She was never far away from the pinnacle of the sport, but she usually wasn’t quite number one. That changed in Gradignan, France today, where the 35-year-old player from Turkiye was crowned the new world champion in Ladies 3-cushion. Karina Jetten had a great week but she came up short in the final: 30-18 in 30 to Karakasli.
Güzin’s last point just clipped the third ball, and the look on her face was more disbelief than triumph. She realized she had won the title, but it didn’t sink in yet. After the congratulations from Karina Jetten, always a class act, the joy broke free. The Turkish lady gets her just reward for a decade of dedication to her sport. Jetten adds another silver medal to her collection.
Where’s Therese Klompenhouwer in all this? She was the mile high pre-tournament favorite, and her league averages suggest she is two or three tenths ahead of the competition. But that was of no concern to Karina Jetten, who has beaten the six-time world champion before. This time, in the semi, she stayed ahead to 30-27 in 27 innings, a terrific performance.
Karakasli had to deal with Yen Sinh Nguyen, largely an unknown player who showed much potential. That match could have gone either way, but the Turkish lady had the slightly better finish: 30-26 in 37. What a joy it would be, if the Vietnamese ladies can bring an impulse to the game in the way the Vietnamese men have.
The main tournament average in Gradignan was 0.637.
The best individual general average was played by Therese Klompenhouwer: 0.938.
The best match was also played by Klompenhouwer: 1.315.
The tournament high run was made by Chae Won Heo: 10.
Four ladies left standing in Gradignan.
September 16, 2026
After the K.O. Wednesday, there are four candidates left to possibly claim the 2026 world title in 3-cushion for ladies: Güzin Mujde Karakasli, Karina Jetten, Yen Sinh Nguyen and Therese Klompenhouwer. In tomorrow’s semifinals, Jetten will play Klompenhouwer and Karakasli will play Nguyen.
Karina Jetten has booked steady wins this week, and Wednesday was no different. She held Johana Sandoval to 30-24 in 52/51 innings, then excelled in the quarterfinal with a 30-15 in 29 win over Ayaka Miyashita.
Güzin Karakasli flirted with danger in her 30-29 in 44/43 win over Bich Tram Thi Nguyen, but she got out of the woods. Da Young Choi did not get as far: the Turkish lady won her QF 30-24 in 46/45.
Therese Klompenhouwer had a walk in the park in her last 16 match: 30-12 in 29 against Litsa Mavridoglou. The quarterfinal against French legend Magali Declunder took longer than expected: 30-22 in 42 to the Dutch woman.
Yen Sinh Nguyen has quickly made a name for herself in France. She more than doubled Steffi Tram (30-14 in 29), then beat the best lady of day one, Chae Won Heo, by 30 points to 20 in 40/39 innings.
The semifinals are scheduled for 11.00 and 13.00 local time, on Thursday.
All matches can be watched on Soop
Chae Won Heo leads the Ladies WC after day one.
September 15, 2026
Not the title holder and favorite Therese Klompenhouwer from the Netherlands, but Korean contender Chae Won Heo is leading the race after the first day of the Ladies world championship 3-cushion in Gradignan, France. She won both her group matches and averaged 1.136. Klompenhouwer was not far behind with two wins and 1.041. Karina Jetten, as so often, is breathing in the leaders’ necks in third place. Guzin Karakasli did well with 0.819.
The stronger ladies in the field did not have much of a problem finishing either first or second in the group, which was needed to advance. Several of the third-place finishers have a long way to go before they can not only take part but actually compete. It’s a hard game, with a long learning curve.
The day’s group winners:
C.W. Heo 4 – 1.136
Klompenhouwer 4 – 1.041
Jetten 4 – 0.847
Karakasli 4 – 0.819
D.Y. Choi 4 – 0.781
Petersen 4 – 0.543
Declunder 4 – 0.490
Tram 3 – 0.649
As second place finishers, Lalinde, Miyashita, T.L. Nguyen, B.T. Nguyen, Sandoval, Mavridoglou, Goron and Y.S. Nguyen also qualify for the last 16.
Chae Won Heo ran a 10, the high run of the day.
The event will continue tomorrow at 12.00 local time.
All matches can be watched on Soop.
From 15-17 September, the world championship for Ladies will take place in Gradignan, France. Therese Klompenhouwer from the Netherlands will defend her 2025 title.
September 10, 2026
The field will have 10 players from the CEB, 5 from the CPB, 6 from ACBC and 1 from AMECC.
There will be a qualifying round with eight groups of three players, matches to 25 points. Two players from each group will qualify. Then there will be K.O. rounds with 16, 8, 4 and 2 players, in matches to 30 without equalizing inning.
This is the field:
Group A: Therese Klompenhouwer, Diana Giron, Irena Michalkova
Group B: Johana Sandoval, Carolina Matiz, Chae Won Heo
Group C: Thi Lien Nguyen, Guzin Mujde Karakasli, Claudia Patricia Cifuentes
Group D: Jaime Buelens, Nana Petersen, Thi Bich Tram Nguyen
Group E: Duc Yen Sinh Nguyen, Steffi Tram, Melanie Haller
Group F: Litsa Mavridoglou, Magali Declunder, Monika Steinberger
Group G: Karina Jetten, Claudia Lalinde, Yeimi Mancipe
Group H: Ayaka Miyashita, Joyce Eskandar, Da Young Choi
The Dutch six-time world champion will obviously be the favorite. It will be interesting to see what the not-so well-known ladies from Korea and Vietnam can bring. The 2023 world champion Charlotte Sörensen from Denmark is not in the field, so her replacement Nana Petersen has – figuratively – big shoes to fill. Karina Jetten must always be considered a dangerous outsider, and we are intrigued to see the name of Magali Declunder on the list, with her legendary track record in the classic disciplines.
All matches can be watched op Soop.