World champions seek revenge on home sand as Futures tournament begins in Jurmala

For the twelfth year in a row, Jurmala is playing host to an international Beach Volleyball tournament. Qualification for the Beach Pro Tour (BPT) Futures competition took place on Wednesday, and the main draw will begin on Thursday with participation of 24 pairs per gender. Among them, world champions Tina Graudina and Anastasija Samoilova will take to the court on Majori beach, looking to avenge their stumbles on home sand from last year.

“The Jurmala Beach Volleyball tournament has become one of the main international sports events in the city,” Jurmala City Council Chairman Janis Ledins emphasised to journalists at a press conference. Latvian Volleyball Federation President Arnis Tunte expressed his determination to raise the level of the competition in the coming years and even mentioned the possibility of applying to host the World Championship.

For the second year, the Jurmala tournament is being held at the BPT Futures level and there is no shortage of people interested in participating. A total of 54 men’s and 48 women’s teams from 24 countries, including Uruguay, Australia, Canada, the USA, as well as from across Europe, had applied for contesting the competition. Latvia will participate with almost the strongest lineup, consisting of seven women’s and just as many men’s teams in the Main Draw. The only missing pair are the 2024 European champions Martins Plavins and Kristians Fokerots.

Reigning world champions Tina Graudina and Anastasija Samoilova will be the brightest stars in the tournament. “We still receive congratulations from athletes and fans, but it is only pleasant off the court. During the game, it is exactly the opposite, because all teams are doubly determined and eager to beat us. We were prepared for this and I think that it will only make us stronger if everyone plays against us with such additional motivation,” Tina described the first months lived as a world champion. “We expect a lot of exciting games in Jurmala, because who wouldn’t want to beat the world champions?”

Latvia’s leading duo is a clear favourite at the Jurmala Futures tournament for the second year in a row, but last summer Graudina and Samoilova suffered two unexpected setbacks at the Majori beach against teams that were much lower in the rankings. “Our goal is to win, because a year ago we did not manage to do it. Getting on the podium in Jurmala is something special, but we have only managed to do it twice in these 12 years. That is a big motivation to do it this time,” added Graudina. 

Her partner Anastasija Samoilova did not hide that she feels unusual at the Futures level, because she does not face opponents of this level every day and the Latvian team is not yet familiar with them: “Tomorrow we will go out on the court to play as if from a blank page. It is not easy, but we have to show our best performance.”

16 women’s and 16 men’s teams played the qualifying round at the Majori Beach Stadium on Wednesday. In the women’s tournament, two home duos, Varvara Brailko/Vanesa Grosberga and Anete Namike/Katrina Leibovica, emerged victorious. Namiķe, together with Brailko, triumphed at the U20 European Championships in 2020, but announced the end of her career after finishing fourth at the Jurmala Futures tournament last year. Now she has returned to competition together with 16-year-old partner Leibovica, with whom she managed to beat Canadians Myriam Robitaille/Sophia Hladyniuk in a three-set battle (16-21, 23-21, 20-18).

Lindstrom/Coakley from USA, Johnsen/Lyø from Denmark, Johansson/Mäenpää and Sinisalo/Kyröläinen from Finland, Michalska/Kruczek from Poland, and Deisenberger/O’Hara from Germany also qualified for the Main Draw due to start on Thursday at 9 am. 

Click here for further info: https://beachevents.cev.eu/beach/competition/1846 

The home team Toms Benjavs and Ernests Gutmanis, who defeated Estonians Karl Rinaldo/Nils Rühka 2-0 (21-17, 21-16) in the final match of the day, progressed to the men’s Main Draw. From the northern neighbour, Joosep Põldma/Patrik Parijõgi reached the next stage of the competition, as did Peters/Paszkiewicz from Germany, Birke/McIntosh from Australia, Vaught/Keddie from USA, Bezemer/Van der Wel from Netherlands, Pennanen/Pennanen from Finland and Leffler/Allemann from Switzerland. Latvia’s Ardis Bedritis and Arturs Rinkevics are seeded first in the Main Draw. The home heroes will play their first match on Thursday at 12:20.

Click here for further info: https://beachevents.cev.eu/beach/competition/1840