Historic milestones set as Anna Hursey shines at 2025 European Under 21 Championships in Bratislava

Anna Hursey returns from the 2025 European Under 21 Championships in Bratislava having made history.

She became the first Welsh player in history to win a European table tennis title in a women’s or youth event, as she claimed gold in the U21 Women’s Singles and Women’s Doubles.

Anna defeated reigning champion Veronika Matiunina of Ukraine in the final, before securing her second gold of the event as she triumphed in Women’s Doubles alongside her German partner Mia Griesel.

The accolades made Anna the most successful woman at the 2025 Championships.

On her way to the final, she stormed through the group stage, overcoming Germany’s Eireen Kalaitzidou 4-1, Sweden’s Leah Tveit Muskantor 4-1, and Poland’s Katarzyna Rajkowska 4-0.

And her dominance continued as she went into the knockout phase of the tournament, dropping just one set en route to the final. After beating Germany’s Koharu Itagaki 4-0, Italy’s Nicole Arlia 4-1, and Romania’s Ioana Singeorzan 4-0, Anna lifted the trophy courtesy of a 4-1 win over Matiunina in the showpiece event.

The duo of Hursey and Griesel was newly formed heading into the Championships, but pulled together to end the reign of last year’s champions, Elena Zaharia and Bianca Mei Rosu, and secure this year’s title.

Mei Rosu had a rare opportunity to become the first player to win three consecutive U21 titles, but the story took an ironic turn as she lost to her former partner Griesel – with whom she had won the title in 2023.

While Griesel regained the crown, it was a first-ever European title for Anna Hursey, following her runner-up finish at the 2022 European Youth Championships with Sophie Earley.