Belgium’s Nele Gilis and France’s Victor Crouin have been crowned European Champions after victories in the finals of the 2023 ESF European Individual Closed Championship against Enora Villard and Auguste Dussourd in Wroclaw, Poland.
In front of a packed crowd at Europe’s biggest squash club, Hasta La Vista, top seed Gilis was at her brutal best as she put in a dominant performance against the No.2 seed to win her second title.
The World No.7 wasted no time establishing herself in the match with an 11-1 demolition in game one.
Villard improved in game two, but still struggled to land blows, with Gilis taking the second game 11-7 and the third 11-3 to win the title with a perfect record after 3-0 wins in every round.
In the men’s final, top seed Victor Crouin survived a fightback from his compatriot to lift the title for the first time after a painful defeat to Switzerland’s Nicolas Mueller in last year’s final.
Crouin was dominant in the first game, which he took 11-3, before doubling his advantage with a tight 12-10 win in the second.
3/4 seed Dussourd, who knocked out defending champion Mueller in the semi-final, hit back in game three with an 11-9 win.
Crouin, however, clung on in the fourth, taking it 11-8 to seal the title.
Result: ESF European Individual Closed Squash Championship 2023 Women’s Final
[1] Nele Gilis (BEL) bt [2] Enora Villard (FRA) 3-0: 11-1, 11-7, 11-3
Result: ESF European Individual Closed Squash Championship 2023 Men’s Final
[1] Victor Crouin (FRA) bt [3/4] Auguste Dussourd (FRA) 3-1: 11-3, 12-10, 9-11, 11-8