UTT 2025: From Worlds medal to packed calendar, Bernadette Szocs enjoying life on the fast lane

Life of an elite professional athlete doesn’t have much room for time outside the sporting arena. Achievements, regardless of how big they may be, are seldom celebrated in a grand manner. From one tournament to the other, the journey continues.

But Bernadette Szocs doesn’t mind it one bit.

“I haven’t had a holiday in three years. I maybe had a maximum of two or three days off. But I don’t regret it at all because I love what I do. This is my life. I always enjoy playing,” says the Romanian.

World No. 12 Szocs is in India, leading U Mumba in the sixth season of the Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) league in Ahmedabad which started on May 31.

The tournament began barely a week after one of the biggest days of her career.

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At the recent World Championships in Doha, Szocs and her Austrian partner Sofia Polcanova became the first European pair since 1977 to reach the women’s doubles final. While they could not finish at the top of the podium, Szocs became the first Romanian woman since 1993 to win a medal at the event.

But for the 30-year-old Szocs, there was no time to celebrate.

“After the World Championships, I had to go to Romania to play the Romania league final. And then, I flew directly to India, So, I didn’t want to celebrate or party because I also wanted to focus on the tournament here in India,” she says.

“I am happy to be back in India and be a part of UTT. I have a lot of fans here and it is always a pleasure to be a part of this league.”

Szocs hopes to find some time after UTT, which ends on June 15, to invite some of her friends and people close to her to celebrate the World Championships medal before she goes to Slovenia for the WTT Star Contender event beginning from June 17.

At the moment, she does have someone special with her in India – her mother, who has been cheering for her from the stands.

“This year, I brought my mother with me so that I can spend some time with her. Last year, she wanted to come but I didn’t know how it would be here. This year, I gave her a surprise and said that you’re coming with me,” she says.

In U Mumba’s two ties so far, Szocs has played two singles and two mixed doubles matches.

She had a tough tournament opener against PBG Pune Jaguars where she just managed to come from three match points down to beat Dina Meshref in singles. Mixed doubles with Akash Pal ended in a defeat.

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During her UTT matches in the past, Szocs has been seen sporting a traditional bindi, a tiny ornament commonly worn by Hindu women in between the eyebrows. However, the bindi was missing when she played the first tie this season.

But her second outing was a much more comfortable affair against Ahmedabad SG Pipers where she won both.

“I forgot it. I feel this is very lucky. So, the first thing I did when I woke up was to put this directly in my bag. I couldn’t play one more match without it,” says Szocs after the win over Ahmedabad.