Gabriela Stoeva

Gabriela Stoeva (Bulgarian: Габриела Стоева; born 15 July 1994) is a Bulgarian badminton player specializing in doubles. Her current partner is her younger sister, Stefani Stoeva. The pair is the three-time European Champion and two-time European Games gold medalist as well.^[2][3] They competed at the 2016, 2020 and the 2024 Summer Olympics.^[4]

Gabriela Stoeva
Personal information
Country	Bulgaria
Born	(1994-07-15) 15 July 1994 (age 30)[1] Haskovo, Bulgaria[1]
Height	1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Years active	2009–present
Handedness	Right
Women's doubles
Highest ranking	8 (with Stefani Stoeva 8 November 2018)
Current ranking	18 (with Stefani Stoeva 24 September 2024)
Medal record Women's badminton Representing  Bulgaria European Games 2015 Baku Women's doubles 2023 Kraków–Małopolska Women's doubles European Championships 2018 Huelva Women's doubles 2021 Kyiv Women's doubles 2022 Madrid Women's doubles 2017 Kolding Women's doubles 2024 Saarbrücken Women's doubles European Women's Team Championships 2016 Kazan Women's team 2014 Basel Women's team European Junior Championships 2013 Ankara Women's doubles
BWF profile

Career

Gabriela playing with her sister, Stefani

Gabriela Stoeva started playing badminton at age 10 in the Haskovo School Club. She joined the national team in 2008, and made a debut in the international event in 2009.^[5] In 2009, she won a bronze medal at the European U-17 Championships in the girls' doubles event partnered with her sister, Stefani Stoeva.^[6] And at the 2013 European U-19 Championships, the sister won the gold medal.^[7]

Stoeva won her first BWF Grand Prix title at the 2014 Scottish Open in the women's doubles event with her sister. They beat Heather Olver and Lauren Smith of England in the finals round with the score 21-7 21–15.^[8] In 2015, she also won the Grand Prix tournament at the Russian and Dutch Open.^[9] Stoeva competed in the 2015 European Games, winning gold in women's doubles alongside her younger sister^[10]

In 2017, the Stoevas finished as the runner-ups at the Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold tournament, losing to the Chinese pair Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan in the straight games.^[11] The sisters also won the silver medal at the European Championships.^[12]

2018–2019: First ever Bulgarian to win the Eropean Championships title

Gabriela started the 2018 season by finished as women's doubles runner-up in the Swiss Open with her sister Stefani.^[13] They then won their first title of the year in the Orléans Masters.^[14] Competing as the second seed in the European Championship, the Stoeva took advantage of the absence of the top seed Kamilla Rytter Juhl and Christinna Pedersen, by winning their first ever European title, becoming the first Bulgarian players to win the European title since the tournament was first held in 1968. At the home soil, Bulgarian Open, she played in two events, the women's doubles with her sister, while in the mixed doubles with Jakub Bitman of Czechia. She won the women's doubles title and reached the semi-finals in the mixed doubles. The Stoeva are increasingly being considered on the BWF World Tour, as proven by their ability to reach the semi-finals at the China Open, beating top pairs such as Lee So-hee and Shin Seung-chan in the second round, and then Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan in the quarter-finals. They are increasingly successful in Europe by winning titles such as Dutch Open, SaarLorLux Open, and Scottish Open, as well being runner-up in the French Open. They then reached their career high as world number 8 in the BWF World rankings, and also closed the season ranked as number 7 in the Tour Finals rankings.^[15]

2020–2021: Second European Championships title

Gabriela and her partner Stefani were lost in the initial rounds in two opening tournaments in 2020. They lost in the first round to Chang Ye-na and Kim Hye-rin at the Indonesia Masters, and to world number 1 Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan in the Thailand Masters. The Stoeva then reached the final in the Spain Masters, losing the final to Greysia Polii and Apriyani Rahayu in a close rubber games.^[16] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, numerous tournaments on the 2020 BWF World Tour were either cancelled or rescheduled for later in the year, they then felt the atmosphere of a tournament in Sofia in October, at the Bulgarian International,^[17] where she and her partner emerged victory at that tournament. The duo then ended the season by winning the Super 100 event at the SaarLorLux Open.^[18]

The Stoevas opened the 2021 season as the finalists in the Swiss Open, losing the title to the rising Malaysian pair Pearly Tan and Thinaah Muralitharan.^[19] They then finished runner-up in the Orléans Masters this time losing to Jongkolphan Kititharakul and Rawinda Prajongjai of Thailand. The duo then clinched their first title of the year by winning their second European Championships title in Kyiv, Ukraine.^[20] The duo competed at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics but were eliminated in the group stage.^[21]

2022: 3rd European Championships title

Gabriela and her partner Stefani opened the 2022 season with quite satisfactory results, by becoming finalists in the German Open. They then won 3 consecutive tournaments, in the Swiss Open, Orléans Masters and in their third European Championships.^[22]

Gabriela and Stefani ended the year on poor form, exiting four of their final six tournaments in the first round. She stated that their partnerships were lost communication on court, only arguing, and the energy around them was pretty negative.^[23]

2023: Second European Games gold

In the first semester of 2023, Stoeva has not been able to win any single titles, as her best results with Stefani was being quarter-finalists in the Malaysia, India and the German Opens.^[24] Gabriela tried to partner with young player, Kaloyana Nalbantova, and was able to reach the quarter-finals in the Dutch International.^[25]

Gabriela and Stefani claimed their first title of the year by winning the gold medal at the European Games, beating Dutch pair Debora Jille and Cheryl Seinen in the finals.^[26] They also competed in the BWF World Championships, but had to be knocked out in the early rounds by Yeung Nga Ting and Yeung Pui Lam of Hong Kong. In the remaining tournaments in 2023, they were able to win the International Challenge titles in Scotland, Bahrain and Wales,^[27] as well as finished runner-up in the Irish Open.^[28]

2024

Stoeva won her first international title in 2024 at the Azerbaijan International.^[29] She and her partner reached the finals in the German Open, but lost to Chinese pair Li Yijing and Luo Xumin.^[30] As the defending champion at the European Championships, Stoeva unable to defend their title after lost to French pair Margot Lambert and Anne Tran in the final.^[31]

Achievements

European Games

Women's doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2015	Baku Sports Hall, Baku, Azerbaijan	Stefani Stoeva	Ekaterina Bolotova Evgeniya Kosetskaya	21–12, 23–21	Gold
2023	Arena Jaskółka, Tarnów, Poland	Stefani Stoeva	Debora Jille Cheryl Seinen	21–7, 21–17	Gold

European Championships

Women's doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2017	Sydbank Arena, Kolding, Denmark	Stefani Stoeva	Christinna Pedersen Kamilla Rytter Juhl	11–21, 21–15, 11–21	Silver
2018	Palacio de los Deportes Carolina Marín, Huelva, Spain	Stefani Stoeva	Émilie Lefel Anne Tran	21–12, 21–10	Gold
2021	Palace of Sports, Kyiv, Ukraine	Stefani Stoeva	Chloe Birch Lauren Smith	21–14, 21–19	Gold
2022	Polideportivo Municipal Gallur, Madrid, Spain	Stefani Stoeva	Linda Efler Isabel Lohau	21–14, 21–10	Gold
2024	Saarlandhalle, Saarbrücken, Germany	Stefani Stoeva	Margot Lambert Anne Tran	21–16, 17–21, 11–21	Silver

European Junior Championships

Girls' doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2013	ASKI Sport Hall, Ankara, Turkey	Stefani Stoeva	Julie Finne-Ipsen Rikke Søby Hansen	21–11, 21–18	Gold

BWF World Tour (8 titles, 7 runners-up)

The BWF World Tour, which was announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018,^[32] is a series of elite badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF). The BWF World Tour is divided into levels of World Tour Finals, Super 1000, Super 750, Super 500, Super 300 (part of the HSBC World Tour), and the BWF Tour Super 100.^[33]

Women's doubles

Year	Tournament	Level	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2018	Swiss Open	Super 300	Stefani Stoeva	Ayako Sakuramoto Yukiko Takahata	21–19, 15–21, 18–21	Runner-up
2018	Orléans Masters	Super 100	Stefani Stoeva	Delphine Delrue Léa Palermo	21–8, 21–14	Winner
2018	Dutch Open	Super 100	Stefani Stoeva	Selena Piek Cheryl Seinen	21–17, 21–18	Winner
2018	French Open	Super 750	Stefani Stoeva	Mayu Matsumoto Wakana Nagahara	14–21, 19–21	Runner-up
2018	SaarLorLux Open	Super 100	Stefani Stoeva	Ni Ketut Mahadewi Istarani Rizki Amelia Pradipta	22–20, 15–21, 21–19	Winner
2018	Scottish Open	Super 100	Stefani Stoeva	Émilie Lefel Anne Tran	21–16, 21–9	Winner
2019	Dutch Open	Super 100	Stefani Stoeva	Rin Iwanaga Kie Nakanishi	21–10, 22–20	Winner
2020	Spain Masters	Super 300	Stefani Stoeva	Greysia Polii Apriyani Rahayu	21–18, 20–22, 17–21	Runner-up
2020	SaarLorLux Open	Super 100	Stefani Stoeva	Amalie Magelund Freja Ravn	21–8, 21–11	Winner
2021	Swiss Open	Super 300	Stefani Stoeva	Pearly Tan Thinaah Muralitharan	19–21, 12–21	Runner-up
2021	Orléans Masters	Super 100	Stefani Stoeva	Jongkolphan Kititharakul Rawinda Prajongjai	16–21, 16–21	Runner-up
2022	German Open	Super 300	Stefani Stoeva	Chen Qingchen Jia Yifan	16–21, 30–29, 19–21	Runner-up
2022	Swiss Open	Super 300	Stefani Stoeva	Linda Efler Isabel Lohau	21–14, 21–12	Winner
2022	Orléans Masters	Super 100	Stefani Stoeva	Stine Küspert Emma Moszczyński	21–15, 21–14	Winner
2024	German Open	Super 300	Stefani Stoeva	Li Yijing Luo Xumin	7–21, 21–13, 18–21	Runner-up

BWF Grand Prix (3 titles, 3 runners-up)

The BWF Grand Prix had two levels, the Grand Prix and Grand Prix Gold. It was a series of badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) and played between 2007 and 2017.

Women's doubles

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2014	Brasil Open	Stefani Stoeva	Johanna Goliszewski Carla Nelte	5–11, 7–11, 11–4, 10–11	Runner-up
2014	Scottish Open	Stefani Stoeva	Heather Olver Lauren Smith	21–7, 21–15	Winner
2015	Russian Open	Stefani Stoeva	Johanna Goliszewski Carla Nelte	21–15, 21–17	Winner
2015	Dutch Open	Stefani Stoeva	Eefje Muskens Selena Piek	24–22, 21–15	Winner
2016	Dutch Open	Stefani Stoeva	Setyana Mapasa Gronya Somerville	21–17, 17–21, 16–21	Runner-up
2017	Swiss Open	Stefani Stoeva	Chen Qingchen Jia Yifan	16–21, 15–21	Runner-up

  BWF Grand Prix Gold tournament

  BWF Grand Prix tournament

BWF International Challenge/Series (32 titles, 7 runners-up)

Women's doubles

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2011	Turkiye Open	Stefani Stoeva	Alexandra Langley Lauren Smith	21–14, 16–21, 21–10	Winner
2012	Banuinvest International	Stefani Stoeva	Sandra-Maria Jensen Line Kjærsfeldt	19–21, 21–17, 16–21	Runner-up
2012	Bulgarian Hebar Open	Stefani Stoeva	Rumiana Ivanova Dimitria Popstoikova	15–21, 21–14, 21–11	Winner
2012	Bulgarian International	Stefani Stoeva	Özge Bayrak Neslihan Yiğit	21–9, 21–17	Winner
2012	Turkey International	Stefani Stoeva	Özge Bayrak Neslihan Yiğit	19–21, 21–14, 23–21	Winner
2013	Bulgarian Eurasia Open	Stefani Stoeva	Petya Nedelcheva Dimitria Popstoikova	11–21, 8–21	Runner-up
2013	Belgian International	Stefani Stoeva	Imogen Bankier Petya Nedelcheva	21–13, 11–21, 18–21	Runner-up
2013	Bulgarian International	Stefani Stoeva	Eva Lee Paula Lynn Obañana	21–15, 21–10	Winner
2013	Turkey International	Stefani Stoeva	Özge Bayrak Neslihan Yiğit	21–15, 21–8	Winner
2014	Austrian International	Stefani Stoeva	Olga Golovanova Viktoriia Vorobeva	21–17, 20–22, 21–15	Winner
2014	Orléans International	Stefani Stoeva	Imogen Bankier Petya Nedelcheva	14–21, 7–21	Runner-up
2014	Finnish Open	Stefani Stoeva	Line Damkjær Kruse Marie Røpke	17–21, 14–21	Runner-up
2014	Slovenian International	Stefani Stoeva	Victoria Dergunova Olga Morozova	21–16, 21–17	Winner
2014	Spanish Open	Stefani Stoeva	Imogen Bankier Kirsty Gilmour	21–14, 21–9	Winner
2014	Swiss International	Stefani Stoeva	Meiliana Jauhari Aprilsasi Putri Lejarsar Variella	11–6, 11–5, 11–9	Winner
2014	Turkey International	Stefani Stoeva	Özge Bayrak Neslihan Yiğit	21–11, 21–9	Winner
2015	Orléans International	Stefani Stoeva	Heather Olver Lauren Smith	22–20, 16–21, 21–9	Winner
2015	Spanish International	Stefani Stoeva	Anastasia Chervyakova Olga Morozova	21–16, 21–11	Winner
2015	Bulgarian International	Stefani Stoeva	Eva Lee Paula Lynn Obañana	21–14, 21–10	Winner
2015	Welsh International	Stefani Stoeva	Heather Olver Lauren Smith	21–10, 22–20	Winner
2015	Irish Open	Stefani Stoeva	Julie Finne-Ipsen Rikke Søby Hansen	21–10, 22–24, 21–9	Winner
2015	Italian International	Stefani Stoeva	Setyana Mapasa Gronya Somerville	21–19, 18–21, 13–6 retired	Winner
2015	Turkey International	Stefani Stoeva	Özge Bayrak Neslihan Yiğit	21–19, 21–12	Winner
2017	Bulgarian Open	Stefani Stoeva	Bengisu Erçetin Nazlıcan İnci	21–16, 21–12	Winner
2018	Bulgarian Open	Stefani Stoeva	Amalie Magelund Freja Ravn	21–16, 21–19	Winner
2019	Spanish International	Stefani Stoeva	Émilie Lefel Anne Tran	21–8, 21–10	Winner
2019	Belgian International	Stefani Stoeva	Rachel Honderich Kristen Tsai	21–16, 21–15	Winner
2019	Italian International	Stefani Stoeva	Ekaterina Bolotova Alina Davletova	21–11, 21–14	Winner
2020	Bulgarian International	Stefani Stoeva	Maria Delcheva Hristomira Popovska	21–8, 21–9	Winner
2023	Scottish Open	Stefani Stoeva	Maiko Kawazoe Haruna Konishi	19–21, 21–11, 21–12	Winner
2023	Irish Open	Stefani Stoeva	Maiken Fruergaard Sara Thygesen	19–21, 21–17, 22–24	Runner-up
2023	Bahrain International	Stefani Stoeva	Kokona Ishikawa Mio Konegawa	21–19, 21–14	Winner
2023	Welsh International	Stefani Stoeva	Natasja P. Anthonisen Alyssa Tirtosentono	24–22, 21–11	Winner
2024	Azerbaijan International	Stefani Stoeva	Catherine Choi Josephine Wu	21–14, 21–7	Winner
2024	Bulgarian International	Stefani Stoeva	Tanya Ivanova Gergana Pavlova	21–5, 21–10	Winner
2024	Dutch Open	Stefani Stoeva	Chloe Birch Estelle van Leeuwen	21–15, 21–18	Winner

Mixed doubles

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2013	Bulgaria Eurasia Open	Anton Kaisti	Marvin Seidel Yvonne Li	19–21, 21–9, 21–18	Winner
2013	Turkey International	Anton Kaisti	Vasily Kuznetsov Viktoriia Vorobeva	21–9, 21–15	Winner
2014	Turkey International	Marcus Fernaldi Gideon	Jones Ralfy Jansen Cisita Joity Jansen	21–17, 17–21, 12–21	Runner-up

  BWF International Challenge tournament

  BWF International Series tournament

  BWF Future Series tournament

References

1. "Gabriela Stoeva Player Profile". BWF-Tournament Software. Archived from the original on 18 January 2017. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
2. Pavitt, Michael. "Badminton doubles delight for Bulgaria and Denmark as they secure first Baku 2015 European Games golds". Inside the Games. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
3. Poghosyan, Lilit (3 May 2018). "Stoeva sisters: We will aim for top 5". Badminton People. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
4. "Badminton - STOEVA Gabriela". Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on 1 September 2021. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
5. "Players: Gabriela Stoeva". Badminton World Federation. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
6. "European U17 Championships, Individuals". Badminton Europe. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
7. "Стефани Стоева с два златни медала на Евро 2013" (in Bulgarian). bTV. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
8. "Scottish Open 2014 Finals – The Lång-est match". Badzine. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
9. "Bulgarian Badminton Players Achieve Record Standing in Women's Doubles Ranking". Novinite. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
10. "Bulgaria's Stoevi Sisters Claim Gold at Women's Doubles Badminton in Baku". Novinite. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
11. "The Stoeva sisters back in Basel". Swiss Open. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
12. "England's golden day in Denmark". Badminton Europe. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
13. Lollike, Emma (26 February 2018). "Germans and Danes on top in Switzerland". Badminton Europe. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
14. Komsiyski, Dimitar (2 April 2018). "Сестри Стоеви грабнаха купата в Орлеан" (in Bulgarian). Marica. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
15. "Badminton players Gabriela Stoeva and Stefani Stoeva qualify for BWF World Tour Finals 2018". Radio Bulgaria. 15 November 2018. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
16. "Indonesia's Greysia-Apriyani badminton pair secure Barcelona Spain Masters title". The Jakarta Post. 25 February 2020. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
17. Raftery, Alan (16 September 2020). "Stoevas: Everything here is very strict". Badminton Europe. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
18. Sukumar, Dev (2 November 2020). "SaarLorLux Open: Gilmour Breaks Title Drought". Badminton World Federation. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
19. Raftery, Alan (7 March 2021). "Kim Astrup/ Anders Rasmussen are back on top and Stoevas stunned in final". Badminton Europe. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
20. Raftery, Alan (2 May 2021). "Stoevas secure second title". Badminton Europe. Archived from the original on 4 May 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
21. "Bulgaria at the Olympics: Stefani Stoeva, Gabriela Stoeva Win Their Last Match in Badminton Group Play Stage". Bulgaria News Agency. 27 July 2021. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
22. "Трета европейска титла за сестри Стоеви в Мадрид" (in Bulgarian). Marica. 30 April 2022. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
23. Kumar, Prem (12 January 2023). "Malaysia Open: less fighting, more talking". Badminton World Federation. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
24. Tan, Ming Wai (13 January 2023). "A Malaysian washout at Malaysia Open". New Straits Times. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
25. "Калояна Налбантова продължава на полуфиналите на сингъл на турнир по бадминтон в Нидерландия". Pro News Dobrich. 15 April 2023. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
26. "We have our first European Games 2023 badminton champions". Krakow-Małopolska 2024 3rd European Games official website. 1 July 2023. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
27. "Badminton: Stoeva sisters win their fourth doubles title of the year". Bulgarian National Radio. 3 December 2023. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
28. Becerra, Gaia Diakhite (18 November 2023). "Battle of the youngsters". Badminton Europe. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
29. "Bulgarian badminton players Stefani Stoeva, Gabriela Stoeva win women's doubles title in Baku". Bulgarian News Agency. 11 February 2024. Archived from the original on 16 April 2024. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
30. "German Open: Breakthrough Title for Christo Popov". Badminton World Federation. 4 March 2024. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
31. "Стефани Стоева и Габриела Стоева завоюваха сребърни отличия на двойки жени на Европейското първенство по бадминтон в Германия" (in Bulgarian). Bulgarian News Agency. 14 April 2024. Archived from the original on 16 April 2024. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
32. Alleyne, Gayle (19 March 2017). "BWF Launches New Events Structure". Badminton World Federation. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
33. Sukumar, Dev (10 January 2018). "Action-Packed Season Ahead!". Badminton World Federation. Archived from the original on 13 January 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2018.

External links

• Gabriela Stoeva at BWF.TournamentSoftware.com (alternate link)
• Gabriela Stoeva at BWFBadminton.com
• Gabriela Stoeva at Olympedia
• Gabriela Stoeva at Olympics.com
• Gabriela Stoeva at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics