Ukrainian champions lead tournament’s overachievers

The 33^rd edition of the CEV EuroBeachVolley came to an end on Sunday and the Rochus Club, in Düsseldorf, Germany, was the stage for some memorable performances and historic results in both genders.

With the elite of the continent reunited, teams from all over Europe were able to test themselves against top competition, and some of them proudly returned home with results and performances that exceeded everyone’s expectations.

Here are five of them:

Maryna Hladun/Tetiana Lazarenko

Ukraine entered the tournament having never won an EuroBeachVolley medal on the women’s side and left it as the champions thanks to Hladun and Lazarenko. Partners since 2023, they had given signs that they could compete with the best over the last months, getting strong results on the Beach Pro Tour, but they went above and beyond in Düsseldorf, knocking down as many as eight Olympians on their way to the top of the podium. Winning gold at the EuroBeachVolley has placed the Ukrainians among the elite of the sport at the international level, and now they will need to work twice as hard to remain there.

Tim Berger/Timo Hammarberg

Somewhat of a change of guard has been going on in Austrian men’s beach volleyball after the legendary Clemens Doppler retired and his longtime partner Alexander Horst slowed down as he got into his 40s, and young Berger and Hammaberg gave another indication that they could be the ones to carry the torch. Three years after triumphing in the U20 EuroBeachVolley, the 20-year-old Berger and the 21-year-old Hammarberg finished fifth in the senior edition of the event for a second-straight season, showing they are here to stay. In Düsseldorf, they won three straight matches before going down in the quarterfinals to eventual champions Anders Mol and Christian Sørum of Norway, who highlighted the Austrians’ potential in their post-match interview.

Clémence Vieira/Aline Chamereau

Vieira and Chamereau achieved a remarkable feat in Düsseldorf last week, taking France back to the EuroBeachVolley gold medal match for the first time since 1999. The two couldn’t take the title, but produced some massive results in their campaign, getting sweeps against two-time EuroBeachVolley winners Tina Graudina and Anastasija Samoilova of Latvia in the quarterfinals and defending champions Svenja Müller and Cinja Tillmann of Germany in the semifinals. The silver medal won in Düsseldorf adds to the two they earned on the Beach Pro Tour in 2025 and gives them the edge in the internal battle against Lézana Placette and Alexia Richard to determine which is the French top team right now.

Eylon Elazar/Kevin Cuzmiciov

Elazar and Cuzmiciov’s appearance in the 2025 EuroBeachVolley was historic right from the start as they caused the biggest upset of the opening day by taking down Polish stars Michal Bryl and Bartosz Łosiak to produce their country’s first-ever victory in the event. The positive result fueled the Israelis, who continued to play well over the week, beating Italians Gianluca Dal Corso and dropping very competitive matches to Sweden’s Jacöb Holting Nilsson/Elmer Andersson and reigning world champions Ondřej Perušič and David Schweiner of Czechia to secure a top-ten finish in the event. Aged 24 and 21 respectively, Elazar and Cuzmiciov have a lot of time ahead of them to progress and raise Israel’s level at the continental level.

Daniele Kvedaraite/Jekaterina Kovalskaja

Lithuania is another nation on the rise in Europe on the women’s side and Kvedaraite and Kovalskaja showed last week that the country has more to show than its top team, formed by Paris Olympians Monika Paulikiene and Aine Raupelyte. Playing in the biggest tournament of their still young careers, the two secured a pair of wins in four matches, the most notable of them against French Olympians Lézana Placette and Alexia Richard in the Round of 24, which earned them a remarkable ninth-place finish. Kvedaraite, 23, and Kovalskaja, 25, started making main draw appearances on Beach Pro Tour Challenge events at the end of last season and seem well-positioned to continue developing at the international level.