Brazilians Guto and Vitor successfully navigated the qualifying rounds to reach the main draw of the Warmia Mazury Challenge in Poland.
After three previous unsuccessful attempts in the 2025 season, the Brazilian beach volleyball duo of Gustavo ‘Guto’ Carvalhaes and Vitor Felipe finally broke through the qualifier at a Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour event this Wednesday in Warmia Mazury.
They were among eight men`s teams that finished the first day of matches at Anders Hotel Beach undefeated, securing their spots in the main draw of the Polish tournament. Eight women`s pairs also advanced from the qualifier.
Guto, 31, and Vitor, 34, who previously partnered in 2018, struggled in the qualifiers for the Elite events earlier this year in Mexico and Brazil, failing to win a match. Their fortunes turned in Poland.
In Warmia Mazury, they earned their main draw berth with two crucial victories. They first defeated Lithuanians Robert Juchnevic and Artur Vasiljev in three sets (17-21, 21-17, 15-9), followed by a straight-sets win (21-18, 21-19) against the Norwegian Mol brothers, Markus and Adrian, to clinch qualification.
In the main draw, Guto and Vitor will compete in Pool D. Their pool opponents include fellow Brazilians Pedro Oliveira and Renato Lima, French pair Rémi Bassereau and Calvin Aye, and Swiss team Marco Krattiger and Leo Dillier. Their opening match will be against their compatriots.
Other men`s teams advancing from the qualifier in Poland are Miles Evans/Chase Budinger (USA), Eylon Elazar/Kevin Cuzmiciov (Israel), George Wanderley/Saymon Barbosa (Brazil), Manuel Alfieri/Alex Ranghieri (Italy), Paul Burnett/Luke Ryan (Australia), Jakub Sepka/Jiri Sedlak (Czechia), and Ivan Datsiuk/Oleksii Bublyk (Ukraine).
Australians Qualify for Women`s Main Draw
On the women`s side, a notable achievement on the first day was the qualification of both Australian duos competing. Tokyo Olympic medalist Taliqua Clancy and her partner Jana Milutinovic secured their spot in the main draw with a hard-fought three-set victory (21-23, 24-22, 16-14) over Czech pair Martina Maixnerova and Kylie Neuschaeferova.
Jasmine Fleming and Stefanie Fejes also advanced, requiring two matches. They first beat Canadians Adriel Goodman and Myriam Robitaille in straight sets (21-14, 21-8), and then progressed when their Spanish opponents, Paula Soria and Maria Carro, withdrew by forfeit after losing the first set.
The other women`s teams to make it through the qualifier are Valentyna Davidova/Anhelina Khmil (Ukraine), Shaunna Polley/Olivia MacDonald (New Zealand), Katerina Pavelková/Anna Pavelková (Czechia), Daniele Kvedaraite/Jekaterina Kovalskaja (Lithuania), Asami Shiba/Reika Murakami (Japan), and Julia Radelczuk/Natalia Okla (Poland).
Warmia Mazury Challenge Tournament Format
The tournament features pool play from Thursday to Friday. Friday also includes the men`s Round of 24 and the women`s Round of 16. Saturday continues the elimination rounds with the men`s Round of 16, quarterfinals for both genders, and the women`s semifinals. Sunday concludes the event with the men`s semifinals, followed by the women`s medal matches and finally the men`s gold and bronze medal matches.
Jasper Thornfield 
Oliver Wrenwick