One of beach volleyball's brightest stars shares why inspiring athletes and growing the sport matter as much as success on the sand. Valentina Gottardi has become one of the most recognisable faces of a new generation in beach volleyball. Multiple Beach Pro Tour titles, an Olympic appearance and a European silver medal have established the Italian among the leading players in the women’s game.
Juan Dolio to host NORCECA Continental Tour sixth Stop
JUAN DOLIO, Dominican Republic, June 18, 2026 – The sixth stop of the NORCECA Continental Beach Volleyball Tour lands in the Dominican Republic, where matches will be played throughout the weekend on the sand courts set up on the beautiful beach of Juan Dolio. A total of 16 men's and 15 women's teams completed preliminary inspections on Thursday and will open the group stage on Friday...
Three weeks of AVP League play are in the books. The playoff picture is starting to take shape — and Las Vegas is the weekend that begins to settle it. Week 4 takes the 2026 AVP League to Resorts World Backlot in Las Vegas on June 19-20 — Friday and Saturday night sessions, the first AVP League event ever held in Las Vegas, and the first weekend of the regular season where playoff math...
Empowerment duos from Austria, Czechia and Morocco claim podium spots at zonal events
Recap of last week’s zonal beach volleyball competitions - MEVZA Beach Volleyball Tour and CAVB Zone I Championships. Pairs from the FIVB Volleyball Empowerment supported federations of Austria, Czechia and Morocco lined up among the medalists at zonal beach volleyball events last week.
Alanya International Beach Sports Centre designed FIVB Centre of Excellence
While hosting one of the most important tournaments of the season, 23 Projects Alanya International Beach Sports Centre has received the prestigious FIVB Centre of Excellence designation, thus reinforcing Alanya’s growing role as an international hub for beach sports. From June 10 to 14, 2026, Alanya hosted the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Alanya Challenge...
Spain’s Izuzquiza & Tania cruise to first Challenge gold in Alanya
Sofia Izuzquiza & Tania Moreno celebrated their recently formed team’s first gold at the Challenge level on the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour. On Sunday, they topped the Alanya Challenge podium in Turkiye. Overall, it was the pair’s second medal, after the Madrid Futures gold in May. USA’s Savannah Cory (Savvy) & Devon Newberry, another recently shaped duo, finished runners-up...
Henning & Pfretzschner win Alanya Challenge at team’s second Beach Pro Tour appearance
At only their second appearance on the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour together as a duo, Germany’s Paul Henning & Lukas Pfretzschner brought home gold. They topped the men’s podium at the Alanya Challenge in Turkiye on Sunday. The silver went to England’s Javier Bello & Joaquin Bello. It was the seventh medal in the twins’ Beach Pro Tour collection.
Lorenzova & Tomasova make third consecutive podium, this time with gold at Spiez Futures
Czechia’s Andrea Lorenzova & Mariana Tomasova made it three medals in three appearances on the 2026 Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour, but this time they went all the way to the top of the podium, claiming gold at the women’s Spiez Futures. The previous two medals, earned in Apeldoorn and Cervia, were both silver. USA’s Torrey Van Winden & Lindsey Sparks and Austria’s...
World champions Tina & Anastasija win home gold at Jurmala Futures
Reigning world champions Tina Graudina & Anastasija Samoilova delighted the Latvian beach volleyball fans not only by participating in the Jurmala Futures on the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour, but also by snatching the women’s gold. An all-Latvian men’s final also pleased the crowd in Jurmala on Sunday, with Edgars Tocs & Gustavs Auzins outlasting Ardis Bedritis & Arturs Rinkevics...
Taryn Brasher: From Beach Pro Tour Qualifiers to World No. 1
Beach volleyball has taken Taryn Brasher further than she ever imagined. Along the way, she and Kristen Cruz have gone from fighting their way through qualification tournaments to the very top of the game, rising to world No. 1, competing for the sport’s biggest titles and representing the United States at the Olympic Games.
Rematch of last year in women’s semis in Jurmala, home favourites looking for Futures title
Teams from four different countries reached the semi-finals of the women’s tournament of the Beach Pro Tour (BPT) Futures in Jurmala on Saturday, whereas in the men’s competition, two home teams from Latvia will face competition from Ukrainian and Serbian pairs in the contest for medals. Most of Saturday was spent in sunny conditions at Majori Beach, in which the tournament...
Tari & Niemeier promising bright future for Hungarian beach volleyball
Hungarian beach volleyball is evidently experiencing a rise, especially in the men’s department. The country’s first-ever Beach Pro Tour gold was won under two years ago by Domonkos Doczi & Bence Streli at the Qidong Futures, on the same weekend when Boldizsar Borbely & Lukas Niemeier earned a silver medal at the Bujumbura Futures, shortly after the Hungarian federation received...
Ben Hood’s trust in the process brings his first Beach Pro Tour gold
The 21 yearold beach volleyball player reflects on the training, people and partnership that helped power an unbeaten run to win gold in the Philippines. Winning his first Beach Pro Tour gold medal gave Ben Hood the chance to pause and enjoy a moment he had been working towards for years. The Australian secured the first Challenge gold medal of his career at the...
Jurmala Futures moves to knockout mode, nine home teams continue their run
The top 12 teams in the men’s and women’s competition were determined on Friday at the Beach Pro Tour (BPT) Futures tournament in Jurmala. Competing for the top spots over the weekend will be pairs from the USA, Poland, Spain, Serbia, Lithuania, Ukraine, Germany, Norway, Estonia and Finland, as well as nine home teams, including world champions Tina Graudina and Anastasija Samoilova...
Home teams adapt to Jurmala’s gusty winds, most reach knockout phase
The first day of the Beach Pro Tour (BPT) Futures main draw in Jurmala was spent amid concerns about the approaching storm, however, the promised thunder and lightning clouds passed by and the tournament participants in Majori Beach were just soaked by the rain, as well as struggling with strong gusts. The home teams felt quite good in the difficult conditions...
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...
Alexander Brouwer has spent much of his life competing on some of the biggest stages in beach volleyball. A world champion in 2013 and an Olympic bronze medallist at the Rio 2016 Games, the Dutch star has built a career that has taken him around the world and established him as one of the most accomplished players in the sport.
Week 3 takes the 2026 AVP League to Sephora Arena in Miami on June 12-13 — an indoor arena setting for the second installment of the Florida City Rivalry between Palm Beach Passion and Miami Mayhem; the League debuts for both Texas teams (Austin Aces and Dallas Dream ); and 10 of 16 athletes on the schedule who have competed in an Olympic Games.
Empowered Australians dominate Asian Tour stop in Pingtung, collect four medals
Five of the six medals at the third event on the 2026 AVC Asian Beach Volleyball Tour that came to an end in Chinese Taipei on Sunday were earned by teams of federations benefitting from FIVB Volleyball Empowerment support. Australia occupied the entire men’s podium in Pingtung, with Ben Hood & Thomas Hodges Mark Nicolaidis & Izac Carracher and D’Artagnan Potts & Jack Pearse...
Sam Schachter and Sergiy Popov return to Alanya where they first triumphed as world champions
Alanya is about to welcome the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour for the second straight year. The southern Turkish Mediterranean resort city will host another Challenge event this week, after the successful organization of the first one last year. For two of the veteran players in the men’s field – Canada’s Samuel Schachter and Ukraine’s Sergiy Popov – it will be a trip down memory lane...
Anouk & Zoe back to defend Alanya Challenge trophy
Alanya is about to welcome the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour for the second straight year. The southern Turkish Mediterranean resort city will host another Challenge event this week, after the successful organization of the first one last year. Swiss stars Anouk Verge-Depre & Zoe Verge-Depre, who topped the Alanya women’s podium in 2025, are back to defend their trophy...
Breaking news: for the third time in history, the CEV EuroBeachVolley will be held in Switzerland in 2027. From 30 June to 4 July of next year, the best European teams will compete for continental honours in Gstaad. Following previous editions held in Basel in 2002 and Biel/Bienne in 2016, the European Beach Volleyball Championships will be held in Switzerland for a third time in 2027.
Reigning world champions headline upcoming Jurmala Futures
Beach Volleyball teams from 24 different countries have registered to participate in the Beach Pro Tour Futures due to take place this week in Jurmala. The reigning world champions Tina Graudina and Anastasija Samoilova will be the main favourites in the women’s competition, while several leading domestic pairs will face competition from the U21 world vice-champions...
With the last qualifying events completed this past weekend in Alanya, we now know which eight countries are due to contest the CEV Beach Volley Nations Cup 2026 Final scheduled for July 16 to 19 in Budapest. The competition featuring a highly entertaining country vs country format will reach its climax in a few weeks in the iconic and vibrant Hungarian capital city...
Hungarian teens win Sveti Vlas Futures to continue excellent season
19-year-old Hungarians Bence Tari & Lukas Niemeier topped the men’s podium at the Sveti Vlas Futures on Sunday, earning their first gold on the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour, but also continuing an excellent season with fourth consecutive top-four finish. Serbia’s Marko Makaric & Djordje Klasnic and Ukraine’s Ivan Likhatskyi & Richard Likhatskyi took silver and bronze, respectively...
News Dataset Rendered: 6/19/2026 10:38:19 AM