Day 4 at the 2026 European Championships in Huelva, Spain, kicked off with a huge upset when Belgian Julien Carraggi defeated eighth seed Magnus Johannesen.
It was exceptionally emotional for Carraggi as Day 3 saw only his first ever win at a European Championships.
“I will just go all in for the quarterfinal,” said the Belgian post-match.
Later, men’s doubles top seeds Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen opened their campaign against Spanish home hopes Jacobo Fernandez/Alberto Perals unscathed with a scoreline of 21-16 21-14. French men’s singles player Arnaud Merkle slogged it out against Englishman Harry Huang in a match lasting over an hour, coming from behind to finish 20-22 21-14 21-13.
Defending champion Alex Lanier also had no issue coming through 2025 bronze medallist Aria Dinata in straight games, 21-18 21-16.
The first medals of the 2026 edition were secured by Ukrainian women’s pair Polina Buhrova and Yevheniia Kantemyr, when they edged Englaand’s Abbygael Harris/Lizzie Tolman 21-19 21-17.
Another player who made history was Thuc Phuong Nguyen, who won her match with partner Marvin Seidel against Mads Vestergaard/Christine Busch of Denmark. Qualifying for the semifinals and securing at least a bronze means Germany’s four-year medal drought at the European Championships has ended.
Nguyen (right) secures her first continental medal.
Another mixed doubles match saw defending champions Jesper Toft/Amalie Magelund dispatch Danish compatriots Rasmus Espersen/Amalie Cecilie Kudsk 21-14 21-15. Toft noted post-match this tournament would be their last for a while as Magelund is pregnant. They will face Callum Hemming and Estelle Van Leeuwen after the English pair continued their fine run defeating Dutch duo Brian Wassink/Debora Jille 21-11 21-13.
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