Spanish pairs shine as Women’s Beach Pro Tour Futures group stage concludes in Madrid

The Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Futures Madrid 2026 continued this Friday at the Parque Deportivo Puerta de Hierro, where the women’s competition completed its group stage after Thursday’s qualification rounds. The day determined the 12 pairs advancing to Saturday’s knockout rounds. Each group featured four teams, with only three progressing. The winners of the opening matches competed for first place and, crucially, direct qualification to the quarter-finals, while the remaining teams faced elimination matches for the final qualification spots into the Round of 12.

Spanish pairs produced an almost flawless opening day, with three of the four home teams securing direct qualification to the quarterfinals. The action began at 9:30 a.m. with Spain’s top-ranked duo, Tania Moreno and Sofía Izuzquiza, who claimed a hard-fought three-set victory against Switzerland’s Eugster/Gähwiler. After losing the opening set 16-21, the Spanish pair responded strongly with a 21-16 second set before sealing the tie-break 15-12. At the same time, Dutch pair Spaansen/Veerbeek defeated Hungary’s Vasvári/Vasvári in straight sets. The opening set remained closely contested before the Netherlands pair closed it out 21-18, while the second was far more one-sided at 21-9.

The second Group A matches again saw Moreno and Izuzquiza prevail in three sets, this time against the Dutch pair. Once again, the Spaniards lost the opening set (17-21) before showing strong mental resilience to turn the match around with a 21-15 second set and a 15-11 tie-break victory, securing top spot in the group and direct qualification for the quarter-finals. On Court 2, the Hungarian pair defeated the Swiss duo in straight sets to advance to Saturday’s matches.

Group B entered competition at 10:20 a.m., with Spanish national team players Ana Vergara and Sofía González making an impressive start on the main court. The Spanish pair defeated the United States duo Nobles/Stowell convincingly, 21-14 and 21-8, thus continuing the strong form they had already shown during the Nations Cup. On Court 2, Slovakia’s Tokosova and Terenova overcame Belgium’s Vervloet/Thant in straight sets (21-15, 21-18). In the final Group B match, played under heavy rain, the Spanish pair once again dominated, defeating the Slovak duo 21-13 and 21-16 to secure first place and direct qualification to the quarter-finals. Meanwhile, the American pair advanced to the Round of 12 after defeating the Belgian team in a closely contested two-set match (21-18, 21-17).

The third group of the morning featured Spain’s Carro and Paula, who produced one of the standout performances of the day by defeating tournament favourites Berger/Hohenauer. The Spanish duo claimed the first set 21-17 before dominating the second 21-10. On the adjacent court, Switzerland’s Bossart/Abbühl defeated Alexandra Erhart/Dina 21-16 and 21-17. Carro and Paula maintained their excellent level in their second match, defeating the Swiss pair in straight sets (21-16, 21-13) and confirming the outstanding level shown by the Spanish teams throughout the tournament. Austria’s Berger/Hohenauer secured third place after a commanding 2-0 victory over Alexandra Erhart/Dina (21-14, 21-13).

The final group of the day saw Spain’s Nazaret Florian and Adriana Serrano suffer the first Spanish defeat of the tournament, losing to Denmark’s Windeleff/Mellmølle in straight sets (16-21, 10-21). Simultaneously, Norway’s Berntsen and Steinsvåg defeated Czech pair Frommova and Tonova 2–0 on Court 2. Later in the day, Denmark’s Windeleff/Mellmølle secured first place in the group and direct qualification for Saturday afternoon’s quarter-finals after defeating Berntsen/Steinsvåg 21-16 and 21-11.
The final match of the day confirmed qualification for Florian and Serrano, who defeated Frommova/Tonova in straight sets (21-13, 21-15) to secure third place and advance to the Round of 12.

Saturday morning will begin with the Round of 12, featuring four matches for the remaining quarter-final places. Florian and Serrano will return to the court at 12:40 p.m. against Switzerland’s Bossart/Abbühl, with a place in the quarter-finals at stake before the final phase of the tournament begins later in the afternoon at 5:00 p.m.