Czech world champions claim first triumph of the season

In Stare Jablonki, Perusic/Schweiner claimed their first gold since the world championships last year. Chen Xue returned to the city after eleven years to triumph once more.

In only their fourth tournament of the season, Czech beach stars Perusic/Schweiner topped the podium for the first time since winning the World Championships in 2023. So far in 2024, they made it to top ten positions at Elite16 events in Doha, Tepic and Espinho. In Stare Jablonki, they went undefeated, winning all of their six matches and securing their triumph by beating Cubans Alayo/Diaz in a tie-breaker (21-17, 17-21, 15-11).

Currently occupying tenth place in the world ranking, the Cubans are now also closer to a spot at the Paris Olympics. This is their third silver medal on the Beach Pro Tour this season already after making second place at the Recife and Saquarema Challenges, alongside a bronze medal from the Tepic Elite16.

The Stare Jablonki bronze medal went to Dutch duo Boermans/De Groot after mercilessly beating Argentinian Capogrosso-brothers in straight sets (21-12, 21-10). This is their second medal this season after triumphing at the Doha Elite16 at the start of the season.

In the women’s tournament, Chinese top duo Xue/Xia secured the win. The last time Xue competed in Stare Jablonki was 11 years ago with Zhang Xi, triumphing as world champions in the Polish city. After all this time she came back with new partner Xia to make it all the way to the top in the Polish city again. In the final of the Stare Jablonki Challenge, they beat Latvians Graudina/Samoilova in straight sets (21-16, 22-20), claiming their second title this season after triumphing at the Saquarema Challenge in March. Spanish duo Liliana/Paula claimed the bronze medal after Canadians Bukovec/Bansley had to forfeit due to an injury.