| Gabriela Stoeva | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | Bulgaria | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1994-07-15)15 July 1994 (age 31)[1] Haskovo, Bulgaria[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years active | 2009–present | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Handedness | Right | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Women's doubles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Highest ranking | 8 (withStefani Stoeva, 8 November 2018) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Current ranking | 13 (with Stefani Stoeva, 7 October 2025) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| BWF profile | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Gabriela Stoeva (Bulgarian:Габриела Стоева; born 15 July 1994) is a Bulgarianbadminton player specializing in doubles. Her current partner is her younger sister,Stefani Stoeva. The pair is the four-time European Champion and two-time European Games gold medalist as well.[2][3] They competed at the2016,2020 and the2024 Summer Olympics.[4][5]

Gabriela Stoeva started playing badminton at age 10 in the Haskovo School Club. She joined the national team in 2008, and made a debut in the international event in 2009.[6] In 2009, she won a bronze medal at theEuropean U-17 Championships in the girls' doubles event partnered with her sister,Stefani Stoeva.[7] And at the2013 European U-19 Championships, the sister won the gold medal.[8]
Stoeva won her firstBWF Grand Prix title at the2014 Scottish Open in the women's doubles event with her sister. They beatHeather Olver andLauren Smith of England in the finals round with the score 21-7 21–15.[9] In 2015, she also won the Grand Prix tournament at theRussian andDutch Open.[10] Stoeva competed in the2015 European Games, winning gold in women's doubles alongside her younger sister[11]
In 2017, the Stoevas finished as the runner-ups at theSwiss Open Grand Prix Gold tournament, losing to the Chinese pairChen Qingchen andJia Yifan in the straight games.[12] The sisters also won the silver medal at theEuropean Championships.[13]
Gabriela started the 2018 season by finished as women's doubles runner-up in theSwiss Open with her sister Stefani.[14] They then won their first title of the year in theOrléans Masters.[15] Competing as the second seed in theEuropean Championship, the Stoeva took advantage of the absence of the top seedKamilla Rytter Juhl andChristinna Pedersen, by winning their first ever European title, becoming the first Bulgarian players to win the European title since the tournament was first held in 1968. At the home soil,Bulgarian Open, she played in two events, the women's doubles with her sister, while in the mixed doubles with Jakub Bitman of Czechia. She won the women's doubles title and reached the semi-finals in the mixed doubles. The Stoeva are increasingly being considered on the BWF World Tour, as proven by their ability to reach the semi-finals at theChina Open, beating top pairs such asLee So-hee andShin Seung-chan in the second round, and thenChen Qingchen andJia Yifan in the quarter-finals. They are increasingly successful in Europe by winning titles such asDutch Open,SaarLorLux Open, andScottish Open, as well being runner-up in theFrench Open. They then reached their career high as world number 8 in the BWF World rankings, and also closed the season ranked as number 7 in the Tour Finals rankings.[16]
Gabriela and her partner Stefani were lost in the initial rounds in two opening tournaments in 2020. They lost in the first round toChang Ye-na andKim Hye-rin at theIndonesia Masters, and to world number 1Chen Qingchen andJia Yifan in theThailand Masters. The Stoeva then reached the final in theSpain Masters, losing the final toGreysia Polii andApriyani Rahayu in a close rubber games.[17] Due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, numerous tournaments on the2020 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 theBulgarian International,[18] where she and her partner emerged victory at that tournament. The duo then ended the season by winning the Super 100 event at theSaarLorLux Open.[19]
The Stoevas opened the 2021 season as the finalists in theSwiss Open, losing the title to the rising Malaysian pairPearly Tan andThinaah Muralitharan.[20] They then finished runner-up in theOrléans Masters this time losing toJongkolphan Kititharakul andRawinda Prajongjai of Thailand. The duo then clinched their first title of the year by winning their secondEuropean Championships title inKyiv, Ukraine.[21] The duo competed at the2020 Tokyo Olympics but were eliminated in the group stage.[22]
Gabriela and her partner Stefani opened the 2022 season with quite satisfactory results, by becoming finalists in theGerman Open. They then won 3 consecutive tournaments, in theSwiss Open,Orléans Masters and in their thirdEuropean Championships.[23]
Gabriela and Stefani ended the year on poor form, exiting four of their final six tournaments in the first round. She stated that their partnerships were lost communication on court, only arguing, and the energy around them was pretty negative.[24]
In the first semester of 2023, Stoeva has not been able to win any single titles, as her best results with Stefani was being quarter-finalists in theMalaysia,India and theGerman Opens.[25] Gabriela tried to partner with young player,Kaloyana Nalbantova, and was able to reach the quarter-finals in theDutch International.[26]
Gabriela and Stefani claimed their first title of the year by winning the gold medal at theEuropean Games, beating Dutch pairDebora Jille andCheryl Seinen in the finals.[27] They also competed in theBWF 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 inScotland,Bahrain andWales,[28] as well as finished runner-up in theIrish Open.[29]
Stoeva won her first international title in 2024 at theAzerbaijan International.[30] She and her partner reached the finals in theGerman Open, but lost to Chinese pairLi Yijing andLuo Xumin.[31] As the defending champion at theEuropean Championships, Stoeva unable to defend their title after lost to French pairMargot Lambert andAnne Tran in the final.[32]
Women's doubles
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Baku Sports Hall, Baku, Azerbaijan | 21–12, 23–21 | Gold | ||
| 2023 | Arena Jaskółka, Tarnów, Poland | 21–7, 21–17 | Gold |
Women's doubles
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Sydbank Arena, Kolding, Denmark | 11–21, 21–15, 11–21 | Silver | ||
| 2018 | Palacio de los Deportes Carolina Marín, Huelva, Spain | 21–12, 21–10 | Gold | ||
| 2021 | Palace of Sports, Kyiv, Ukraine | 21–14, 21–19 | Gold | ||
| 2022 | Polideportivo Municipal Gallur, Madrid, Spain | 21–14, 21–10 | Gold | ||
| 2024 | Saarlandhalle, Saarbrücken, Germany | 21–16, 17–21, 11–21 | Silver | ||
| 2025 | Forum,Horsens, Denmark | 21–11, 21–16 | Gold |
Girls' doubles
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | ASKI Sport Hall,Ankara, Turkey | 21–11, 21–18 | Gold |
The BWF World Tour, which was announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018,[33] is a series of elite badminton tournaments sanctioned by theBadminton 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.[34]
Women's doubles
| Year | Tournament | Level | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Swiss Open | Super 300 | 21–19, 15–21, 18–21 | |||
| 2018 | Orléans Masters | Super 100 | 21–8, 21–14 | |||
| 2018 | Dutch Open | Super 100 | 21–17, 21–18 | |||
| 2018 | French Open | Super 750 | 14–21, 19–21 | |||
| 2018 | SaarLorLux Open | Super 100 | 22–20, 15–21, 21–19 | |||
| 2018 | Scottish Open | Super 100 | 21–16, 21–9 | |||
| 2019 | Dutch Open | Super 100 | 21–10, 22–20 | |||
| 2020 | Spain Masters | Super 300 | 21–18, 20–22, 17–21 | |||
| 2020 | SaarLorLux Open | Super 100 | 21–8, 21–11 | |||
| 2021 | Swiss Open | Super 300 | 19–21, 12–21 | |||
| 2021 | Orléans Masters | Super 100 | 16–21, 16–21 | |||
| 2022 | German Open | Super 300 | 16–21, 30–29, 19–21 | |||
| 2022 | Swiss Open | Super 300 | 21–14, 21–12 | |||
| 2022 | Orléans Masters | Super 100 | 21–15, 21–14 | |||
| 2024 | German Open | Super 300 | 7–21, 21–13, 18–21 | |||
| 2025 | German Open | Super 300 | 17–21, 22–20, 12–21 | |||
| 2025 | Al Ain Masters | Super 100 | 21–8, 21–13 |
The BWF Grand Prix had two levels, theGrand Prix and Grand Prix Gold. It was a series of badminton tournaments sanctioned by theBadminton World Federation (BWF) and played between 2007 and 2017.
Women's doubles
| Year | Tournament | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Brasil Open | 5–11, 7–11, 11–4, 10–11 | |||
| 2014 | Scottish Open | 21–7, 21–15 | |||
| 2015 | Russian Open | 21–15, 21–17 | |||
| 2015 | Dutch Open | 24–22, 21–15 | |||
| 2016 | Dutch Open | 21–17, 17–21, 16–21 | |||
| 2017 | Swiss Open | 16–21, 15–21 |
Women's doubles
| Year | Tournament | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Turkiye Open | 21–14, 16–21, 21–10 | |||
| 2012 | Banuinvest International | 19–21, 21–17, 16–21 | |||
| 2012 | Bulgarian Hebar Open | 15–21, 21–14, 21–11 | |||
| 2012 | Bulgarian International | 21–9, 21–17 | |||
| 2012 | Turkey International | 19–21, 21–14, 23–21 | |||
| 2013 | Bulgarian Eurasia Open | 11–21, 8–21 | |||
| 2013 | Belgian International | 21–13, 11–21, 18–21 | |||
| 2013 | Bulgarian International | 21–15, 21–10 | |||
| 2013 | Turkey International | 21–15, 21–8 | |||
| 2014 | Austrian International | 21–17, 20–22, 21–15 | |||
| 2014 | Orléans International | 14–21, 7–21 | |||
| 2014 | Finnish Open | 17–21, 14–21 | |||
| 2014 | Slovenian International | 21–16, 21–17 | |||
| 2014 | Spanish Open | 21–14, 21–9 | |||
| 2014 | Swiss International | 11–6, 11–5, 11–9 | |||
| 2014 | Turkey International | 21–11, 21–9 | |||
| 2015 | Orléans International | 22–20, 16–21, 21–9 | |||
| 2015 | Spanish International | 21–16, 21–11 | |||
| 2015 | Bulgarian International | 21–14, 21–10 | |||
| 2015 | Welsh International | 21–10, 22–20 | |||
| 2015 | Irish Open | 21–10, 22–24, 21–9 | |||
| 2015 | Italian International | 21–19, 18–21, 13–6 retired | |||
| 2015 | Turkey International | 21–19, 21–12 | |||
| 2017 | Bulgarian Open | 21–16, 21–12 | |||
| 2018 | Bulgarian Open | 21–16, 21–19 | |||
| 2019 | Spanish International | 21–8, 21–10 | |||
| 2019 | Belgian International | 21–16, 21–15 | |||
| 2019 | Italian International | 21–11, 21–14 | |||
| 2020 | Bulgarian International | 21–8, 21–9 | |||
| 2023 | Scottish Open | 19–21, 21–11, 21–12 | |||
| 2023 | Irish Open | 19–21, 21–17, 22–24 | |||
| 2023 | Bahrain International | 21–19, 21–14 | |||
| 2023 | Welsh International | 24–22, 21–11 | |||
| 2024 | Azerbaijan International | 21–14, 21–7 | |||
| 2024 | Bulgarian International | 21–5, 21–10 | |||
| 2024 | Dutch Open | 21–15, 21–18 | |||
| 2024 (II) | Bahrain International | 21–6, 21–8 | |||
| 2025 | Iran Fajr International | 23–21, 21–16 | |||
| 2025 | Italian Open | 21–19, 21–14 | |||
| 2025 | Belgian International | 21–14, 21–12 | |||
| 2025 | Turkey International | 21–10, 21–19 |
Mixed doubles
| Year | Tournament | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Bulgaria Eurasia Open | 19–21, 21–9, 21–18 | |||
| 2013 | Turkey International | 21–9, 21–15 | |||
| 2014 | Turkey International | 21–17, 17–21, 12–21 | |||
| 2024 (I) | Bahrain International | 21–14, 21–18 |