Wiesbaden's Rinnah Kim stretches to his the ball during a doubles match with teammate June Fearing against Kaiserslautern's Izzy Petrik and Addison Starck on Oct. 18, 2025, at Kaiserslautern High School in Kaiserslautern, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany – After two weeks off because of the government shutdown and the October federal holiday, Wiesbaden’s Rinnah Kim had lost her drive to step back out onto the tennis court.

She even admitted she wished the season would end. She hadn’t practiced much and wasn’t feeling too great heading into the Warriors’ match against Kaiserslautern on Saturday.

Turns out the girls No. 1 singles contest against Raider Izzy Petrik was just what the doctor ordered. The Warrior junior outlasted Petrik in a 1.5-hour marathon to win 6-2, 3-6 10-3.

“Through today’s match, I was able to regain that motivation,” Kim said. “I’m really excited for next week now.”

Not that she expects a spot at next week’s European championships in Wiesbaden to be set in stone. Kim just highlighted how it’s put her in a good spot to make it with a season record of 4-2.

That’s a 180 from her mentality heading into the match. Kim and Petrik had a common opponent in Ramstein’s Gianna Tak, and while Kim lost twice to the Royal in straight sets, Petrik pushed Tak to a tiebreaker before falling earlier this season.

So, Kim anticipated a tough match against an opponent also hoping to make her case for a spot in the European tournament.

Numerous long rallies backed that up.

“I was really worried that I wouldn’t make it to Euros,” Kim said. “It was a really tough match, and it was amazing because it gave me a better chance.

“Even if it didn’t have to do with Euros or seeding at all, I was just really excited that I was able to pull through.”

Wiesbaden's Isaac Mason leaps at the net to hit a ball during a boys doubles match with teammate Darren Zhuang against Kaiserslautern's Conner Winnie and Tucker Meyer on Oct. 18, 2025, at Kaiserslautern High School in Kaiserslautern, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Kaiserslautern's Conner Winnie celebrates of the final point of his and teammate Tucker Meyer's boys doubles win over Wiesbaden's Isaac Mason and Darren Zhuang on Oct. 18, 2025, at Kaiserslautern High School in Kaiserslautern, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Kaiserslautern's Tucker Meyer serves during a boys doubles match with teammate Conner Winnie against Wiesbaden's Isaac Mason and Darren Zhuang on Oct. 18, 2025, at Kaiserslautern High School in Kaiserslautern, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Wiesbaden's Darren Zhuang serves during a boys doubles match with teammate Isaac Mason against Kaiserslautern's Conner Winnie and Tucker Meyer on Oct. 18, 2025, at Kaiserslautern High School in Kaiserslautern, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Kim said Petrik has similar strengths and weaknesses, meaning the match was going to be decided on who made the first mistake on each point.

In the opening set, Kim had the upper hand, rattling off six-straight games for the win. Petrik flipped the match in the second set. Kim described said she wanted it to end quickly so she could flush it out of her system.

“When I lost the second one, I was like, ‘OK, now I actually have to really focus,’” Kim said. “At the same time, I believed that I was able to do it because that’s what I did the first set.”

Kim wasn’t the only one trying to add to the resume ahead of the tournament selection.

Kaiserslautern’s No. 1 boys doubles pair, Conner Winnie and Tucker Meyer, were sitting at .500 prior to Saturday’s matchup with Wiesbaden’s Isaac Mason and Darren Zhuang.

The Warriors boasted a 4-2 record on the season with a victory over Ramstein’s Camren Carlson and Bernie Novak under their belts, giving them a good chance to advance to Euros.

Winnie and Meyer may be joining Mason and Zhuang next week. The Raiders came back to defeat the Warriors in three sets 4-6, 6-4, 10-4.

“This win was very important,” Winnie said. “We needed this to go to Euros.”

Both Meyer and Winnie said they turned around the match through desperation. If they didn’t change their tactics after dropping the first set, the season was over.

Attacking the ball at the net with the front player was one way the Raiders put Mason and Zhuang on their back feet. The Raiders also credited the chemistry they have built over this first season playing together for the come-from-behind victory.

“The name of the game for this match was consistency, and it took a while to get up to that,” Meyer said.

Meyer and Winnie still must wait to see if they have made the tournament field, but they are excited about their chances.

“I’m looking forward to it,” Meyer said of playing at Euros.