The action resumes this week in Brno

Following a month break, the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Futures returns to Europe this week, with the Czech city of Brno hosting a double-gender event from Thursday to Sunday.

Set to be part of the event’s calendar for a third-straight season, the Czech city will have the action taking place at the lakefront Sokolske Koupaliste and teams from many different parts of the world will be represented in the tournament.

After winning the title in both genders in 2024, hosts Czechia will be determined to do it again this season and keep the gold medals in the country for another year.

Part of the women’s team that triumphed last year in Brno, 23-year-old Kylie Neuschaeferova will be back to defend her title. She topped the podium last year with Markéta Svozilová and will have Martina Maixnerova by her side this time – the two have won a pair of medals on the Beach Pro Tour this season already, having taken gold in Messina and bronze in Prague.

French Anouk Dupin, who made it to the podium in every Beach Pro Tour Futures event she played this season, taking home two golds, two silvers and one bronze, will be another attraction in the tournament. This week, she will play with Elsa Descamps, with whom she got silver in Montpellier in July.

Represented by Heleene Hollas/Liisa Remmelg, who claimed gold in Qingshan and bronze in Jurmala, and Eva Liisa Kuivonen/Liisa-Lotta Jürgenson, who took silver in Jurmala, Estonia also have solid chances of making it to the podium this week in Brno.

Beach Pro Tour Brno Futures – Women

With 28 teams registered, the women’s tournament in Brno will have duos from 16 countries. Hosts Czechia led the way with six, followed by Slovakia (3), Austria (2), Estonia (2), Hungary (2), the Philippines (2), Scotland (2), Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, France, Japan, Latvia, the Netherlands, Norway and Poland.

In the men’s tournament, Czechia won’t have world champions Ondřej Perušič and David Schweiner, who won gold last year, this time, but Adam Waber and Matyas Jezek, who lost to them in the final, will be back looking to make it to the podium again.

With the two best-seeded teams in the main draw in Jakub Sepka/Jiri Sedlak and Tadeas Trousil/Matyas Dzavoronok, the host country seems well-positioned to fight for gold again in front of their home fans.

Beach Pro Tour Brno Futures – Men

Among the international teams, Swiss Florian Breer and Luc Flückiger, who won silver in Geneva in June, should be among the candidates to get to the podium in Brno.

Also featuring 28 teams, the men’s event will have 21 nations represented. Hosts Czechia, with six, Germany and the Philippines, with two each, are the only ones to have multiple duos. Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, France, Greece, Hungary, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland and Türkiye will send one team each.

The first day of matches in Brno will have the qualifiers for both genders. The main draw begins on Friday, with pool play, and continues on Saturday, with the elimination rounds. The semifinals and medal matches are scheduled for 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.