They sit at No. 19 and No. 18 in the world rankings, but despite being so close on paper, today there was a clear difference in level between the two pairs.
Gabriela and Stefani Stoeva recently secured a convincing 21-11, 21-9 win over Malaysia’s Go Pei Kee/Teoh Mei Xing, booking their place among the last 16.

It was not something the Bulgarian sisters had expected to be so straightforward. “We were for sure not expecting this result, we expected a tough match, for sure not to be in straight sets,” they said after the match.

Almost everything worked for the Stoevas on court, and as Stefani described: “We were fighting for every shuttle, we didn’t make easy mistakes.”

Their next opponent is not yet confirmed, but it could be the eighth-seeded Japanese pair Fukushima/Matsumoto. If that is the case, the sisters are ready for a tough and exciting battle. As Stefani put it: “We like to be here in this arena, to see so many people supporting the athletes, no matter if they are from France or other countries.”