The 2024 European champions and defending runners-up have been eliminated from the 2026 European Championships after just one match.

They were defeated by England’s Callum Hemming and Estelle Van Leeuwen, who won 21–17, 18–21, 22–20 in a closely contested match. The momentum shifted throughout, with the English pair earning four match points at 20–16 in the deciding game. Gicquel and Delrue fought back to level at 20–20, and came within a point of their own match opportunity, only for a remarkable save from Van Leeuwen to deny them. Hemming and Van Leeuwen then converted their next chance to secure a place in the quarterfinals.

After the match, the English pair expressed their satisfaction with the performance.

Hemming said: “We really didn’t have any expectations before the match. We just wanted to execute our plan well and play some good badminton. We know that if we play our best, we always have a chance of winning.”

Van Leeuwen added: “We definitely brought some of our best badminton today. We executed the plan almost perfectly, and overall we couldn’t have asked for much more.”

The English duo will now face the Dutch pair Brian Wassink and Debora Jille in the quarterfinals.

For the French pair, it was a disappointing outcome.

Gicquel said: “We are disappointed. We didn’t want this result. It is how it is. I think we did play well.”

Gicquel and Delrue came into the tournament in strong form, following a title in Orléans and a final appearance at the All England.

“It is part of a career,” Gicquel added. “One or two steps forward, then one step back. But this one is a big step back. We wanted to continue and win the European Championships, but sometimes in sport you don’t get to decide whether you win or lose.”