WIESBADEN, Germany – Sabina Kralikova first injured her right knee while skiing when she was 8 years old.

The AFNORTH sophomore needed four surgeries to repair it.

That made the moment she twisted her knee and injured her ACL during practice earlier this tennis season a scary moment. Kralikova ended up on crutches for a short time before being cleared by her doctor to play again.

“I wasn’t really sure if I was going to be able to start playing again because it looked like a serious injury, and it was still a possibility that I would get the surgery (immediately),” Kralikova said. “I was nervous about that.”

Thursday, during the first day of the 2026 DODEA European tennis championships at the T2 Sports Health Club in Wiesbaden, Germany, the Lion sophomore didn’t show any signs of an injury.

In fact, the No. 9 seed roared onto the scene in her first European tournament appearance.

Kralikova went 2-1 on the day. She lost her opening match to second-seeded Rebekah Francis of Ramstein 8-2 before beating seventh-seeded Claire Kulis of Brussels 8-0 and third-seeded Meghan Nguyen of Sigonella 8-3.

The Lion found herself in second place in Pool B of the girls singles tournament with one match remaining in pool play.

“I really improved playing so much today, even though it was a lot, playing three games and everyone is really good,” Kralikova said. “I was really happy that even though I was injured, I still could overcome it and get here.”

Kralikova played with a bulky knee brace to keep her joint and leg stable.

The discomfort added to her struggles on the court. She said the brace kept sliding, forcing her to adjust it. It also slowed her down.

“It’s not comfortable, and I also can’t run 100 percent,” Kralikova said. “It’s not as big of a disadvantage as I thought it would be, but it still decreases my speed.”

On Friday, Kralikova faces a familiar foe for a chance to play in the semifinals.

Her first opponent back from injury this season was SHAPE’s Agata Fikova. That went to the Spartan sophomore in a tiebreaker.

Now that Kralikova has adjusted to the reality of the knee injury, she said she believes she can get the victory.

“I feel pretty confident,” Kralikova said. “I just have to put everything into, and I’m really hoping to get into semis.”

While she has avoided surgery for now, she still will have to get one to fix her knee.

Her surgeon from her previous procedures said she should go under the knife in early 2027.

“I think I should be good for next tennis season,” Kralikova said.

Low seeds cause chaos in boys doubles

Ramstein’s Owen Schaefer and Thomas Robinson didn’t begin the season as doubles partners.

That change came midway through the campaign, with Robinson moving up to the Royals No. 1 pair with Schaefer.

They put together a 2-3 record, which led to the No. 9 seed heading into Euros.

The Ramstein pair doubled their season win total on Thursday by going 2-1 and putting themselves in the driver’s seat for a semifinal spot.

They lost their opening match to second-seeded Brian Bonanno and Nicholas Pewitt of Stuttgart 8-2. Schaefer and Robinson bounced back with a thrilling 9-8 (12-10) victory over seventh-seeded Aiden Threatt and Wesley Bosompem in a contentious match. They then upset third-seeded Connie Winne and David Proper of Kaiserslautern 8-6 to finish their day.

“We just got to keep playing like we are, keep going,” Schaefer said. “Momentum is the most important thing.”

The duo built chemistry quickly, with Robinson saying they’ve become good friends. It helped him make a smooth transition onto Ramstein’s top doubles team.

“It was a little scary, but after the first game, it was fine. We settled,” Robinson said.

Schaefer, meanwhile, said he was glad he didn’t have to change his style once he teamed up with Robinson.

The junior’s previous partner was a lefty, making Schaefer play backhanded. Robinson slotted seamlessly into the forehand spot.

“Not too much of an adjustment because we play pretty similarly,” Schaefer said. “That hasn’t been a challenge because I have a great doubles partner to play on my forehand side.”

The Royals have just one pool-play match remaining on Friday against fifth-seeded Samuele Scaranaro and Samuel Diez Vega of SHAPE. A win almost would guarantee Schaefer and Robinson a semifinal appearance.

The pool’s other lower seed might throw another wrench into the group, though.

Entering their first European championships as the seventh seed, Threatt and Bosompem produced the tournament’s first upset with an 8-3 victory over Winnie and Proper in their opening contest.

The Falcons jumped out to a 6-1 lead on the Raiders before finishing them.

Both Bosompem and Threatt refused to call the victory an upset.

“It doesn’t matter how high you are – the lowest person can still beat the highest person,” Threatt said. “It was good for us. We’re happy, but it wasn’t something that made us feel overjoyed.”

It was almost the perfect day for the Vilseck pair.

In their second matchup with Schaefer and Robinson, Threatt and Bosompem had three match points in the tiebreaker but failed to convert any of them.

“Maybe a couple other points, the match would have gone a different way,” Bosompem said. “Ultimately, we didn’t get over the hump and win, but it was a close match and maybe we’ll see them again as the tournament progresses.”

The Falcons have two matches in pool play still left against Bonanno and Prewitt and SHAPE’s Samuele Scaranaro and Samuel Diez Vega, the tournament’s fifth seed.

Two wins could throw the entire pool into chaos, depending on the results of the other matches.

Day 2 of the European championships continues Friday at 9 a.m.