Tom Jarvis has exited the Men’s Singles at the European Championships in the last 32, joining Liam Pitchford, Connor Green and Tin-Tin Ho on the sidelines and ending England’s interest in the competition.
Meanwhile, Wales’ And GB’s Anna Hursey reached the quarter-finals, beating defending champion Sofia Polcanova of Austria on the way.
Jarvis, seeded 22nd, was drawn to meet Andrei Istrate of Romania in the Men’s Singles Round of 64. The English No 1 won it in four straight, but it was by no means easy.
He edged the first game 13-11 and managed to keep ahead of his opponent, showing his quality at key moments to win the next two, both by 11-9, and then close it out with a late flurry of points in the fourth game, taking that one 11-7.
He next faced Germany’s Benedikt Duda – who beat him at the recent China Smash. But while that match was competitive and went the distance, today’s clash was sobering.
Jarvis never managed to get going and, although he kept fighting, cut a forlorn figure before the end as he was beaten 4-0 (11-4, 11-5, 11-3, 11-5).
In the Round of 64, Green met another exciting young talent in Flavien Coton of France. Coton is world-ranked 23 but the 32nd seed here, a false seeding which results from the teenager’s meteoric rise on the world stage while remaining relatively inexperienced at these championships.
Green is also on the rise and the clash was a spellbinding one which could foreshadow a future rivalry. Green started quickly, both literally and figuratively as he took the first 11-7 and prompted one French follower on YouTube to remark: “Il est rapide ce Green”.
Both players showcased their speed, skill, game intelligence and imagination throughout but it was Coton who shaded a couple of big moments as he took the next two games on deuce.
Green hit back, taking a timeout at 10-9 in the fourth after Coton had closed from 10-7 – it did the trick as he won the next point.
Coton pulled out a 6-1 lead in the fifth and won it 11-7, and he kept Green at arm’s length in the sixth, completing the win 11-8 on his third match point.
Coton next plays his French team-mate Simon Gauzy, Green can console himself with the knowledge he has the game to compete at the top-30 level.
Pitchford had come through qualifying to set up a match against Slovenia’s Deni Kozul, the 28th seed. With a home crowd behind him and Matej Mamut – who has worked with Pitchford – in his corner, there were a few advantages with Kozul.
He still had to rise to the occasion, and did so with a high-quality all-round display. Pitchford showed plenty of quality moments to show his match sharpness is returning, and had chances to get a game on the board, but ultimately missed out in four (11-9, 12-10, 11-7, 11-8).
In the Women’s Singles, Ho was seeded 24th and faced Romania’s Elena Zaharia, the top-seeded player from the qualifying rounds – and it turned into a thriller with Ho on the wrong side of a 4-3 scoreline.
The players shared the first two games, Ho winning the first and Zaharia the second, and Ho then blitzed through the next two for the combined loss of only seven points to stand a game away gtom victory.
The fifth was tighter, as Ho came back from 7-4 down to level at 8-8, and again from 10-8 down to deuce. She was unable to force a match point, however, as Zaharia took the game 12-10.
It was a similar tale in the sixth as Ho never quite engineered a critical opening in a game she lost 11-9. In the decider, Zaharaia changed ends with a 5-2 advantage. The closest Ho got was 8-6, but Zaharia won the next three points to complete a 4-3 (7-11, 11-8, 3-11, 4-11, 12-10, 11-9, 11-6) victory and next plays Shuohan Men of The Netherlands, who herself came from 3-1 down, beating Spain’s Maria Xiao 15-13 in the seventh.
Hursey, the 16th seed, made it safely through against Alexandra Chiriacova of Moldova – the score 4-1 (11-3, 11-7, 11-2, 1-11, 11-7) in the first round.
Her next opponent was Nina Guo Zheng of France and Hursey continued her run with a 4-2 (11-7, 10-12, 11-7, 6-11, 11-9, 11-4) to set up a last-16 tie against Sofia Polcanova of Austria, the fourth seed and winner of the last two Women’s Singles titles.
Hursey fought out one of the biggest wins of her career to win it 4-3 (6-11, 12-10, 11-8, 20-18, 8-11, 10-12, 11-8) and reach the quarter-finals, where she was defeated 4-1 (11-7, 12-10, 7-11, 12-10, 11-9) by eventual champion Elizabet Abraamian of Russia.
Doubles
Sixth seeds Green & Ho fell at the first hurdle of the Mixed Doubles. Their opponents in the round of 32 were Elias Ranefur & Filippa Bergand of Sweden, who had defeated Sam Walker & Tianer Yu in the qualifying rounds.
It was a 3-1 (11-8, 12-10, 7-11, 11-7) defeat for Green & Ho, who have had a good year to date, reaching three WTT finals and winning one.
Hursey & Anders Lind of Denmark, seeded 10th, reached the last 16, having beaten Darius Movileanu & Andreea Dragoman of Romania 3-0 (7, 2, 6). They next faced another Romania pair – Eduard Ionescu & Bernadette Szocs, the fourth seeds, and it was a 3-1 (11-7, 4-11, 11-9, 14-12) win for the higher-ranked pair, ending British interest in the Mixed.
Ho & Hursey, seeded eighth, faced Nina Skerbinz & Karoline Mischek-Colucci of Austria in the last 32 of the Women’s Doubles.
Ho won the European Under-21 Women’s Doubles title with Mischek-Colucci in 2019, so knows her opponent well, and the British pair got the first game on the board, 11-6.
However, the Austrians hit back 11-5 in the second and moved ahead by taking the third 11-9. Ho & Hursey came out more assertively in the fourth, looking to get in on the second or third ball and opening up a 7-1 lead on their way to taking it 11-6. They continued the momentum, winning the decider 11-4 with a late flurry of points.
Their run ended in the last 16 when they faced 10th seeds Zuzanna Wielgos & Anna Brzyska of Poland and went out 3-1 (11-9, 11-8, 6-11, 11-7).
In the Men’s Doubles, Jarvis & Green, seeded 13th, were knocked out in three straight by Vladislav Ursu & Andrei Putuntica of Moldova in the last 32.
Both opponents played against England at the London 2026 World Team Championships – a match England won – and took some measure of revenge as they did not let Jarvis & Green get into the match. It was 3-0 (11-8, 11-5, 11-8) to Ursu & Putuntica.
Liam Pitchford and Connor Green topped their groups with two victories apiece to join Tom Jarvis in the Men’s Singles main draw, but Ella Pashley and Tianer Yu were unable to join Tin-Tin Ho in the Women’s Singles main draw.
Green began with a 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 11-5) win over Andrii Grebeniuk of Ukraine in Group 13, and then overcame Eitay Shushan of Israel 3-1 (11-8, 11-6, 8-11, 11-7).
(ETTU photo © Jure Makovec)
Pitchford started with a 3-0 (9, 5, 5) win over Aleksi Rasanen of Finland in Group 19 and then defeated Italian youngster Danilo Faso 3-0 (11-8, 12-10, 11-6) to top the group.
Walker had to dig deep to get past Tugay Yilmaz of Turkiye in his first Men’s Singles match in Group 31, 14-12 in the fifth having led 2-0 and seen his opponent fight back to level.
His second group match resulted in a 3-1 (12-10, 4-11, 11-5, 11-6) defeat to Anders Eriksson of Sweden, meaning he had to beat neutral athlete Nikita Artemenko to have any chance of topping the group. However, it was a 3-1 (11-6, 6-11, 11-8, 11-5) defeat, ending Walker’s interest in the competition.
Tianer Yu started with victory in three straight (7, 5, 5) against Sabina Musajeva of Latvia in Group 4 of the Women’s Singles. She faced a tougher challenge against Katarzyna Wegrzyn of Poland and although she won the second game after losing a close first, Yu was ultimately defeated 3-1 (13-11, 6-11, 11-7, 11-8).
Ella Pashley, in Group 16, was defeated in three (2, 4, 5) by Hanka Kodet of Czechia and went out of the tournament with a 3-0 (6, 7, 4) by Sara Tokic of the host nation.
In the Women’s Doubles, Yu & Pashley had an agonising defeat in the first qualifying round, going down 12-10 in the fifth to Martine Toftaker & Christine Kalvatn of Norway, having twice fought back from a game down to level the match.
Walker & Yu got through their first qualifying match in the Mixed Doubles, beating Lithuanian pair Ignas Sisanovas & Lukrecija Juchnaite in four, but then lost out in four to Sweden’s Elias Ranefur & Filippa Bergand, the second highest-ranked pair in qualifying, in the second round. Ranefur & Bergand will face Green & Ho in the round of 32.
Ranefur is becoming a familiar opponent for English athletes – Pitchford & Walker faced him and world No 4 Truls Moregard in the Men’s Doubles and it ended in a 3-0 (11-6, 11-5, 11-8) defeat for the English pair.
Jarvis & Green are seeded into the main draw, where they will face Vladislav Ursu & Andrei Putuntica of Moldova in the last 32 – familiar opponents as England defeated Moldova at the London 2026 World Team Championships.
How did the other Home Nations players get on?
In the Women’s Singles, Charlotte Carey of Wales finished third on a three-way countback, having lost 3-0 (11-6, 11-7, 11-2) to Reka Bezeg of Serbia and beaten Georgieva Tsvetelina of Bulgaria 3-2 (9-11, 6-11, 11-8, 11-5, 11-5). It was Bezeg who progressed, having lost 3-1 to Georgieva.
Wales’ Danielle Kelly took a game off Viktoria Persova (BUL) and Maria Berzosa of Spain, but also did not progress.
Jersey’s Hannah Silcock picked up a 3-2 (11-8, 7-11, 11-13, 12-10, 11-8) win against Lara Opeka of the host nation but then lost out to legendary Luxembourg player Ni Xia Lian 3-0 (12-10, 11-5, 12-10).
Alisa Khalid of Scotland lost 3-0 to both neutral athlete Lizaveta Tsimashkova and Matilde Pinto of Portugal, while compatriot Faye Leggett lost out in three to both Dora Cosic of Croatia and Ozge Yilmaz of Turkiye.
Martin Johnson of Scotland and Alex Gillen of Ireland were both in the same group, along with Netherlands’ Gabrielius Camara and Italy’s Matteo Mutti. The British players both lost 3-0 to both Camara and Mutti.
They met in the final round of matches and it was Gillen who won 3-2 (6-11, 13-11, 11-8, 3-11, 11-4. The group was won by Mutti.
In the Mixed Doubles, Silcock played with Matthias Sandhold of Iceland and they won their first qualifying round match 3-2 (9-11, 11-6, 11-6, 3-11, 11-8) against Johnson & Khalid of Scotland. They were then defeated in four games by Madis Moos & Airi Avameri of Estonia.
Faye Leggett, alongside Poul Petersen of Greenland, lost to Niagol Stoyanov & Giorgia Piccolin of Italy 3-0 (3, 4, 5) in the first qualifying round.
In the Women’s Doubles, Silcock & Enisa Sadikovic (LUX) lost 3-2 (11-4, 4-11, 11-5, 10-12, 11-7) to Sofia-Xuan Zhang & Elvira Rad of Spain in the second qualifying round having had a bye through the first.
Kelly & Carey beat Diana Rusinova & Sabina Musajeva of Latvia 3-0 (7, 5, 6) in the first round but lost to Alexandra Chiriacova of Moldova & Maria Berzosa of Spain 3-0 (6, 9, 6)
Leggett & Khalid lost 3-0 (7, 9, 5) to Kornelija Riliskyte & Lukrecija Juchnaite (LTU) in the first qualifying round.
In the Men’s Doubles, Johnson & Alexandros Madesis of Greece lost 3-1 (5-11, 11-8, 13-11, 11-8) to Loic Stoll & Elias Hardmeier (SUI) in the first round. Gillen & Daniels Jogans of Latvia lost 3-0 (7, 4, 7) to Maciej Kolodziejczyk & Robert Gardos of Austria.
Results
Men’s Singles
Qualifying group 13
Connor Green bt Andrii Grebeniuk (UKR) 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 11-5)
Qualifying group 19
Liam Pitchford bt Aleksi Rasanen (FIN) 3-0 (11-9, 11-5, 11-5)
Qualifying group 31
Sam Walker bt Tugay Yilmaz (TUR) 3-2 (11-7, 11-7, 4-11, 7-11, 14-12)
Anders Eriksson (SWE) bt Walker 3-1 (12-10, 4-11, 11-5, 11-6)
Nikita Artemenko (AIN) bt Walker 3-1 (11-6, 6-11, 11-8, 11-5)
Round of 64
Deni Kozul (SLO) bt Pitchford 4-0 (11-9, 12-10, 11-7, 11-8)
Tom Jarvis bt Andrei Istrate (ROU) 4-0 (13-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-7)
Flavien Coton (FRA) bt Green 4-2 (7-11, 12-10, 13-11, 9-11, 11-7, 11-8)
Round of 32
Benedikt Duda (GER) bt Jarvis 4-0 (11-4, 11-5, 11-3, 11-5)
Women’s Singles
Qualifying group 4
Tianer Yu bt Sabina Musajeva (LAT) 3-0 (11-7, 11-5, 11-5)
Katarzyna Wegrzyn (POL) bt Yu 3-1 (13-11, 6-11, 11-7, 11-8)
Round of 64
Elena Zaharia (ROU) bt Tin-Tin Ho 4-3 (7-11, 11-8, 3-11, 4-11, 12-10, 11-9, 11-6)
Qualifying group 16
Hanka Kodet (CZE) bt Ella Pashley 3-0 (11-2, 11-4, 11-5)
Sara Tokic (SLO) bt Pashley 3-0 (11-6, 11-7, 11-4)
Men’s Doubles
Second qualifying round
Truls Moregard & Elias Ranefur (SWE) bt Sam Walker & Liam Pitchford 3-0 (11-6, 11-5, 11-8)
Round of 32
Vladislav Ursu & Andrei Putuntica (MDA) bt Tom Jarvis & Connor Green 3-0 (11-8, 11-5, 11-8)
Women’s Doubles
First qualifying round
Martine Toftaker & Christine Kalvatn (NOR) bt Tianer Yu & Ella Pashley 3-2 (11-9, 8-11, 11-6, 9-11, 12-10)
Round of 32
Tin-Tin Ho & Anna Hursey (WAL) bt Nina Skerbinz & Karoline Mischek-Colucci (AUT) 3-2 (11-6, 5-11, 9-11, 11-6, 11-4)
Round of 16
Zuzanna Wielgos & Anna Brzyska (POL) bt Ho & Hursey 3-1 (11-9, 11-8, 6-11, 11-7)
Mixed Doubles
First qualifying round
Sam Walker & Tianer Yu bt Ignas Sisanovas & Lukrecija Juchnaite (LTU) 3-1 (7-11, 11-2, 11-9, 12-10)
Second qualifying round
Elias Ranefur & Filippa Bergand (SWE) bt Walker & Yu 3-1 (11-8, 14-16, 11-8, 12-10)
Round of 32
Ranefur & Bergand bt Connor Green & Tin-Tin Ho 3-1 (11-8, 12-10, 7-11, 11-7)
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