Russia has beaten Belarus to claim the 50th Soisbault/Reina Cup title, winning the girls’ 18 & Under European Summer Cups event for an eighth time.
At No.6 on the ITF Junior rankings, Anna Kalinskaya was a strong #2 player for the Russian squad, but she struggled early on against Iryna Shymanovich in the tie’s opening rubber, dropping the first set before coming back to record a three set win in almost two hours of play.
World #4 Anna Blinkova then stepped up to secure the tie, racing to a 6-3 6-2 victory over Vera Lapko to ensure an unassailable 2/0 lead for the unseeded Russian team.
Even though the tie was settled, the players returned for the doubles match, where Kalinskaya was partnered by Aleksandra Pospelova and Shymanovich teamed up with Aryna Sabalenka. The match proved to be the highlight of the final, with the Russians eventually outlasting their opponents 7-5 4-6 [10-5].
The win is Russia’s first in the 18 & Under girls’ event since 2008, which marked the last of four consecutive wins. Earlier in the day, Hungary beat Czech Republic 2/1 to claim the bronze medals.
This year was a very special edition of the competition, the 50th anniversary of the tournament’s founding. To mark the occasion, a number of special events were held during the weekend. Guests including former competitor and Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli, French Tennis Federation President Jean Gachassin and Tennis Europe President Jacques Dupré were on hand to see the club’s centre court re-named in honour of Annie Soisbault. Soisbault, who sadly passed away in 2012, was a sporting pioneer in both tennis and Formula 1, and a constant presence at the tournament that bears her name, welcoming and inspiring the generations of young players that have participated in the event.
At the boys’ Valerio/Galea Cup finals in La Rochelle, Slovakia fought back from the loss of the first rubber, enjoyed a little luck and then scored a great doubles win to secure the title for the first time in the history of the competition.
In fact, both teams were shooting for their first ever title in this age category, and it was Romania that got off to the better start, as Nicolae Frunza scored a routine 6-4 6-3 win over Lukas Klein in the opening singles.
Alex Molcan was in control of the second match for Slovakia when opponent Calin Manda was forced to retire when trailing 2-6 1-1, allowing the unseeded Slovakians to level the tie.
Slovakia’s two singles players returned to the court for the deciding doubles match, where they faced the experienced pairing of Frunza and Bogdan Borza, 2011 European 14 & Under doubles champions who had also teamed to secure the Copa del Sol title for Romania that year.
Molcan showed that his singles win was no fluke however, as the Slovakian team took control of the match from the very beginning, running out a 6-1 6-3 victory before lifting the trophy.
The bronze medal match saw defending champions Spain beat France 2/1 to claim third place.
Draws and Results
Boys Finals - La Rochelle (FRA) | Draw | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Photos
Girls Finals - Granville (FRA) | Draw | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Photos | Facebook