[1] Tinne Gilis (Bel) 3-0 [2] Nele Gilis (Bel) 12-10, 11-7, 14-12 (59m)
[1] Victor Crouin (Fra) 3-0 [2] Dimitri Steinmann (Sui) 11-2, 11-7, 12-10 (47m)
Photos : Gabor Koros and Richard Leonard Kirner
Fourth titles for Tinne and Victor
Victor Crouin and Tinne Gilis both claimed their fourth European Individual Closed Squash Championship titles via straight-games victories in Budapest. Crouin’s 11-2, 11-7, 12-10 triumph over Switzerland’s Dimitri Steinmann in the men’s final was the Frenchman’s fourth European title in a row as his domination of the European squash scene continued.
In the women’s final, Tinne beat her older sister Nele Gilis-Coll in the European Individual Championship final for a third time, this one by a 12-10, 11-7, 14-12 scoreline.
For both French no.1 Crouin and Belgian Gilis, their sights will now turn to taking a fifth European title next year when the event will, of course, be part of the 2027 European Games in Istanbul, with the two gold medallists earning a place at LA28.
Standing on the podium, Crouin said: “There’s a lot of us who’ve grown up together playing on the European junior circuit and seeing each other every year. It’s great to see us all rising through the ranks. We all have really fond memories from that time.
“Next year will be the most important one, with qualification for the Olympics [at stake]. It’s great to have four titles, but hopefully I can get the fifth one next year.”
After the final as she stood next to her sister, Tinne said: “It’s always special to be up against each other. It always stings for one of us, but I want to thank you for a fair and great final, a hard battle.
“It’s always the hardest one for me [to play her sister] but it’s special for the whole family.”
The men’s bronze medal match was a monster all-Spanish duel which Ivan Perez eventually won 6-11, 11-7, 11-5, 6-11, 12-10 in 78 minutes to claim his first European podium finish. Ukraine’s Alina Bushma won the women’s bronze via a walkover.
[1] Tinne Gilis (Bel) 3-0 [3/4] Alina Bushma (Ukr) 11-7, 11-8, 11-5 (39m)
[2] Nele Gilis (Bel) w/o [3/4] Melissa Alves (Fra) walkover
[1] Victor Crouin (Fra) 3-1 [5/8] Bernat Jaume (Esp) 3-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-3 (64m)
[2] Dimitri Steinmann (Sui) 3-0 [5/8] Ivan Perez (Esp) 11-4, 11-6, 11-5 (42m)
Semis : Top seeds through to final in Budapest
It will be the top seeds who contest the EICC finals in Budapest after Belgium’s Tinne and Nele Gilis set up a repeat of last year’s women’s final while men’s defending champion Victor Crouin came from a game down to set up a match against first-time finalist Dimitri Steinmann.
Day Two : Women’s seeds advance as men’s 3/4 seeds fall and Crouin survives
Another two rounds of action on Day Two in Budapest saw the women’s top seeds advance to the semis while there was drama in the men’s draw.
Belgium’s Tinne and Nele Gilis moved closer to another sibling EICC final as they both won both matches in straight games. In the semi-finals Top seed and defending champion Tinne will face Ukraine’s Alina Bushma, who came from a game down to beat Madeleine Hylland in the quarters, while former champion Nele faces France’s Melissa Alves, who also came from a game down in beating Cindy Merlo to reach the last four.
After an opening day bereft of upsets there was plenty of drama in today’s men’s matches. In the last sixteen Czechia’s Jakub Solnicky ousted 5/8 seed Raphael Kandra before losing out to second seeded Swiss Dimitri Steinmann in the quarters. At the top of the draw defending champion and top seed Victor Crouin survived a huge scare as he squeezed past Slovenia’s new recruit Mohamed ElSherbini in five games. ElSherbini took the opening two games before Crouin edged the third 12-10 before completing the comeback in 79 minutes.
The top seeds will face unexpected opposition in the semis after Spanish duo Bernat Jaume and Ivan Perez overcame 3/4 seeds Nicolas Mueller and Baptiste Masotti.
Full Draws & Results on TS More info on Official Site Watch Live & Replays
Day One : Seeds safely through in Budapest
A busy opening day in Budapest saw two rounds in both draws, with the top sixteen seeds going through in both the men’s and women’s draws. The sole exception was Ukraine’s Dmytro Scherbakov ‘s 73-minute victory over the sole English entrant, 9/16 see Will Salter.
Two more rounds on Day Two will see the semi-finalists decided.
Preview :
The annual European Individual (Closed) Champs take place from 19-22 Aug in Budapest.
The early rounds will take place at City Squash Club with the latter stages at Millenáris Building D, an 1,800sqm multi-purpose event and exhibition space located at Millenáris Park in the Hungarian capital.
Defending champions Victor Crouin and Tinne Gilis are top seeds with Dimitri Steinmann and Nele Gilis second seeds. Both events feature 64-player draws, with 53 men’s and 43 women’s entries. There’s plenty of nations represented – UK countries the notable exception – with one notable new name with Mohamed ElSherbini representing Slovenia.
