Spain, Ireland and the Netherlands claim titles at Polish International

Players from Spain, Ireland and the Netherlands shared three of the five titles at the Polish International in Kraków, which concluded on Sunday 20 September. Success in women’s singles, men’s doubles and mixed doubles highlighted a strong European showing across the tournament.

Spain’s Jacobo Fernández and Alberto Perals secured the men’s doubles crown with a 21–13, 21–16 victory over Dutch pair Andy Buijk and Brian Wassink. The final lasted just 25 minutes, with the Spanish partnership taking an 11–6 lead at the opening interval before closing out the first game. A tighter second game followed, but Fernández and Perals pulled clear to seal the title.

The second seeds had reached the final by defeating Ireland’s Scott Guildea and Paul Reynolds 21–18, 21–15 in the semi-finals. Their gold contributed to a two-medal finish for Spain, with Nikol Carulla and Carmen Jiménez also taking bronze in women’s doubles.

Ireland celebrated a title of its own through Sophia Noble, who won the women’s singles final against Chinese Taipei’s Pin Hsuan Chiang. Noble followed a 21–15 opening game with a decisive 21–7 second game to complete a straight-games victory.

Buijk recovered from defeat in the men’s doubles final to claim the mixed doubles title alongside Meerte Loos. The top-seeded Dutch partnership beat Sweden’s Max Svensson and Sofia Strömvall 21–16, 21–11, securing another title for Europe in an all-European final.

Loos also reached the women’s doubles final with Kirsten de Wit, finishing runners-up to Chinese Taipei’s Hsin Tung Chen and Yu-Hsi Chen after a 21–13, 21–16 defeat. In men’s singles, Italy’s Giovanni Toti took the runner-up spot behind Korea’s Choi Pyeong Gang, who won 21–19, 21–10.

The Dutch results provided a notable thread across the doubles competitions: both Buijk and Loos finished with a title and a runner-up place in different disciplines. Alongside the Spanish and Irish victories, their performances ensured that European success in Kraków extended across singles and doubles.