Ukrainian juniors, winners and medalists of Romanian Junior Open 2026
Nine-year-old Ukrainian Anastasiia Kovtun won a silver medal at the international Romanian Junior Open 2026 tournament, held on October 16–18 in Bucharest. For the young athlete, it was the first international tournament of her career. Overall, Ukrainian squash players demonstrated strong results, winning in five age categories.
The competition took place at the Infinity Sport Arena sports complex under the auspices of the European Squash Federation (ESF). Romanian Junior Open is part of the international ESF Junior Circuit series and has Bronze status.
One of the main stories of the Ukrainian team’s performance was the success of 9-year-old Anastasiia Kovtun in the youngest age category, Girls U11. Despite the competition in Bucharest marking Nastia’s debut at international level, she confidently advanced through the group stage. The Ukrainian successively defeated Romania’s Anna Oltean 3:0 (11:4, 11:9, 11:9), as well as two Bulgarian athletes — Ema Taneva 3:0 (11:3, 11:5, 11:5) and Gabriela Zarova 3:0 (11:8, 11:2, 11:2).
In the decisive match for the gold medal, Anastasiia faced another Ukrainian, Oleksandra Sinielnikova, who has considerable experience competing in international and Polish junior tournaments. The final ended with Sinielnikova winning 3:0 (11:3, 11:5, 11:5).
Thus, Oleksandra Sinielnikova became the Romanian Junior Open 2026 champion among girls under 11, while Anastasiia Kovtun claimed a silver medal at her very first international tournament.
Five gold medals for Ukrainian athletes
Other Ukrainian participants also performed successfully. Among boys under 11, another all-Ukrainian final took place. Artem Kostiukov and Mark Hrabovskyi competed for the championship title. Both athletes won their groups, each recording three victories. In the group stage, Kostiukov defeated two representatives of Romania and an athlete from Israel, while Hrabovskyi beat two Romanian squash players and a representative of Bulgaria. In the final, Artem Kostiukov emerged victorious 3:1 (11:7, 11:6, 7:11, 11:8).
Artem Kostiukov, winner of Romanian Junior Open 2026
It is worth noting that Artem Kostiukov continues his family’s sporting traditions. His mother is the well-known Ukrainian squash player Anastasiia Kostiukova, a Ukrainian champion and multiple winner of national competitions, including the 2023 Ukrainian Cup. In 2022, she became the first Ukrainian woman to win a squash match at the World Games and also took silver at the international PSA Saarland Squash Open tournament.
In the Girls U13 category, Varvara Sinielnikova took first place, demonstrating confident play throughout the tournament.
Viktoriia Syvoplias brought Ukraine another gold medal in the Girls U19 category. In the final, she defeated Bulgaria’s Emma Peteva in a tense five-game contest — 3:2 (7:11, 11:9, 11:5, 8:11, 11:8).
Nestor Saplashenko secured another victory for Ukraine in the Boys U15 category. In the final, he defeated Greece’s Konstantinos Christos Papatheodorou 3:1 (11:8, 11:7, 7:11, 11:9).
Ukrainian Oleksandra Orlenko also competed in the Girls U19 category, finishing the tournament in seventh place.
Ukrainian juniors confirm their high level on the European stage
At Romanian Junior Open 2026, Ukrainian athletes won five gold medals in the Girls U11, Girls U13, Girls U19, Boys U11 and Boys U15 categories.
In addition, Ukrainians claimed two silver medals thanks to the performances of Anastasiia Kovtun and Mark Hrabovskyi.
Anastasiia Kovtun, silver medalist at Romanian Junior Open 2026
For nine-year-old Anastasiia Kovtun, the silver medal in Bucharest marked an important first step in her international sporting career. Already in her debut appearance, she managed to become one of the medalists at an official European tournament.