Ramstein's Gianna Tak hits the ball during a tennis match against Stuttgart's Bella Farias on Oct. 18, 2025, at Ramstein High School on Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

In recent history, the DODEA European tennis championships seemed mostly perfunctory.

You could pencil in Ramstein graduate Tristan Chandler before the tournament began as the boys singles champion the past four years, and Kaiserslautern dominated the girls brackets, winning the last six singles and four doubles crowns.

That chapter has closed. For the first time since the return of DODEA athletics following the COVID-19 pandemic, every bracket is wide open at the 2025 DODEA European tournament held at the T2 Sports Health Club in Wiesbaden, Germany, on Thursday through Saturday.

It has created a sense of excitement among the 56 participants.

“I like that everyone has a chance,” said Kaiserslautern senior Jace Martin, a four-time European qualifier and the No. 1 seed in this year’s boys bracket. “It makes the atmosphere that’s more competitive, a lot of enjoyable.”

Just how competitive will this week be? Each of the four brackets has no fewer than three unbeaten athletes or duos.

And just because they’re undefeated doesn’t guarantee the players got a top seed. Vicenza’s Sophia Rainey and AFNORTH’s Sabina Kralikova are the fifth and sixth seeds in girls’ singles, while Lakenheath’s Jonathan Soito enters as the fifth seed. All three haven’t lost yet.

Still, each competition has a favorite.

Martin, the 2023 runner-up who finished fourth in 2024, leads the boys singles pack. Marymount’s Riccardo Averni and Giovanni La Piana d’Orlandi are back to defend their boys doubles title. And in girls doubles, Cougars Addie Wilson and Annika Svenson are hoping to take the next step after finishing second the past two seasons.

For the girls singles, Vilseck freshman phenom Pennie Wolff has turned heads with a 5-0 record, earning the first seed. She already has notched a win over second-seed Bella Farias of Stuttgart this season.

“I’m fulfilling my expectations that I had,” Wolff said of the start to her high school career. “I’m just trying to keep it up.”

Vicenza’s Jacob McGovern is another player who has high expectations. After competing in doubles last year, the Cougar is on his own on the courts this year, entering Thursday as the third seed.

McGovern gained confidence over the summer playing in local Italian tournaments, winning one. That helped catapult him into Vicenza’s top singles player over last year’s European runner-up Michael Gillett, who’s part of the boys doubles fourth seed with Erik Findlay.

“It’s not too different for me,” McGovern said of playing singles this year. “I think I’m in a good spot.”

Plenty of new faces are looking to spoil the party for the favorites.

In boys singles, Brussels rookie Liam Richard is the second seed. And in boys doubles, second-seeded Isaac Bird and Steven Harker could make it a European tournament to remember for Vilseck.

Ramstein girls are back at Euros for the first time in two years and have a pair of possible champions.

In girls singles, the third seed, Ramstein senior Gianna Tak, is hungry after dropping her first loss to Farias the weekend prior to Euros. In the doubles bracket, sophomore Scarlett Hosey and junior Brooke Vinson earned the second seed after a 5-0 record in their second season together.

With zero Euro experience, the trio have turned to their coaches, Alfredo Rios and Matt Allison, to prepare them for the atmosphere.

“I’d be scared if there wasn’t any pressure. Pressure’s good,” Vinson said. “Whenever I play with Scarlett, I’m always confident that we’ll win. But there is still pressure, for sure.”

Across the Kaiserslautern Military Community, Martin could tell the Royals that pressure never goes away, no matter how much experience a player has.

“Every tennis player gets nervous when they step on the court,” Martin said. “I’ll have experience dealing with them before, but they’ll still catch me, I’m going to be honest.”

Seedings

BOYS

Singles

1. Jace Martin (Kaiserslautern), 2. Liam Richard (Brussels), 3. Jacob McGovern (Vicenza), 4. Alejandro Cuesta (SHAPE), 5. Jonathan Soito (Lakenheath), 6. Matthew Suber (Stuttgart), 7. Jack Lovallo (Ansbach), 8. Yoel Lord (Naples), 9. Lucas Rios (Marymount), 10. Thomas Curci (American Overseas School of Rome)

Doubles

1. Riccardo Averni/Giovanni La Piana d’Orlandi (Marymount), 2. Isaac Bird/Steven Harker (Vilseck), 3. Bernie Novak/Camren Carlson (Ramstein), 4. Michael Gillett/Erik Findlay (Vicenza), 5. Gagik Sargsyan/Conner Zarbo (Brussels), 6. Tucker Meyer/Conner Winnie (Kaiserslautern), 7. Isaac Mason/Darren Zhuang (Wiesbaden), 8. Nathan Hermansen/Cristian Wilson (Sigonella), 9. Eyan Kim/Lucas Mellor (Naples).

GIRLS

Singles

1. Pennie Wolff (Vilseck), 2. Bella Farias (Stuttgart), 3. Gianna Tak (Ramstein), 4. Maya Mercado (Rota), 5. Sophia Rainey (Vicenza), 6. Sabina Kralikova (AFNORTH), 7. Rinnah Kim (Wiesbaden), 8. Rebecca Tremel (Spangdahlem), 9. Adrienne Chezik (Brussels), 10. Meghan Nguyen (Sigonella).

Doubles

1. Addie Wilson/Annika Svenson (Vicenza), 2. Scarlett Hosey/Brooke Vinson (Ramstein), 3. Isa Suber/Ema Causevic (Stuttgart), 4. Madelyne Hatfield/Leilani Dowling (AFNORTH), 5. Ellie Mize/Kai Malaga (Wiesbaden), 6. Olivia Penry/Elena Accetta (SHAPE), 7. Ana Alejandro Diez/Gabriella Pantoja (Alconbury), 8. Anastasiia Litovchenko/Giulia Castellaneta (AOSR), 9. Rita Harroum/Ariana Swain (Naples).