The Son Cladera TTC-Mallorca is making history, and team president and coach Lorenzo Sastre can’t contain his excitement. By qualifying for the quarterfinals of the ETU Europe Cup Women, the second-most prestigious European table tennis competition, they’ve become the first Balearic team to reach such heights. It’s a remarkable achievement, especially considering they’ve only been around for nearly two decades.
Their journey to the quarterfinals wasn’t easy, though. In the second leg of the tie against Reus Ganxets Miro, they managed to secure a 3-2 win, matching the result from the first leg on the island. The decisive point came when Polish player Katzina Wegrzyn defeated Elvira Rad, after French player Pauline Chasselin had missed an earlier opportunity against Margarita Westotska. At that point, the score was 2-1 in favor of Son Cladera, thanks to victories from Chasselin and Ainhoa Cristóbal, as well as a defeat for Wegrzyn. Eugenia Sastre and Xisca Sastre (who didn’t play due to illness) rounded out the Balearic team.
The team’s road to the quarterfinals began with a dominant performance in the group phase, where they defeated Austrian team Bodernsorf 3-0 and Scottish team Drumchapel Glasgow 3-0, although they did fall to Polish team Az Babetto 3-1. Notably, the team has yet to play outside of Spain, having competed in Burgos previously. As Lorenzo Sastre mentioned earlier, “I don’t know, play in Germany, Austria, Czech Republic… in any other country to live the experience of competing outside Spain. So what we have to do is qualify to have that opportunity.” It seems they’ve taken the first step towards making that happen.
The Neighborhood Team’s Rise to Fame
The Son Cladera TTC-Mallorca is, at its core, a neighborhood team that plays in a local polygon. Their success is all the more impressive given their relatively short history, and they’re taking it all in stride. As Sastre put it, “In recent years, everything is going well,” downplaying his own role in the team’s achievements. The “Cinderella story continues,” and next week’s draw will determine their next opponent. What’s next for this plucky team from Mallorca? Only time will tell, but one thing’s for sure – they’re loving every minute of it.
