Teams from 30 countries compete in Cervia and Madrid this week
Futures in Europe
Teams from 30 different countries will be in action on the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour in Europe this week as the continent hosts a double-gender Futures event in Cervia, Italy, and a men’s tournament in Madrid, Spain, over the next few days.
The three tournaments will reunite a total of 84 teams, which hail from all over the world to compete in Europe – duos from Africa, Asia, Oceania, North and South America are entered in the events.
The first of three Italian cities set to host Futures events in the 2025 season, Cervia will have the competition taking place at the popular Fantini Club from Thursday to Sunday.
Beach Pro Tour Cervia Futures - Men
The men’s event in Italy will reunite duos from 16 countries. Hosts Italy will field six teams, Germany and Latvia will have three, Austria, Denmark and Poland two and Belgium, Czechia, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Japan, Lithuania and Ukraine one each.
The main attraction of the tournament will be the presence of 33-year-old Italian defender Daniele Lupo. A Rio 2016 Olympic silver medalist, he’s entered with 19-year-old blocker Francesco Peri and the two will start their campaign in Cervia in the qualifier.
Seeded fifth in the main draw, Alexander Huber and Robin Seidl also competed at the Rio 2016 Games. The Austrians recently reunited after almost ten years competing with different partners and will be among the title contenders at the Fantini Club.
The women’s tournament will also have 16 nations represented. The home county will have five teams competing, followed by Switzerland (4), Czechia (3), the Netherlands (2), Spain (2), Ukraine (2), Canada, England, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Norway, Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia and Türkiye.
Beach Pro Tour Cervia Futures - Women
The Olympic representation on the women’s side comes from 36-year-old defender Karla Borger, who represented Germany at both the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Games. Playing with 24-year-old Hanna-Marie Schieder, she’s part of the top-seeded team in the main draw.
Young Ukrainians Daria Romaniuk, 20, and Yeva Serdiuk, 21, are also expected to fight for the title in Italy this week. The two won the 2022 FIVB U19 World Championship and took gold in a pair of Beach Pro Tour Futures events last season.
Austrians lead the way in Madrid
In Madrid, where matches will take place at the Parque Deportivo Puerta de Hierro, there will be even more diversity, with the event reuniting duos from 20 countries. Spain will be represented by six teams, with Sweden, Türkiye and Ukraine sending two and Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechia, France, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Morocco, Norway and Switzerland having one each.
The top-seeded team in the men-only tournament is formed by Austrians Mathias Seiser and Laurenc Grössig. The two have been together since 2023 and represented their country in the last two editions of the European Championship.
Young French Artur Canet, 20, and Kévan Duval, 17, are seeded third, while the top Spanish team formed by the Huerta brothers Alejandro and Javier appears in fourth place.
The three tournaments will follow similar schedules, with the qualifier taking place on Thursday, the main draw pool play phase unfolding on Friday, the elimination rounds being held on Saturday and the semifinals and medal matches ending the events on Sunday.
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.