Tomorrow marks the start of the International Series tournament 50th VICTOR FZ FORZA Hungarian International Championships 2025, taking place in the Hungarian capital, Budapest.
It is a proud event that this year celebrates its 50th edition. Many well-known names have lifted the trophy in the past, including Ben Lane, Petya Nedelcheva, Jonas Rasmussen, Robert Mateusiak, Stefani Stoeva, Nathan Robertson and many more.
This year, the athletes will once again compete to have their name added to the long list of Hungarian International champions. One of the favourites will be playing on home soil — Hungarian Vivien Sandorhazi. The young women’s singles player, who earlier this year claimed bronze at the European Championships in Horsens, is top-seeded and ready to perform in front of a home crowd.
"It's always a different thing to play on home soil, in front of the home crowd. It's one of the most anticipated tournaments of the year for me. Of course, I would like to show good form and get a good result here in Budapest, but I'm trying not to put too much pressure on myself about it, and just enjoy the opportunity to play in the presence of family and friends."
That European Championships medal was a major milestone in Sandorhazi’s career, and it still means a great deal to her.
"The bronze at the Europeans this year, sometimes it still feels unbelievable for me. So I actually put it at a very visible place in my room so I can appreciate it whenever I walk by. Surely it gave me a confidence boost and it serves as a great motivator to work towards my other goals."
Whether she can live up to the expectations this week will be exciting to follow. One of her main competitors will be fellow Hungarian Agnes Korosi, who is seeded second. Should either of them claim the gold medal, they would become the first Hungarian player ever to win the tournament.
The event begins tomorrow, Wednesday, with the qualification rounds, followed by the main draw starting on Thursday.
Matches begin at 9:00 AM, and all five courts will be streamed live. You can watch the matches either here on our website or at badmintoneurope.tv.
Draw and Match Schedule can be found here.
