Xenia Smits’ game: Defending, reading the game, and maintaining harmony

A Belgian girl had a dream: she wanted to become a professional handball player. At the age of 12, she left her parents' home and her three sisters in Antwerp and moved to the only Belgian handball academy in Hasselt. Two years later, at 14, she even left her home country to continue her development in Germany. By then, she knew: “I can do it.” What no one could have guessed at the time was that this girl would one day compete in the Olympic Games, win the EHF European League, reach the EHF Champions League Women final and even become World Championship runner-up. 

Today Xenia Smits is 31 years old, got her German citizenship in 2014 — in addition to her Belgian passport and has now played 156 international matches for Germany. In 2024, she was voted Germany's Handball Player of the Year.

In October 2025, she played against her home country for the first time during the Women’s EHF EURO 2026 Qualifiers, in the very hall in Hasselt where it all began. The 40:21 result was secondary for the backcourt player, who had to keep her emotions under control. Of course, she sang both national anthems. “I remember the hall where we played very clearly, how I always rushed to the station on my bike after Friday training to catch the train home.” 

Xenia Smits failed the exam for the handball academy in the first round and was only accepted because too few young handball players had applied. The then 12-year-old found it difficult to be separated from her family, even though she was always at home on weekends. The Smits family is sports-mad, but Xenia — the second oldest of four sisters — was the first to take up handball. Her younger sisters Munia and Aaricia followed in her footsteps — both moved to Germany like Xenia. Munia still plays in the Bundesliga for Neckarsulm, while Aaricia played in the second division. 

Xenia came to Germany by chance. HSG Bad Wildungen asked the Belgian academy if a talented player would like to attend their academy. “I put all my eggs in one basket back then. I wanted to become a professional player.”

She learned German at Bad Wildungen — and when she played with the side in the final tournament for the German youth championship, she received her first request from the German Handball Federation asking if she would like to play for Germany.

“It was a difficult decision for me. I really wanted to keep my Belgian passport; that's my blood, my heart. But at the same time, I knew that I would never play in major tournaments or even the Olympic Games with Belgium. In Germany, everything was much bigger and I was able to gain experience in training that I couldn't have gained in Belgium at that time.” 

In 2013, Xenia Smits was named Germany's best young player of the year, and a year later she received her German passport in addition to her Belgian one — just in time to play her first match with the German national team at the U20 World Championship in Croatia. She finished her first tournament as Germany's top scorer and, together with goalkeeper Dinah Eckerle, led the German team to the semi-finals.

A few months later, Xenia Smits made her debut for the DHB women's team and has been one of the top performers in the German team ever since.

"Of course, I dreamt of having such an international career back then. But you never know how things will turn out. Injuries can get in the way, other national coaches may opt for different players, a lot can happen. But it's wonderful that my time in the national jersey is still going strong. I've worked hard for this since starting at the academy in Hasselt,” says Smits, who celebrated her 150th anniversary match at the IHF World Championship on home soil on 30 November 2025. “Numbers like that don't really mean much to me, I don't count every international match. If it were up to me, I could add another 150.”

Looking back at the beginning of her career, after two years in Bad Wildungen, the then 16-year-old moved on to HSG Blomberg, an ambitious first division club known for its excellent youth development programme. “In Blomberg, André Fuhr made me the player I am today. I am extremely grateful to him for bringing me to the top level.” Xenia Smits quickly worked her way up from the youth team to the women's Bundesliga, making her debut in the first division at the age of 17.

After five years, it was time for the next step in her career, which took her to Metz Handball in France. “I never made my decisions based on which club or country it was, but always on where there was potential for development. There were many points in favour of Metz, and as a Belgian I had learned French at school, so it wasn't that difficult to learn the language.”

Smits won the French championship and cup several times, highlighted by the EHF FINAL4 in Budapest in 2019. And in Metz, she met the second influential coach of her career: Emmanuel Mayonnade. “Manu is a detail-oriented tactical genius. He analysed everything meticulously and knows everything there is to know about handball.”

Her time in Metz was also marked by a serious shoulder injury in 2019. After surgery, Xenia Smits had to take a break for several months, then moved back to Germany in 2020 — in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic — to join SG BBM Bietigheim. “Coach Markus Gaugisch really wanted to sign me.”

As her shooting power was significantly reduced following the shoulder surgery, she was primarily used in defence at Metz, but at her new club SG BBM Bietigheim she was in demand not only in defence, but also in attack. “I have no problem playing only defence. When you're sitting on the bench, you can talk to the coach again and I always give 100 per cent in my respective role. But a complete player needs both defence and attack. I enjoy both — and I have the energy to bring speed and dynamics to the attack,” says Smits.

Today, she is one of the best defenders in the world and also impresses in attack as a playmaker. Smits has come to terms with her shoulder. When she won the EHF European League with Bietigheim in 2022, she was named MVP of the final tournament, mainly because of her versatility. “Individual trophies like that are the icing on the cake, but the title with the team was much more important. In general, we achieved a lot with Bietigheim and Ludwigsburg, not only for the club, but for German women's handball as a whole.”

Smits is, of course, also referring to the EHF Champions League 2024 final, which Bietigheim reached as the first German team ever. "That was mega, we were the underdogs, Metz underestimated us in the semi-finals, and we had nothing to lose against Györ. We could have played a little better, though. Overall, it was a great reward for us."

Just one year later, Smits was left with nothing. Under its new name, HB Ludwigsburg, the club filed for bankruptcy — an entire team was out, five months before the World Championship on home soil.

“My heart was bleeding, but I had to keep going with the World Championship in mind. I still had good contacts in Metz — and coach Emmanuel Mayonnade immediately said, “We always have a place for you”. And that's how it turned out.

Smits is back for one season, but is only playing in defence again. Her hope is to return to Budapest for the Raiffeisen Bank EHF FINAL4 2026 and fight for gold with Metz. It would be a perfect farewell, because from next season on, Xenia Smits will be playing for Danish champions Odense Håndbold, where she will be playing under her former coach Jakob Vestergaard.

"There were contacts with Odense from time to time, but it hadn't worked out. I played for five years each in Blomberg, Metz and Bietigheim, and I always value continuity. But now I'm not only attracted by this very ambitious club, but also by Denmark as a country and its culture. I have only positive memories of Denmark, and when you get an offer from such a top club, it's naturally an honour."

Of course, her outstanding performance at the home World Championship also played a role. For the first time since the World Cup in 1993 and the European Championship in 1994, Germany were back in a final, putting up a good fight against Norway for a long time before losing narrowly by 20:23.

“Our relationship within the team was perfect, we were in a flow, we had the experience of the Olympic Games, when not everything went perfectly. And we talked openly about everything afterwards; this absolute honesty with each other is what made us so strong,” highlights Xenia Smits as the key to success. 

National coach Markus Gaugisch also played an important role: “Markus always conveys the fun of handball, is absolutely professional, and also stands for humanity; he cares about everyone, even off the field,” says Smits, who is the oldest player in the squad alongside captain Antje Döll: “I am happy to take on this responsibility and am aware of my leadership role. I always try to make sure that everyone feels comfortable and that there is a certain harmony. But I also speak up when something doesn't suit me.”

And how does Smits characterise her own playing style? “I'm always active in defence; I don't enjoy waiting to see what the attackers will do. I'm very good at reading the game and know how to disrupt or interrupt plays. That's why I'm so good at the active defence we play with the national team.”

As far as attack is concerned, her shoulder injury has changed things quite a bit: “I used to be strong in one-on-one and shooting, but now it's more about assists and my decision-making skills. I'm more of a playmaker and create space for others.”

Photos © kolektiff images, Kevin Clement