Countdown to EuroBeachVolley: the highlights so far

Especially the men's competition in Hamburg, led by the reigning world champions Mol/Sørum, who also secured the men's tournament victory, was strongly occupied with international Beach Stars such as the Chilean Grimalt/Grimalt, who made second place.

The women's competition was also strong, but something very special in particular for nostalgic beach fans with the participation of beach legends like Laura Ludwig and Larissa. Especially Larissa, one of the most successful players in the history of the World Tour, impressed with her partner Lili and even made it to the podium, beaten only by the US winners Kraft/Stockman and the second placed Norwegians Helland-Hansen/Olimstad. Ludwig/Lippmann, in the meantime, made sixth place.

The tournament debut of the new ÖVV constellation Schützenhöfer/Friedl was also eagerly awaited. With their semifinal entry and sixth place at their first tournament together, they showed a performance that makes beach fans look forward to the A1 CEV EuroBeachVolley Vienna 2023 in August. But not only the ÖVV women could impress in Hamburg, but also the new men's top duo Seidl/Pristauz, who reached the semifinals as well and achieved sixth rank. However, the next stop in Europe in Ostrava, Czechia, did not go according to plan for the two, as they were already eliminated in the preliminary phase by Americans Crabb/Brunner.

Neither Estonia’s top team Nolvak/Tiisaar, despite making it to fifth place in Hamburg or Norway's Helland-Hansen/Olimstad, who made Silver in the women’s category, could make it past the Qualifications in Ostrava, though the Norwegians will bring the momentum from their last win to compete in the home competition in Lillesand.

The season is also still not going according to plan for the two reigning European champions Graudina/Samoilova and, after the quarterfinals in Uberlândia, they could not make it past the group stage in Ostrava. We are curious to see how things will turn out at their home tournament in Jurmala and whether they can still get in shape in time for the European championships.

Müller/Tillmann returned to play in Ostrava after celebrating their first World Tour win there last year, but could not achieve the same results again after losing to Ana Patricia/Duda. They still managed to share the fifth spot along with Swiss Beach Stars Vergé-Dépré/Mäder (former Heidrich), as well as Americans Hughes/Cheng and Nuss/Kloth, who saw defeat by Cannon/Sponcil, Brunner/Hüberli, and Melissa/Brandie, respectively.

We were thrilled to see that six out of the eight top men’s teams in Ostrava were European and hopefully we’ll see many of them compete this August in Vienna. Evandro/Arthur, who were eventually defeated by French Krou/Gauthier-Rat, now share ninth place with fellow Brazilians Pedro Solberg/Guto. The other spots were taken by Cherif/Ahmed from Qatar and the Americans Partain/Benesh.

Perušič/Schweiner, who had just won Gold in Uberlândia earlier this year, defeated Krou/Gauthier-Rat in the quarterfinals in Ostrava, but could not keep up with Mol/Sørum or Americans Partain/Benesh and just missed the podium on fourth place. Despite their defeat, Krou/Gauthier-Rat are still in strong form after making second place in Brazil and we're excited to see if they can compete for the podium in Vienna in August.

The Swedish Beach Stars Åhman/Hellvig, currently in second place in the FIVB World Rankings (for more info on the world ranking, check here) were looking for their seventh World Tour podium in Ostrava, but had to withdraw as Hellvig sustained a wrist injury at the end of the first set against Partain/Benesh. We wish the young Beach Star a quick recovery and hope to see the Swedish duo back on the court again soon.

Swiss pair Hüberli/Brunner, who also claimed bronze at Ostrava 2022, one of four medals they have picked up on the Beach Pro Tour so far, also could not make it to the podium again this year. Although they came very close to the finals, they lost the semifinals against Brazilian stars Duda and Ana Patricia, barely missing the podium in fourth place. We remain excited to see what this means for the Swiss power duo in the European ranking as the A1 CEV EuroBeachVolley Vienna 2023 approaches. In addition to the two champions from the last European Championships in Vienna 2021, Switzerland has another hot contender in Vergé-Dépré/Mäder, with two strong fifth places since their comeback, for this year's championships.

After the purely European podium in Uberlândia, this time there was only one European team on the podium in both categories. Last year’s Ostrava winners and reigning Olympic and world champions Mol/Sørum continued their success by claiming yet another gold medal, completely undefeated in the competition. The Beachvolley Vikings dominated the competition with their remarkable performance, adding to their already impressive tally of World Tour medals. With little time for rest, they are already gearing up for their next challenge, representing their country at home in Lillesand for the highly anticipated Nations Cup.

The silver medal was secured by Qatar’s Olympic bronze medalists Cherif/Ahmed, making a strong comeback after taking a brief but well-deserved break as Cherif welcomed his first daughter into the world. Benesh/Partain also showcased their skills, earning a bronze medal and adding to their growing success on the World Tour. After the two US beach stars were beaten in the small final of Saquarema by the Austrian surprise team Hörl/Horst, their bronze was the pair's second medal on the World Tour, after the gold they took at the first in October in Dubai.

In the women's category, Brazil’s Duda/Ana Patricia, current world champions and ranking leaders, continued to wow the crowd and claimed the gold medal. After achieving the bronze medal at their home tournament in Uberlândia, the two are beaming again from the top of the podium at the first tournament in Europe — their third gold and ninth overall medal on the World Tour.

Americans Cannon/Sponcil were the first team to score two victories in the main draw and ended up securing Silver, marking Ostrava their fourth Tour podium. This is their next podium finish on the World Tour after their third place in Itapema and they are currently back in 5th place in the current Olympic Rankings. Canada’s Melissa/Brandie claimed Bronze and finished on the podium. This is only the pair’s third Beach Pro Tour appearance and already their first medal.

The World Tour's upcoming destination is the city of Jurmala, Latvia, where anticipation is building to see which champions from Ostrava will continue their dominance. Will the European players maintain their strength? Especially after the second women's Tour stop without a European team on the podium, we are curious to see if the European women can fight back in Jurmala.

And who of them will be able to make the Entry List for the highly anticipated A1 CEV EuroBeachVolley Vienna 2023? Make sure to stay tuned as all information about the Entry List and the upcoming Drawing of Lots will be revealed soon.