Spanish pairs dominate as Women’s Beach Pro Tour Futures Madrid reaches semi-finals

The Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Futures Madrid 2026 continued this Saturday at the Parque Deportivo Puerta de Hierro, which is hosting the tournament for the sixth consecutive year. Following Friday’s group stage, the women’s competition completed both the Round of 12 and the quarter-finals, thus defining the four pairs that will compete for a place in Sunday’s final. It was an outstanding day for the Spanish teams, with three home pairs advancing to the semi-finals after delivering strong performances throughout the day.

The morning session began with the four qualification matches for the quarter-finals, where three Spanish pairs were already waiting. The opening match of the day saw Austria’s Berger and Hohenauer defeat the Dutch pair Spaansen/Veerbeek in straight sets. The Austrian duo controlled the match confidently, winning 21-16 and 21-14. Shortly afterwards, Americans Nobles/Stowell secured their place in the quarter-finals after defeating Norway’s Berntsen/Steinsvåg. The American pair dominated the opening set 21-12 before closing out a much tighter second set 21-19. The most competitive match of the qualification round featured Hungary’s Vasvári, E./Vasvári, Z. against Slovakia’s Tokosova/Terenova. The Slovak pair edged a closely contested first set 21-19, but the Hungarian duo responded impressively. Raising their level significantly in the second set, aided perhaps by a physical drop from their opponents, they levelled the match with a dominant 21-11 victory. In the tie-break, the Hungarian pair looked mentally stronger and completed the comeback with a 15-10 win to secure a place in the quarter-finals against Denmark’s Windeleff/Mellmølle. Spain’s Nazaret Florian and Adriana Serrano, the only Spanish pair competing in the Round of 12, also advanced in convincing fashion. They defeated Switzerland’s Bossart/Abbühl in just over thirty minutes, winning 21-16 and 21-18 to join the three other Spanish pairs already qualified for the quarter-finals.

The afternoon session then began with the quarter-finals, opening immediately with a dramatic victory for Spain’s Ana Vergara and Sofía González. The Spanish pair continued their excellent tournament run by defeating Austria’s Berger/Hohenauer in a high-level match worthy of a Beach Pro Tour event. Vergara and González claimed the first set 21-19, but the Austrian pair responded by levelling the match with an identical scoreline. In the tie-break, however, the Spanish duo regained control and secured the win 15-12.

The second quarter-final featured Carro/Paula, who delivered another dominant performance for Spain by defeating the United States pair Nobles/Stowell in straight sets, 21-15 and 21-12. The third quarter-final saw Denmark’s Windeleff/Mellmølle overcome Hungary’s Vasvári/Vasvári in an entertaining three-set battle. The Hungarian pair took the opening set 21-14, but the Danish duo reacted strongly in a tightly contested second set, winning 21-19. The tie-break remained evenly balanced before Windeleff/Mellmølle completed a 2-1 comeback victory to secure their place in Sunday’s second semi-final.

Joining them in the semi-finals will be Spain’s top-ranked pair, Tania Moreno and Sofía Izuzquiza, who won the all-Spanish quarter-final against Florian/Serrano in straight sets. Moreno and Izuzquiza produced an excellent performance in the opening set, dominating 21-10, before completing the victory with a more competitive but still controlled 21-16 second set.

Sunday’s semi-finals will begin in the morning, starting at 11:30 a.m. with an all-Spanish clash between Ana Vergara/Sofía González and Carro/Paula. Later, at 1:00 p.m., Moreno and Izuzquiza will face Denmark’s Windeleff/Mellmølle for a place in the final. The bronze medal match will take place at 5:00 p.m., before the women’s final concludes the tournament at 6:30 p.m.