Italy and France emerged at the top of the table at the European Championships this weekend as the 14th edition of the tournament reached its conclusion.

The Lyttos Beach Resort in Crete played host to the European Beach Tennis Championships last week in association with Tennis Europe and the Hellenic Tennis Federation.

For the women it was an all-Italian affair, with Giulia Gasparri and Veronica Casadei coming out on top in the women’s doubles against top seeds Sofia Cimatti and Nicole Nobile in a thrilling final to cap a dream Italian debut for Casadei.

Cimatti and Nobile had dropped no more than three games per set on their route to the final but came up short in the Championship match which finished 10-6 in the match tie break.

On the men’s side, France were able to go one better than last year with Nicolas Gianotti and Theo Irigaray upsetting top seeds Michele Cappelletti and Mattia Spoto in straight sets.

Gianotti later triumphed in the mixed doubles final with Marie-Eve Hoarau, sealing a winning week for France heading into the Beach Tennis World Cup next month in Rio de Janeiro.

Earlier in the week, Italy dominated the Junior events, winning five of the six gold medals on offer at U14 and U18 level, whilst also finishing top of the table in the Professional event thanks to the Italian one two for Gasparri and Casadei.

Tournament Director Antonis Kalaitzakis said: “I was very happy to be part of such a great event, and also happy to be able to provide a good service for the needs of the players.”

Nadja Koran of Tennis Europe added: “This was a very successful edition of the event and Tennis Europe is delighted to have had Greece as the host nation. Our special thanks go to the Hellenic Tennis Federation and the Lyttos Beach Resort.

"The work of both organisations has been very much appreciated by the players and captains. We are very proud to announce that we reached a record number of participating players and teams in the professional events, and we hope to continue this growth when we come back next year.

"We also thank all of those who took part in the junior competitions and we hope to see our member nations continue to support the growth of beach tennis for juniors.”