Madrid and Rhodes host this week’s Beach Pro Tour Futures
News
After a successful first stop in Madrid last weekend, the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour remains in Europe with not one, but two Futures tournaments set to take place simultaneously in the continent over the next few days.
The Spanish capital will host the action for another week, with the Puerta de Hierro Beach Volleyball centre welcoming the women this time, from Thursday to Sunday. The men will head to Rhodes, Greece, for a three-day event between Friday and Sunday.
The tournament in Madrid has attracted some top European talent among the 28 teams from 19 countries (16 of which from Europe) that are entered to compete this weekend. Among them is Italian Marta Menegatti, a three-time Olympian who won the EuroBeachVolley back in 2011. The 31-year-old defender will play alongside 19-year-old Valentina Gottardi, her partner since the start of the season.
Menegatti’s former partner, 31-year-old Viktoria Orsi Toth, also turned to a younger player after they split. The Tokyo Olympian is now paired with her 23-year-old sister Reka.
Rhodes is set to host an international tournament for the first time since 2004, when it was the stage of an FIVB World Tour event. The competition in the city will take place at the Kallipateira Beach Volleyball Centre and will reunite 28 tandems from 17 nations (14 European), starting with Friday’s qualifier.
Swiss Quentin Métral and Yves Haussener, who won last week’s Madrid Futures, are entered in the tournament and will try to win gold for a second-straight week in European sand.
The Swiss are ranked fourth in the event, behind top-seeded Uruguayans Marco Cairus and Hans Hannibal, Italians Carlo Bonifazi and Davide Benzi and Finnish Jyrki Nurminen and Santeri Siren.
As many as 21 Beach Pro Tour Futures are scheduled to take place in Europe until the end of the year. These events 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 ranking points.