Europeans start the season with podium sweeps in Valencia

European teams started the five-month season of Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Futures events held in the continent on the right foot as all six medals in play this weekend in Valencia were won by duos from the region.

Spain, with two medals, France, Italy, Switzerland and Ukraine, with one each, were the first countries to make podium appearances in Futures events in Europe, dominating the four-day tournament held at the beachfront Passeig de Neptú on Sunday.

In the women’s tournament, French qualifiers Saofe Duval, 19, and Anouk Dupin, 22, had a dream debut, winning gold in their first international tournament as partners.

Undefeated in their seven matches in Valencia, the two secured the title against the top-seeded home team of Paris 2024 Olympian Paula Soria and teammate María Carro, winning 2-1 (21-17, 15-21, 20-18) on Saturday to frustrate the Spanish fans.

Bronze went to Ukrainians Yeva Serdiuk and Daria Romaniuk, who overcame French Elsa Descamps and Romane Sobezalz in straight sets (21-14, 21-16) for the last spot on the podium.

Huerta brothers win at home

On Sunday, however, the home fans managed to celebrate gold with the victory of the Huerta brothers Alejandro and Javier in the men’s tournament.

The Spanish faced the new Italian team of Tiziano Andreatta and Davide Benzi and prevailed 2-0 (21-15, 21-9) to have the Spanish anthem played during the awarding ceremony in Valencia. It was the second time the Huertas won a Beach Pro Tour Futures event in front of their home fans, following a victory in Madrid back in 2023.

In the bronze medal match, Swiss Marco Krattiger and Leo Dillier overcame Austrian Olympians Alexander Huber and Robin Seidl 2-0 (21-19, 21-19) to take the third and last spot in the podium.

Next week, two tournaments will be held simultaneously between Thursday and Sunday in Europe, with the Italian city of Cervia hosting a double-gender event and the Spanish capital Madrid staging a men-only competition.

The Beach Pro Tour Futures events in Europe are run by the CEV in close cooperation with Volleyball World and provide teams from the continent with several opportunities to compete and gain valuable international ranking points.