Friedl/Schützenhöfer finish 5th in Haikou in full swing
06.11.2023 - Haikou, China
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With three American duos among the men’s top four, the US clearly took the lead in the Chinese city Haikou. In the women’s competition, the Brazilians took home gold and bronze, whereas the Austrians took a surprising fifth place.
Carol/Bárbara back on top
In the women’s semifinals, Bárbara Seixas and Carol Solberg took revenge on Tainá Bigi and Victoria Lopes, who had just defeated them at the World Championships and made it all the way to fifth place. In the match for the bronze medal, Tainá and Victoria shut out Lithuanian duo Paulikiene/Raupelyte. In the final match, Bárbara and Carol defeated new Chinese pair Zhu Lingdi and Shuting Cao. The Chinese earned silver at their very first Challenge-level appearance as a pair, claiming the host country’s only medal at the event in Haikou. They had just made their Beach Pro Tour debut in Mallorca, where they made fourth place.
Austrian duo Friedl/Schützenhöfer, who have been a team for only six months, found themselves in an honorable fifth spot, their highest ranking so far at a tournament of this level. Especially their victory over Latvian beach star Tina Graudina, a two-time European champion, and her partner Anstasija Samoilova in a straight set (21-12, 21-19) came as a surprise. In the quarterfinal, they had to admit defeat to Tainá and Victoria
Budinger/Evans strike back
In an all-American men’s final, Budinger/Evans claimed their second medal on the Beach Pro Tour after winning silver in Saquarema back in April. In a 2-0 (21-14, 23-21) sweep they took revenge on their top-seeded compatriots Crabb/Brunner, who had just recently beat them at the World Championships, as well as in Espinho back in July. A third American team, Schalk/Bourne, battled for the bronze medal, but had to admit defeat to Australian duo Hodges/Schubert. The two duos had previously faced off in Jurmala, where Hodges/Schubert had also won against the Americans.
