Defending champions Switzerland begin Nations Cup 2023 campaign in Bratislava
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The Slovakian capital Bratislava will host the fifth pool in the women’s Preliminary Round of the 2023 CEV Beach Volleyball Nations Cup, with teams from five countries set to compete between Saturday and Sunday.
The two-day event will be held at the Beach Draždiak Bratislava Club and will see duos from Lithuania, Romania, Switzerland and Ukraine battling the host country in Pool B for a coveted spot in the 2023 Nations Cup Finals – watch the finals of the event live on CEV’s YouTube channel.
Reigning Nations Cup champions Switzerland are not sending their top two teams to this weekend’s event, but remain as the favorites with the duos of Zoé Vergé-Dépré/Esmée Böbner and Anna Lutz/Menia Bentele having more than enough quality to end the week at the top of the podium.
Ukraine should be their main contenders this weekend, fielding duos with strong international experience and big chemistry in the Makhno twins Inna and Iryna and Valentyna Davidova/Ievgeniia Baieva.
Lithuania have been an emerging nation in the continent and will count on the great moment of their top team, formed by Monika Paulikiene and Aine Raupelyte, who are fresh from a semifinal appearance in a Beach Pro Tour Challenge tournament in Saquarema, Brazil. The Grudzinskaite sisters Gerda and Rugile are the second team of the country in the event.
The host country Slovakia will need to overcome a lack of international experience in its squad to succeed at home as 42-year-old Lubica Siposova is the only player to have appeared in major events in her career. Her partner Martina Terenova and the second team formed by Lesia Slezakova and Andrea Bundzelova will all be playing internationally for the first time.
Lubica Siposova“We will have the opportunity to play against some quality opponents and are looking forward to battling them in an international event. We’ll fight on the court and try to show everything we trained over the winter. Our goal is to move Slovakia up in the European scene and I feel that the conditions are improving.”
Slovakian Beach Volleyball Player
The scenario is similar for Romania, with the team’s quartet of Ioana Miu/Ioana Hododi and Biana Pup/Ioana Manaila combining for just one appearance in international tournaments ahead of this weekend's event.
Created in 2022, the Nations Cup brings added weight in 2023 and 2024, serving as the European pathway in the qualification system for the beach volleyball tournament of the Paris 2024 Olympics – the countries that win the 2024 Finals among the men and the women will each earn a spot in the Games.
The seven pool winners and the host country will play in this year's Finals – the Netherlands and Poland were the first to qualify among the women.
The event has a different competition format, promoting ‘country vs. country’ battles. Each nation is represented by two teams and the duels take place in a best-of-three format, with the decider, if needed, being a 15-point golden set.