition have come to an end, bringing intense matches on court and engaging activities off court. Alongside the tennis action, players took part in a Tennis Europe Junior School session, where they learned more about Tennis Europe and discussed how to balance competitive tennis with their education. As a special guest, Fabian Spiess from Minerva Virtual Academy joined the session, sharing his insights and experiences on combining academic studies with a high-level sporting career.
Final Standings
Boys: 1. Italy 2. Cyprus 3. Czechia 4. Romania 5. Great Britain 6. France 7. Estonia 8. Bulgaria
Girls: 1. Czechia 2. France 3. Sweden 4. Great Britain 5. Ukraine 6. Finland 7. Bulgaria 8. Croatia
The 14 and 16 & Under Finals will take place in a few days, starting from February 19, across different venues in Europe. For more details, check this page.