Stefani Stoeva

Stefani Stoeva
Personal information
Country	Bulgaria
Born	(1995-09-23) 23 September 1995 Galabovo, Bulgaria
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Years active	2009–present
Handedness	Right
Women's doubles
Highest ranking	8 (with Gabriela Stoeva 8 November 2018)
Current ranking	18 (with Gabriela Stoeva 24 September 2024)
Medal record Women's badminton Representing Bulgaria European Games 2015 Baku Women's doubles 2023 Kraków–Małopolska Women's doubles European Championships 2018 Huelva Women's doubles 2021 Kyiv Women's doubles 2022 Madrid Women's doubles 2017 Kolding Women's doubles 2024 Saarbrücken Women's doubles European Women's Team Championships 2016 Kazan Women's team 2014 Basel Women's team European Junior Championships 2013 Ankara Women's singles 2013 Ankara Women's doubles
BWF profile

Stefani Stoeva (Bulgarian: Стефани Стоева; born 23 September 1995) is a Bulgarian badminton player specializing in doubles. Her current partner is her older sister, Gabriela Stoeva. They competed at the 2016, 2020 and the 2024 Summer Olympics. The duo together have won gold medals in the 2015 and 2023 European Games and also three successive European Championships in 2018, 2021 and 2022 editions. Stefani Stoeva has also won some individual titles in women's singles competition.

Career

Stefani playing with her sister, Gabriela

Stoeva started playing badminton at age 9 at the Haskovo School Club in 2007. She won gold medals at the U17 European Championships in the girls' singles and doubles. At the 2014 Scottish Open Grand Prix, she won in the women's doubles event, partnered with Gabriela Stoeva. They beat Heather Olver and Lauren Smith of England in the finals round with the score 21-7, 21-15.

In 2015, she won the Dutch Open in women's doubles against the top seeds, World No.7 Eefje Muskens and Selena Piek of Nederlands with the score 24–22, 21–15 in the final. She won the Russian Open against Johanna Goliszewski and Carla Nelte of German 21–15, 21–17. She competed in the European Games, and won gold in the women's doubles alongside her sister.

In 2016, Stoeva competed at the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics, but did not advance to the knocked-out stage after placing third in the group D stage.

In 2017, she became the women's doubles runner-up at the Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold. They lost to China pair Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan with the score 16–21, 15–21. The sisters also won the silver medal at the European Championships.

2020–2021: Second European Championships title

Stefani and her partner Gabriela were lost in the initial rounds in two opening tournaments in 2020. They lost in the first round to Chang Ye-na and Kim Hye-rin at the Indonesia Masters, and to world number 1 Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan in the Thailand Masters. The Stoeva then reached the final in the Spain Masters, losing the final to Greysia Polii and Apriyani Rahayu in a close rubber games. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, numerous tournaments on the 2020 BWF World Tour were either cancelled or rescheduled for later in the year, they then felt the atmosphere of a tournament in Sofia in October, at the Bulgarian International, where she and her partner emerged victory at that tournament. The duo then ended the season by winning the Super 100 event at the SaarLorLux Open.

The Stoevas opened the 2021 season as the finalists in the Swiss Open, losing the title to the rising Malaysian pair Pearly Tan and Thinaah Muralitharan. They then finished runner-up in the Orléans Masters this time losing to Jongkolphan Kititharakul and Rawinda Prajongjai of Thailand. The duo then clinched their first title of the year by winning their second European Championships title in Kyiv, Ukraine. The duo competed at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics but were eliminated in the group stage.

2022: 3rd European Championships title

Stefani and her partner Gabriela opened the 2022 season with quite satisfactory results, by becoming finalists in the German Open. They then won 3 consecutive tournaments, in the Swiss Open, Orléans Masters and in their third European Championships.

Stefani and Gabriela ended the year on poor form, exiting four of their final six tournaments in the first round. Her sister, Gabriela, stated that their partnerships were lost communication on court, only arguing, and the energy around them was pretty negative.

2023: Second European Games gold

In the first semester of 2023, Stoeva has not been able to win any single titles, as her best results with Gabriela was being quarter-finalists in the Malaysia, India and the German Opens. Stefani and Gabriela claimed their first title of the year by winning the gold medal at the European Games, beating Dutch pair Debora Jille and Cheryl Seinen in the finals. They also competed in the BWF World Championships, but had to be knocked out in the early rounds by Yeung Nga Ting and Yeung Pui Lam of Hong Kong. In the remaining tournaments in 2023, they were able to win the International Challenge titles in Scotland, Bahrain and Wales, as well as finished runner-up in the Irish Open.

2024

Stoeva won her first international title in 2024 at the Azerbaijan International. She and her partner reached the finals in the German Open, but lost to Chinese pair Li Yijing and Luo Xumin. As the defending champion at the European Championships, Stoeva unable to defend their title after lost to French pair Margot Lambert and Anne Tran in the final.

Achievements

European Games

Women's doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2015	Baku Sports Hall, Baku, Azerbaijan	Gabriela Stoeva	Ekaterina Bolotova Evgeniya Kosetskaya	21–12, 23–21	Gold
2023	Arena Jaskółka, Tarnów, Poland	Gabriela Stoeva	Debora Jille Cheryl Seinen	21–7, 21–17	Gold

European Championships

Women's doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2017	Sydbank Arena, Kolding, Denmark	Gabriela Stoeva	Christinna Pedersen Kamilla Rytter Juhl	11–21, 21–15, 11–21	Silver
2018	Palacio de los Deportes Carolina Marín, Huelva, Spain	Gabriela Stoeva	Émilie Lefel Anne Tran	21–12, 21–10	Gold
2021	Palace of Sports, Kyiv, Ukraine	Gabriela Stoeva	Chloe Birch Lauren Smith	21–14, 21–19	Gold
2022	Polideportivo Municipal Gallur, Madrid, Spain	Gabriela Stoeva	Linda Efler Isabel Lohau	21–14, 21–10	Gold
2024	Saarlandhalle, Saarbrücken, Germany	Gabriela Stoeva	Margot Lambert Anne Tran	21–16, 17–21, 11–21	Silver

European Junior Championships

Girls' singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
2013	ASKI Sport Hall, Ankara, Turkey	Line Kjærsfeldt	21–13, 23–25, 21–19	Gold

Girls' doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2013	ASKI Sport Hall, Ankara, Turkey	Gabriela Stoeva	Julie Finne-Ipsen Rikke Søby Hansen	21–11, 21–18	Gold

BWF World Tour (8 titles, 7 runners-up)

The BWF World Tour, which was announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018, is a series of elite badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF). The BWF World Tour is divided into levels of World Tour Finals, Super 1000, Super 750, Super 500, Super 300 (part of the HSBC World Tour), and the BWF Tour Super 100.

Women's doubles

Year	Tournament	Partner	Level	Opponent	Score	Result
2018	Swiss Open	Super 300	Gabriela Stoeva	Ayako Sakuramoto Yukiko Takahata	21–19, 15–21, 18–21	Runner-up
2018	Orléans Masters	Super 100	Gabriela Stoeva	Delphine Delrue Léa Palermo	21–8, 21–14	Winner
2018	Dutch Open	Super 100	Gabriela Stoeva	Selena Piek Cheryl Seinen	21–17, 21–18	Winner
2018	French Open	Super 750	Gabriela Stoeva	Mayu Matsumoto Wakana Nagahara	14–21, 19–21	Runner-up
2018	SaarLorLux Open	Super 100	Gabriela Stoeva	Ni Ketut Mahadewi Istarani Rizki Amelia Pradipta	22–20, 15–21, 21–19	Winner
2018	Scottish Open	Super 100	Gabriela Stoeva	Émilie Lefel Anne Tran	21–16, 21–9	Winner
2019	Dutch Open	Super 100	Gabriela Stoeva	Rin Iwanaga Kie Nakanishi	21–10, 22–20	Winner
2020	Spain Masters	Super 300	Gabriela Stoeva	Greysia Polii Apriyani Rahayu	21–18, 20–22, 17–21	Runner-up
2020	SaarLorLux Open	Super 100	Gabriela Stoeva	Amalie Magelund Freja Ravn	21–8, 21–11	Winner
2021	Swiss Open	Super 300	Gabriela Stoeva	Pearly Tan Thinaah Muralitharan	19–21, 12–21	Runner-up
2021	Orléans Masters	Super 100	Gabriela Stoeva	Jongkolphan Kititharakul Rawinda Prajongjai	16–21, 16–21	Runner-up
2022	German Open	Super 300	Gabriela Stoeva	Chen Qingchen Jia Yifan	16–21, 30–29, 19–21	Runner-up
2022	Swiss Open	Super 300	Gabriela Stoeva	Linda Efler Isabel Lohau	21–14, 21–12	Winner
2022	Orléans Masters	Super 100	Gabriela Stoeva	Stine Küspert Emma Moszczyński	21–15, 21–14	Winner
2024	German Open	Super 300	Gabriela Stoeva	Li Yijing Luo Xumin	7–21, 21–13, 18–21	Runner-up

BWF Grand Prix (3 titles, 3 runners-up)

The BWF Grand Prix had two levels, the Grand Prix and Grand Prix Gold. It was a series of badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) and played between 2007 and 2017.

Women's doubles

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2014	Brasil Open	Gabriela Stoeva	Johanna Goliszewski Carla Nelte	5–11, 7–11, 11–4, 10–11	Runner-up
2014	Scottish Open	Gabriela Stoeva	Heather Olver Lauren Smith	21–7, 21–15	Winner
2015	Russian Open	Gabriela Stoeva	Johanna Goliszewski Carla Nelte	21–15, 21–17	Winner
2015	Dutch Open	Gabriela Stoeva	Eefje Muskens Selena Piek	24–22, 21–15	Winner
2016	Dutch Open	Gabriela Stoeva	Setyana Mapasa Gronya Somerville	21–17, 17–21, 16–21	Runner-up
2017	Swiss Open	Gabriela Stoeva	Chen Qingchen Jia Yifan	16–21, 15–21	Runner-up

  BWF Grand Prix Gold tournament

  BWF Grand Prix tournament

BWF International Challenge/Series (36 titles, 10 runners-up)

Women's singles

Year	Tournament	Opponent	Score	Result
2011	Hungarian International	Camilla Sørensen	23–21 21–14	Winner
2012	Bulgarian Hebar Open	Alesia Zaitsava	17–21, 21–18, 10–21	Runner-up
2012	Bulgarian International	Petya Nedelcheva	9–21, 18–21	Runner-up
2013	Indonesia International	Dinar Dyah Ayustine	21–13, 15–21, 12–21	Runner-up
2013	Bulgarian Eurasia Open	Linda Zetchiri	21–16, 21–18	Winner
2013	Turkey International	Neslihan Yiğit	14–21, 21–16, 21–19	Winner
2014	Slovenian International	Soraya de Visch Eijbergen	21–18, 21–14	Winner
2014	White Nights	Petya Nedelcheva	14–21, 17–21	Runner-up
2024	Bulgarian International	Gergana Pavlova	18–21, 21–15, 21–8	Winner
2024	Egypt International	Yasmine Hamza	21–10, 22–20	Winner

Women's doubles

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2011	Turkiye Open	Gabriela Stoeva	Alexandra Langley Lauren Smith	21–14, 16–21, 21–10	Winner
2012	Banuinvest International	Gabriela Stoeva	Sandra-Maria Jensen Line Kjærsfeldt	19–21, 21–17, 16–21	Runner-up
2012	Bulgarian Hebar Open	Gabriela Stoeva	Rumiana Ivanova Dimitria Popstoikova	15–21, 21–14, 21–11	Winner
2012	Bulgarian International	Gabriela Stoeva	Özge Bayrak Neslihan Yiğit	21–9, 21–17	Winner
2012	Turkey International	Gabriela Stoeva	Özge Bayrak Neslihan Yiğit	19–21, 21–14, 23–21	Winner
2013	Bulgarian Eurasia Open	Gabriela Stoeva	Petya Nedelcheva Dimitria Popstoikova	11–21, 8–21	Runner-up
2013	Belgian International	Gabriela Stoeva	Imogen Bankier Petya Nedelcheva	21–13, 11–21, 18–21	Runner-up
2013	Bulgarian International	Gabriela Stoeva	Eva Lee Paula Lynn Obañana	21–15, 21–10	Winner
2013	Turkey International	Gabriela Stoeva	Özge Bayrak Neslihan Yiğit	21–15, 21–8	Winner
2014	Austrian International	Gabriela Stoeva	Olga Golovanova Viktoriia Vorobeva	21–17, 20–22, 21–15	Winner
2014	Orléans International	Gabriela Stoeva	Imogen Bankier Petya Nedelcheva	14–21, 7–21	Runner-up
2014	Finnish Open	Gabriela Stoeva	Line Damkjær Kruse Marie Røpke	17–21, 14–21	Runner-up
2014	Slovenian International	Gabriela Stoeva	Victoria Dergunova Olga Morozova	21–16, 21–17	Winner
2014	Spanish Open	Gabriela Stoeva	Imogen Bankier Kirsty Gilmour	21–14, 21–9	Winner
2014	Swiss International	Gabriela Stoeva	Meiliana Jauhari Aprilsasi Putri Lejarsar Variella	11–6, 11–5, 11–9	Winner
2014	Turkey International	Gabriela Stoeva	Özge Bayrak Neslihan Yiğit	21–11, 21–9	Winner
2015	Orléans International	Gabriela Stoeva	Heather Olver Lauren Smith	22–20, 16–21, 21–9	Winner
2015	Spanish International	Gabriela Stoeva	Anastasia Chervyakova Olga Morozova	21–16, 21–11	Winner
2015	Bulgarian International	Gabriela Stoeva	Eva Lee Paula Lynn Obañana	21–14, 21–10	Winner
2015	Welsh International	Gabriela Stoeva	Heather Olver Lauren Smith	21–10, 22–20	Winner
2015	Irish Open	Gabriela Stoeva	Julie Finne-Ipsen Rikke Søby Hansen	21–10, 22–24, 21–9	Winner
2015	Italian International	Gabriela Stoeva	Setyana Mapasa Gronya Somerville	21–19, 18–21, 13–6 retired	Winner
2015	Turkey International	Gabriela Stoeva	Özge Bayrak Neslihan Yiğit	21–19, 21–12	Winner
2017	Bulgarian Open	Gabriela Stoeva	Bengisu Erçetin Nazlıcan İnci	21–16, 21–12	Winner
2018	Bulgarian Open	Gabriela Stoeva	Amalie Magelund Freja Ravn	21–16, 21–19	Winner
2019	Spanish International	Gabriela Stoeva	Émilie Lefel Anne Tran	21–8, 21–10	Winner
2019	Belgian International	Gabriela Stoeva	Rachel Honderich Kristen Tsai	21–16, 21–15	Winner
2019	Italian International	Gabriela Stoeva	Ekaterina Bolotova Alina Davletova	21–11, 21–14	Winner
2020	Bulgarian International	Gabriela Stoeva	Maria Delcheva Hristomira Popovska	21–8, 21–9	Winner
2023	Scottish Open	Gabriela Stoeva	Maiko Kawazoe Haruna Konishi	19–21, 21–11, 21–12	Winner
2023	Irish Open	Gabriela Stoeva	Maiken Fruergaard Sara Thygesen	19–21, 21–17, 22–24	Runner-up
2023	Bahrain International	Gabriela Stoeva	Kokona Ishikawa Mio Konegawa	21–19, 21–14	Winner
2023	Welsh International	Gabriela Stoeva	Natasja P. Anthonisen Alyssa Tirtosentono	24–22, 21–11	Winner
2024	Azerbaijan International	Gabriela Stoeva	Catherine Choi Josephine Wu	21–14, 21–7	Winner
2024	Bulgarian International	Gabriela Stoeva	Tanya Ivanova Gergana Pavlova	21–5, 21–10	Winner
2024	Dutch Open	Gabriela Stoeva	Chloe Birch Estelle van Leeuwen	21–15, 21–18	Winner

  BWF International Challenge tournament

  BWF International Series tournament

  BWF Future Series tournament

External links

• Stefani Stoeva at BWFBadminton.com
• Stefani Stoeva at Olympics at Sports-Reference.com (archived)