While Mathias Christiansen sits out with a possible suspension, Alexandra Bøje will be partnered with top Dutch player Robin Tabeling.
In April, they stood on opposite sides of the net and played against each at the European Championship semifinal. Now, on a temporary basis, Alexandra Bøje and Robin Tabeling will fight for tournament victories together.
Robin Tabeling has played with Selena Piek up to and including the Olympics, and they have previously achieved a ranking of number eight in the world.
Alexandra Bøje is currently ranked 10th with Mathias Christiansen, but shortly before the Olympics, the latter received his third warning in 12 months for incorrectly reporting his whereabouts. The couple therefore decided to withdraw from the Olympic Games. Mathias Christiansen is still awaiting his sentence, but a minimum one-year ban is expected.
It is during this period that Bøje will be playing alongside Robin Tabeling, which she is looking forward to under the circumstances.
“The circumstances that led to this partnership are unfortunate. But with the situation as it is, I would hardly have dared to dream that such a partnership could be possible. Robin is a great guy, plays at a high level, and I'm looking forward to getting on court and starting my partnership with him,” says Alexandra Bøje.
Jens Meibom, Director of Elite Sports at Badminton Denmark, is also pleased with the formation of the temporary partnership.
“I think it's a great solution we've found with Alexandra. I'm happy that she can continue to be active in tournaments and be matched at the highest level while Mathias Christiansen is sitting out. We didn't have any mixed doubles male player in training that would make sense to pair with Alexandra for a limited period, so I'm very happy with the solution,” says Jens Meibom.
The first tournament for the pairing of Bøje and Tabeling is expected to be the Super 500 tournament Arctic Open, which begins on the 8th of October, and the following week the pair will play at the Super 750 tournament VICTOR DENMARK OPEN.
Read the original press release in Danish
here.