After a month-long break, the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Futures circuit is back in Europe. This week, the Czech city of Brno will host a co-ed beach volleyball tournament, running from Thursday to Sunday.
For the third consecutive year, the event will take place in Brno, specifically at the picturesque lakeside venue of Sokolske Koupaliste. The tournament is set to welcome teams from diverse international backgrounds, promising a vibrant competition.
Having clinched titles in both the men`s and women`s categories in 2024, the host nation, Czechia, aims to replicate this success and retain the gold medals on home soil for another year.
Kylie and Maixnerova won gold in Messina earlier this season.
Kylie Neuschaeferova, 23, a member of last year`s winning women`s team in Brno, returns to defend her title. Previously victorious with Markéta Svozilová, she will now partner with Martina Maixnerova. This formidable duo has already secured two medals on the Beach Pro Tour this season, including a gold in Messina and a bronze in Prague.
French player Anouk Dupin, who has consistently reached the podium in every Beach Pro Tour Futures event this season (with two golds, two silvers, and one bronze), is another key player to watch. In Brno, she will team up with Elsa Descamps, her partner when they secured silver in Montpellier in July.
Estonia also presents strong contenders for a podium finish this week in Brno, with teams like Heleene Hollas and Liisa Remmelg, who earned gold in Qingshan and bronze in Jurmala, and Eva Liisa Kuivonen and Liisa-Lotta Jürgenson, silver medalists in Jurmala.
Women`s Tournament Overview
The women`s tournament in Brno features 28 registered teams from 16 different nations. Czechia, as the host, has the largest contingent with six duos, followed by Slovakia (3), Austria (2), Estonia (2), Hungary (2), the Philippines (2), and Scotland (2). Other participating countries, each sending one team, include Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, France, Japan, Latvia, the Netherlands, Norway, and Poland.
In the men`s competition, last year`s gold medalists and world champions, Ondřej Perušič and David Schweiner, will not be competing this time. However, Adam Waber and Matyas Jezek, who were runners-up to them in the previous final, are returning with aspirations of reaching the podium once more.
Waber and Jezek played in the gold medal match in Brno last year.
With Jakub Sepka/Jiri Sedlak and Tadeas Trousil/Matyas Dzavoronok ranked as the top two seeded teams in the main draw, the host nation appears well-prepared to contend for another gold medal in front of their home crowd.
Men`s Tournament Overview
Among the international participants, Swiss pair Florian Breer and Luc Flückiger, who secured a silver medal in Geneva in June, are strong contenders for a podium spot in Brno.
The men`s event also features 28 teams, representing 21 nations. Czechia leads with six teams, while Germany and the Philippines each have two; these are the only countries with multiple duos. Single teams will represent Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, France, Greece, Hungary, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, and Türkiye.
The competition in Brno kicks off with qualifiers for both men and women on Thursday. The main draw commences on Friday with pool play, followed by elimination rounds on Saturday. The semifinals and medal matches are slated for Sunday, promising an exciting conclusion to the tournament.
Organized by the CEV in collaboration with Volleyball World, the Beach Pro Tour Futures events in Europe offer continental teams numerous chances to compete and accumulate crucial international ranking points.
