compass youngsters are also competitive at national senior level.

Siri Benjegård became the Swedish U20 champion at the Swedish championships, even though she is only 12 years old. Danilo Faso won a bronze medal in the men’s doubles at the Italian championships. And Flavien Coton won a medal and challenged the final winner Alexis Lebrun in France.

In Sweden, 12-year-old Siri Benjegård reached the quarter-finals in the mixed and doubles of the Swedish (Senior) National Championships with Malte Möregårdh, Truls’ brother, and Nomin Baasan respectively. Siri won her group in the women’s singles and was then eliminated in the last 16 against Erika Fronth from Halmstad.

In the U20 semi-finals, Siri Benjegård faced her compatriot Matilda Hansson from the Eslöv team, the number four in Sweden and a member of the national team that represented Sweden at both the European Championships in September 2023 and the World Championships in February 2024. Siri had never beaten Matilda before, but won the first two games. Hansson came back, winning three games in a row and taking a clear lead in the sixth game. The match seemed to be over, but Siri managed to take it to a deciding set, in which Hansson took the lead again. But Siri hit back once more and missed a match point at 10:9 by hitting her forehand into the net. Siri then fended off several match points before finally winning 16-14.

“I didn’t feel any nervousness as I’ve never come close to beating her before,” said Siri afterwards. “I played really well at the start of the match and when Matilda came back, I still felt like I could do it and kept fighting.”

In the final, Siri faced another club mate, Nomin Baasan. She continued to play very well and won all three of the first three tied games 11:9, 13:11 and 11:9. In the fourth game, Siri led 9:5 and was well on her way to winning gold. But Baasan turned the tables and also led 10:6 in the fifth game before Siri clinched victory – 13:11!

“I also had a good start in the final and managed not to lose my focus when I couldn’t win four games in a row. Even against Nomin, I had the feeling that the pressure was on her, not me. So I just kept playing as well as I could.”

How will you celebrate? “With sweets!”

In France, Flavien Coton, born in 2008, also won a medal in the doubles. Coton, who represented Bruille, played together with Alexandre Cassain from Rouen and defeated Bardet/Picard without losing a set in the quarter-finals. In the semi-finals, the fabulous Lebrun brothers, Felix and Alexis, were on the other side of the table and Flavien and his team-mate had no chance – 5:11, 6:11, 2:11.

Flavien also came close to another medal in the mixed doubles with Charlotte Lutz. The team lost 2:3, 7:11 in the fifth and deciding game against the eventual winners Rembert/Lutz.

In the singles, Flavien made it through to the last 32, where he faced the highly ranked Alexis Lebrun. Flavien managed to challenge Lebrun but lost 2:11, 11:9, 9:11, 7:11, 10:12.

In Italy, Danilo Faso represents Virtus Servigliano, while his doubles team-mate Antonio Amato plays for Top Spin Messina. Together, the team made it through to the semi-finals.

Faso/Amato defeated Maxime Kuznezov and Romulado Manna in the quarter-finals, but the Mutti brothers (Matteo and Leonardo) were stronger in the semi-finals. In the final, Muttis lost to John Oyebode and Carlo Rossi.

“I’m happy to have won my first medal at senior level in an Italian championship,” commented Danilo Faso.

In the singles competition, Danilo faced tough competition in the group and lost to two-time Italian champion Marco Rech. But in his second match, Danilo sensationally managed to defeat Italy’s number 2 John Oyebode 3:2. However, as Oyebode defeated Rech, Danilo was unfortunately eliminated, missing a single set to reach the knockout phase.

“In the singles, I’m satisfied that I beat the number 2 in Italy. But of course it was a bit annoying that I didn’t qualify for the knockout phase by just one set. But I’ll do better next year.”