After a two months break the defending European champions are back on court, and the ambitions are big.

For personal reasons Gabriela and Stefani Stoeva have not played at competition level since June, but the 2018 European champions are now back on court participating in the World Championships in Basel.

- it is good to be back. It is a little bit hard for us, because we did not play for a while, but we are happy that we are here. We are here to fight, and hopefully we will have some good results, Gabriela Stoeva said.

- We are aiming to make it to the quarterfinals, maybe semifinals. All players dream of a medal from the World Championships, and so do we. Since 2016 we have lost in the round of last 16, so it would be good for us to play on Friday and Saturday, Stefani Stoeva added.

Beat the French in the first match
The Stoevas won their first match at the Championships in three games, 21-13 18-21 21-10, against French Lea Palermo/Delphine Delrue.

- There was a little bit of a pressure because we know them very well. The spectators were supporting them and in the second game we lost a bit of focus. It was a wakeup call for us, Stefani Stoeva said.

- We have not played against good players like the players here since Spanish International, but we are happy to achieve this win today, Gabriela Stoeva said.

In the round of the last 16 the Bulgarians will play Greysia Polii/Apriyani Rahayu from Indonesia. The Indonesians are seeded five and beat Russia’s Anastasiia Akchurina/Olga Morozova in their first match.