Challenge – Warmia Mazury, POL – 2025
The Australians are guaranteed their best finish as partners this week in Poland.
Competing as a new team in the 2025 Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour season, Australians Taliqua Clancy and Jana Milutinovic are now just two victories away from claiming their first medal together. They successfully advanced in this week’s Challenge event held in Warmia Mazury, Poland, on Friday.
Notably, they are the only women’s team from Wednesday`s qualifier at Anders Hotel Beach to reach the weekend`s main draw. The Australian pair are among the eight duos who will compete in the quarterfinals on Saturday.
Clancy, a 33-year-old three-time Olympian and silver medalist from Tokyo, partnered with the 23-year-old Milutinovic at the start of the 2025 season. This pairing came about after Clancy`s long-term partner, Mariafe Artacho, took a break from the sport to focus on starting a family.
The Warmia Mazury Challenge marks the sixth tournament for Clancy and Milutinovic as a team, and it has already proven to be their most successful outing. With two wins on Friday, they have reached the quarterfinals for the first time; their previous best performance was a ninth-place finish at the season-opening Yucatán Challenge in March.
To reach Saturday’s quarterfinals, Clancy and Milutinovic played five matches in Poland, securing four victories. Their two wins on Friday were particularly dramatic, both requiring tie-breakers in the elimination rounds. They first came from behind to defeat Czechs Márie-Sara Štochlová and Marketa Svozilova 2-1 (14-21, 21-15, 15-9) in the Round of 24. They repeated this feat in the Round of 16, triumphing 2-1 (14-21, 21-18, 15-12) against Dutch duo Wies Bekhuis and Emi van Driel.
In the quarterfinals, the Australian pair are scheduled to face Americans Julia Donlin and Lexy Denaburg. Donlin and Denaburg also played two matches on Friday, first overcoming Japanese team Reika Murakami and Asami Shiba in straight sets (21-14, 21-17) in the Round of 24, followed by a tie-breaker victory (21-17, 19-21, 15-9) against Germans Lea Kunst and Melanie Paul in the Round of 16.
Other Teams Advance
Another new team for 2025, Germans Louisa Lippmann (a Paris Olympian) and Linda Bock, also secured two wins to reach the quarterfinals in Warmia Mazury. They won a tie-breaker (17-21, 21-11, 16-14) against Australians Elizabeth Alchin and Georgia Johnson in the Round of 24, and then defeated compatriots Sandra Ittlinger and Anna-Lena Grüne in straight sets (21-17, 21-18) in the Round of 16.
Their next opponents, Spanish Olympians Tania Moreno and Daniela Álvarez, played once on Friday, defeating Dutch pair Raisa Schoon and Mila Konink in three sets (18-21, 21-10, 15-10) in the Round of 16.
French Olympians Clémence Vieira and Aline Chamereau also needed two victories on Friday to advance to the quarterfinals in Poland. They started their day with a straight-set win (21-12, 21-11) against the Czech Pavelková twins, Anna and Katerina, in the Round of 24, and followed it with another two-set victory (21-19, 21-15) in the Round of 16 against Americans Savvy Simo and Abby Van Winkle.
The French team is now set to play against the home favorites, Malgorzata Ciezkowska and Urszula Lunio, who remain undefeated in the tournament after beating Finnish pair Niina Ahtiainen and Taru Lahti in straight sets (21-19, 21-18) in the Round of 16.
The final quarterfinal match in Warmia Mazury will feature two teams that played one match each on Friday. Ukrainians Maryna Hladun and Tetiana Lazarenko advanced by eliminating compatriots Valentyna Davidova and Anhelina Khmil in two sets (22-20, 21-18). They will face Americans Kimberly Hildreth and Teegan Van Gunst, who moved forward after a two-set win (21-18, 21-11) against French Olympians Lézana Placette and Alexia Richard.
Match Schedule Information
On Saturday, both the quarterfinals and the semifinals are scheduled to be played in Poland. The medal matches are set for Sunday.
Jasper Thornfield 
Oliver Wrenwick