Stefani Stoeva (; born 23 September 1995) is a Bulgarian badminton player specializing in doubles. Her current partner is her older sister, Gabriela Stoeva. They competed at the 2016, 2020 and the 2024 Summer Olympics. The duo together have won gold medals in the 2015 and 2023 European Games and also four successive European Championships in 2018, 2021, 2022 and 2025 editions. Stefani Stoeva has also won some individual titles in women's singles competition.
Career
Stoeva started playing badminton at age 9 at the Haskovo School Club in 2007. She won gold medals at the U17 European Championships in the girls' singles and doubles. At the 2014 Scottish Open Grand Prix, she won in the women's doubles event, partnered with Gabriela Stoeva. They beat Heather Olver and Lauren Smith of England in the finals round with the score 21–7, 21–15.
In 2015, she won the Dutch Open in women's doubles against the top seeds, World No.7 Eefje Muskens and Selena Piek of Nederlands with the score 24–22, 21–15 in the final. She won the Russian Open against Johanna Goliszewski and Carla Nelte of German 21–15, 21–17. She competed in the European Games, and won gold in the women's doubles alongside her sister.
In 2016, Stoeva competed at the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics, but did not advance to the knocked-out stage after placing third in the group D stage.
In 2017, she became the women's doubles runner-up at the Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold. They lost to China pair Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan with the score 16–21, 15–21. The sisters also won the silver medal at the European Championships.
2020–2021: Second European Championships title Stefani and her partner Gabriela were lost in the initial rounds in two opening tournaments in 2020. They lost in the first round to Chang Ye-na and Kim Hye-rin at the Indonesia Masters, and to world number 1 Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan in the Thailand Masters. The Stoeva then reached the final in the Spain Masters, losing the final to Greysia Polii and Apriyani Rahayu in a close rubber games. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, numerous tournaments on the 2020 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 the Bulgarian International, where she and her partner emerged victory at that tournament. The duo then ended the season by winning the Super 100 event at the SaarLorLux Open.
The Stoevas opened the 2021 season as the finalists in the Swiss Open, losing the title to the rising Malaysian pair Pearly Tan and Thinaah Muralitharan. They then finished runner-up in the Orléans Masters this time losing to Jongkolphan Kititharakul and Rawinda Prajongjai of Thailand. The duo then clinched their first title of the year by winning their second European Championships title in Kyiv, Ukraine. The duo competed at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics but were eliminated in the group stage.
2022: 3rd European Championships title Stefani and her partner Gabriela opened the 2022 season with quite satisfactory results, by becoming finalists in the German Open. They then won 3 consecutive tournaments, in the Swiss Open, Orléans Masters and in their third European Championships.
Stefani and Gabriela ended the year on poor form, exiting four of their final six tournaments in the first round. Her sister, Gabriela, stated that their partnerships were lost communication on court, only arguing, and the energy around them was pretty negative.
2023: Second European Games gold In the first semester of 2023, Stoeva has not been able to win any single titles, as her best results with Gabriela was being quarter-finalists in the Malaysia, India and the German Opens. Stefani and Gabriela claimed their first title of the year by winning the gold medal at the European Games, beating Dutch pair Debora Jille and Cheryl Seinen in the finals. They also competed in the BWF 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 in Scotland, Bahrain and Wales, as well as finished runner-up in the Irish Open.
2024 Stoeva won her first international title in 2024 at the Azerbaijan International. She and her partner reached the finals in the German Open, but lost to Chinese pair Li Yijing and Luo Xumin. As the defending champion at the European Championships, Stoeva unable to defend their title after lost to French pair Margot Lambert and Anne Tran in the final.
Achievements
European Games Women's doubles Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result 2015 Baku Sports Hall, Baku, Azerbaijan Gabriela Stoeva Ekaterina Bolotova Evgeniya Kosetskaya 21–12, 23–21 Gold 2023 Arena Jaskółka, Tarnów, Poland Gabriela Stoeva Debora Jille Cheryl Seinen 21–7, 21–17 Gold
European Championships Women's doubles Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result 2017 Sydbank Arena, Kolding, Denmark Gabriela Stoeva Christinna Pedersen Kamilla Rytter Juhl 11–21, 21–15, 11–21 Silver 2018 Palacio de los Deportes Carolina Marín, Huelva, Spain Gabriela Stoeva Émilie Lefel Anne Tran 21–12, 21–10 Gold 2021 Palace of Sports, Kyiv, Ukraine Gabriela Stoeva Chloe Birch Lauren Smith 21–14, 21–19 Gold 2022 Polideportivo Municipal Gallur, Madrid, Spain Gabriela Stoeva Linda Efler Isabel Lohau 21–14, 21–10 Gold 2024 Saarlandhalle, Saarbrücken, Germany Gabriela Stoeva Margot Lambert Anne Tran 21–16, 17–21, 11–21 Silver 2025 Forum, Horsens, Denmark Gabriela Stoeva Natasja Anthonisen Maiken Fruergaard 21–11, 21–16 Gold 2026 Palacio de los Deportes Carolina Marín, Huelva, Spain Gabriela Stoeva Bengisu Erçetin Nazlıcan İnci 21–11, 21–17 Gold
European Junior Championships Girls' singles Year Venue Opponent Score Result 2013 ASKI Sport Hall, Ankara, Turkey Line Kjærsfeldt 21–13, 23–25, 21–19 Gold
Girls' doubles Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result 2013 ASKI Sport Hall, Ankara, Turkey Gabriela Stoeva Julie Finne-Ipsen Rikke Søby Hansen 21–11, 21–18 Gold
BWF World Tour (10 titles, 8 runners-up) The BWF World Tour, which was announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018, is a series of elite badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton 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.
Women's doubles Year Tournament Partner Level Opponent Score Result 2018 Swiss Open Super 300 Gabriela Stoeva Ayako Sakuramoto Yukiko Takahata 21–19, 15–21, 18–21 Runner-up 2018 Orléans Masters Super 100 Gabriela Stoeva Delphine Delrue Léa Palermo 21–8, 21–14 Winner 2018 Dutch Open Super 100 Gabriela Stoeva Selena Piek Cheryl Seinen 21–17, 21–18 Winner 2018 French Open Super 750 Gabriela Stoeva Mayu Matsumoto Wakana Nagahara 14–21, 19–21 Runner-up 2018 SaarLorLux Open Super 100 Gabriela Stoeva Ni Ketut Mahadewi Istarani Rizki Amelia Pradipta 22–20, 15–21, 21–19 Winner 2018 Scottish Open Super 100 Gabriela Stoeva Émilie Lefel Anne Tran 21–16, 21–9 Winner 2019 Dutch Open Super 100 Gabriela Stoeva Rin Iwanaga Kie Nakanishi 21–10, 22–20 Winner 2020 Spain Masters Super 300 Gabriela Stoeva Greysia Polii Apriyani Rahayu 21–18, 20–22, 17–21 Runner-up 2020 SaarLorLux Open Super 100 Gabriela Stoeva Amalie Magelund Freja Ravn 21–8, 21–11 Winner 2021 Swiss Open Super 300 Gabriela Stoeva Pearly Tan Thinaah Muralitharan 19–21, 12–21 Runner-up 2021 Orléans Masters Super 100 Gabriela Stoeva Jongkolphan Kititharakul Rawinda Prajongjai 16–21, 16–21 Runner-up 2022 German Open Super 300 Gabriela Stoeva Chen Qingchen Jia Yifan 16–21, 30–29, 19–21 Runner-up 2022 Swiss Open Super 300 Gabriela Stoeva Linda Efler Isabel Lohau 21–14, 21–12 Winner 2022 Orléans Masters Super 100 Gabriela Stoeva Stine Küspert Emma Moszczyński 21–15, 21–14 Winner 2024 German Open Super 300 Gabriela Stoeva Li Yijing Luo Xumin 7–21, 21–13, 18–21 Runner-up 2025 German Open Super 300 Gabriela Stoeva Miyu Takahashi Mizuki Otake 17–21, 22–20, 12–21 Runner-up 2025 Al Ain Masters Super 100 Gabriela Stoeva Chen Yan-fei Sun Liang-ching 21–8, 21–13 Winner 2025 Odisha Masters Super 100 Gabriela Stoeva Ong Xin Yee Carmen Ting 21–19, 21–14 Winner
BWF Grand Prix (3 titles, 3 runners-up) The BWF Grand Prix had two levels, the Grand Prix and Grand Prix Gold. It was a series of badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) and played between 2007 and 2017.
Women's doubles Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result 2014 Brasil Open Gabriela Stoeva Johanna Goliszewski Carla Nelte 5–11, 7–11, 11–4, 10–11 Runner-up 2014 Scottish Open Gabriela Stoeva Heather Olver Lauren Smith21–7, 21–15 Winner 2015 Russian Open Gabriela Stoeva Johanna Goliszewski Carla Nelte 21–15, 21–17 Winner 2015 Dutch Open Gabriela Stoeva Eefje Muskens Selena Piek 24–22, 21–15 Winner 2016 Dutch Open Gabriela Stoeva Setyana Mapasa Gronya Somerville 21–17, 17–21, 16–21 Runner-up 2017 Swiss Open Gabriela Stoeva Chen Qingchen Jia Yifan 16–21, 15–21 Runner-up BWF Grand Prix Gold tournament BWF Grand Prix tournament
BWF International Challenge/Series (41 titles, 11 runners-up) Women's singles Year Tournament Opponent Score Result 2011 Hungarian International Camilla Sørensen 23–21 21–14 Winner 2012 Bulgarian Hebar Open Alesia Zaitsava 17–21, 21–18, 10–21 Runner-up 2012 Bulgarian International Petya Nedelcheva 9–21, 18–21 Runner-up 2013 Indonesia International Dinar Dyah Ayustine 21–13, 15–21, 12–21 Runner-up 2013 Bulgarian Eurasia Open Linda Zetchiri 21–16, 21–18 Winner 2013 Turkey International Neslihan Yiğit 14–21, 21–16, 21–19 Winner 2014 Slovenian International Soraya de Visch Eijbergen 21–18, 21–14 Winner 2014 White Nights Petya Nedelcheva 14–21, 17–21 Runner-up 2024 Bulgarian International Gergana Pavlova 18–21, 21–15, 21–8 Winner 2024 Egypt International Yasmine Hamza 21–10, 22–20 Winner 2025 Italian Open Özge Bayrak 15–21, 19–21 Runner-up
Women's doubles