Schoon and Stam win gold in Mexico

Teams from the Netherlands and Switzerland enjoyed a productive work trip to Mexico this week, winning medals on the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Challenge event held in the city of Veracruz, which ended on Sunday.

Dutch Olympians Raïsa Schoon and Katja Stam were the winners in the women’s event in North America, while Swiss Yves Haussener and Julian Friedli made it to the podium in third place among the men.

The victory in Veracruz was special for the Dutch, who have been apart for most of the 2025 international season as Stam recovered from a back injury. The two resumed their partnership only three weeks ago and made it to the top of the podium in the third tournament after their return.

To secure the title in Mexico, Schoon and Stam topped Americans Corinne Quiggle and Chloe Loreen in straight sets (21-16, 21-14) in the gold medal match. After them, Czechia's Marketa Svozilová/Marie-Sára Štochlová and Katerina Pavelková/Anna Pavelková, who both finished fifth, were the best-ranked European teams.

The men’s event had two European duos battling for bronze and Haussener and Friedli ended up on the right side of it, beating Italians Samuele Cottafava and Gianluca Dal Corso in two sets (23-21, 21-17) to claim the last spot on the podium.

The Netherlands’ Ruben Penninga/Matthew Immers, Austria’s Christoph Dressler/Philipp Waller and Switzerland’s Adrian Heidrich/Jonathan Jordan were all eliminated in the quarterfinals, finishing fifth.

Next week, the Beach Pro Tour heads to the United States, with an Elite event taking place in Newport Beach, California, from Tuesday to Saturday.