In recent history, the boys singles tournament at the DODEA European tennis championships has been a one- or two-horse race.

The 2026 edition looks to buck that trend.

Just take Ansbach’s Jack Lovallo, for example. The Cougar senior is entering his fourth European appearance and placed fourth at last year’s season-ending competition. He also had just one loss all season – a 5-7, 6-1, 10-4 decision against top-seeded Matthew Suber of Stuttgart.

Yet when he steps on the courts Thursday at the T2 Health Sports Club in Wiesbaden, Germany, Lovallo will be the fifth seed.

“There’s a good group of five people who have a shot to take it home,” he said. “There’s no one like Tristan (Chandler, four-time champion), who is a clear favorite to win.”

The top three seeds – Suber, Michael Gillett of Vicenza and Jesus Lukas of SHAPE – enter the tournament undefeated.

The fourth seed, American Overseas School of Rome’s Thomas Curci, has three losses, but all of them came against Gillett. The Cougar has beaten the Falcon, who placed third in 2025, by no more than three games in a single set over those contests.

Add in the usual upsets in pool play, and it won’t be a cake walk for anybody.

“Whoever wins, they’ve got to play good,” Suber said. “It’s going to be good competition.

“Just got to have good energy, good mindset and try my hardest on every point. That’s how you win.”

Gillett is back in the singles bracket after playing doubles last season with teammate Erik Findlay. The Cougar duo picked up the silver medal behind two-time champions Riccardo Averni and Giovanni La Piana d’Orlandi. The two Royals graduated, while Marymount isn’t competing in DODEA athletics this season.

A senior, Gillett has proven himself to be no slouch in singles and doubles. As a sophomore, he earned praise from his final opponent, Chandler, en route to finishing second.

Adjusting back to singles hasn’t been an issue, he said.

“Singles is all mental game by yourself,” Gillett said. “In doubles, you can get help from your partner. There’s two different ways of thinking about it.”

For his part, Lovallo said he is motivated not just by getting a low seed but also by building off his postseason success last fall.

“I’m ready to show that I’m better than what I’m seeded,” Lovallo said. “It’s a very high priority that I make the semis again, and hopefully, like I have every year, I can improve my placement to third or even making that finals would be awesome.”

Unlike the boys, the girls’ tournament has a clear favorite: Pennie Wolff.

The Vilseck sophomore has built upon her 2025 European title-winning campaign, not dropping a single game this fall. Just one player took a game against Wolff at last year’s Euros: runner-up Bella Farias of Stuttgart, who graduated.

The rest of the field isn’t resigned to its fate, though. Wiesbaden’s Rinnah Kim, who played the Falcon phenom in the 2025 postseason and lost to her in straight sets on Oct. 3, emphasized she feels less pressure this time around.

“That actually lowers my stress,” the bracket’s fourth seed said. “I tend to play better when I’m the underdog, so I just plan to have fun and hopefully improve on my tennis playing with her.”

One of Wolff’s top competitors is Ramstein’s Rebekah Francis. The freshman didn’t play Wolff during her undefeated regular season. Francis lost one set in a 1-6, 6-3, 12-10 victory over Kim.

The Royal has heard about Wolff from her teammates, but she said she won’t focus on the tall task ahead of her.

“It doesn’t matter on the other side of the net as long as I play my game and I play my best,” Francis said. “If I end up playing her, I will go in with a fight and try my best to win and do well.”

The tournament’s third seed, Meghan Nguyen, is relatively unknown to much of the field.

Sure, the Sigonella player went up against Wolff in pool play last October and the Jaguar beat sixth-seeded Madison Smith of Naples in straight sets during the regular season, 2-6, 6-2, 6-1.

Nguyen also said she is a much different player than the one who went 1-3 in pool play in 2025.

“I hope to use all the experience that I got from last year, even if it was a bunch of losses, and perform better this year,” Nguyen said.

Also hoping to take a step up on the podium is Findlay, who is teaming up with David Spencer once again after playing together two years ago.

It didn’t take long for Vicenza’s No. 1 doubles duo to get back into a rhythm.

“We just had to brush off a few cobwebs and get back to working,” Findlay said. “We’re doing pretty well together, and we’ve been playing pretty well this season.”

Spencer will be playing in his first European tournament, where he and Findlay are the No. 1 seed.

“I think it will be a little bit of pressure going into in as the top seed, but we’re confident in our ability to do well,” Spencer said.

Ramstein’s Brooke Vinson and Scarlett Hosey are taking a different approach as one of the favorites in girls doubles.

As the second seed and last year’s runners-up, the Royals are trying to keep things loose.

“I know it can be a serious environment, but Brooke and I have always been good at having fun and making the most of our stay there,” Hosey said. “Of course, there’s being serious but also making sure that we remember that we love this sport.”

They face tough competition in SHAPE’s Viktorija Vilcina and Olivia Penry, who are the tournament’s No. 1 pair. Penry, a senior, finished fourth a year ago with Elena Accetta.

Hosey and Vinson beat the Spartans in the semifinal round before falling in the title match.

The Royal duo won’t be overconfident when they stepped onto the courts at Euros.

“There’s no guarantee,” Vinson said. “We’re keeping that in mind.”

Seedings

Boys

Singles

1. Matthew Suber (Stuttgart), 2. Michael Gillett (Vicenza), 3. Jesus Lukas (SHAPE), 4. Thomas Curci (American Overseas School of Rome), 5. Jack Lovallo (Ansbach), 6. Killian Phillips (Ramstein), 7. Gagik Sargsyan (Brussels), 8. Tucker Meyer (Kaiserslautern), 9. Yoel Lord (Naples), 10. Sean Hong (Wiesbaden).

Doubles

1. Erik Findlay/David Spencer (Vic), 2. Brian Bonanno/Nicholas Prewitt (Stut), 3. Conner Winnie/David Proper (Kais), 4. Leonard Delgato/Gianluca Vacca (AOSR), 5. Samuele Scaranaro/Samuel Diez Vega (SHAPE), 6. Felix Abaldo/Daniel Kent (Wies), 7. Aiden Threatt/Wesley Bosompem (Vilseck), 8. Tyler Siftar/Enzo Hill (Lakenheath), 9. Thomas Robinson/Owen Schaefer (Ram), 10. Conner Zarbo/Gavin Collazo (Spangdahlem).

Girls

Singles

1. Pennie Wolff (Vil), 2. Rebekah Francis (Ram), 3. Meghan Nguyen (Sigonella), 4. Rinnah Kim (Wies), 5. Agata Fikova (SHAPE), 6. Madison Smith (Nap), 7. Claire Kulis (Brus), 8. Izzy Petrik (Kais), 9. Sabina Kralikova (AFNORTH), 10. Harper Schnorrenberg (Ram).

Doubles

1. Viktorija Vilcina/Olivia Penry (SHAPE), 2. Brooke Vinson/Scarlett Hosey (Ram), 3. Boswell/Wilhelm (Vic), 4. Ema Causevic/Ella Sandoval (Stut), 5. June Fearing/Lombard (Wies), 6. Ariana Swain/Wynona Marie Espinar (Nap), 7. Leilani Dowling/Ylvi Kuster (AFNORTH), 8. Adriana Alejandro Diez/Evelyn Doyle (Alconbury), 9. Amira Gorban/Soule Chelsey (AOSR), 10. Sarah Hutton/Camilla Weyland (Spang).