The Netherlands` Boermans & De Groot and USA`s Cannon & Kraft reclaim their second-best duo status in the latest global rankings.
The recent weekly update to the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Rankings has introduced notable alterations in the second-place standings for both men`s and women`s categories. Following an impressive streak of four consecutive podium finishes at Elite events on the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour, Stefan Boermans & Yorick de Groot of the Netherlands have successfully reclaimed the men`s world number two spot. This achievement saw them surpass the reigning Olympic champions, David Ahman & Jonatan Hellvig of Sweden, who notably did not participate in last week`s Rio de Janeiro Elite tournament in Brazil. On the women`s side, a more surprising development occurred as Brazil`s Rio gold medalists Carol Solberg & Rebecca Cavalcanti lost ground, yielding their number two position to the American pair Terese Cannon & Megan Kraft.
FIVB Beach Volleyball World Ranking – Women
Despite securing 1,200 points from their recent triumph in Rio, Carol & Rebecca only effectively added 600 points to their overall total. This outcome is due to the ranking system`s calculation, which considers the best eight results over a 365-day period, meaning a previous 600-point score was replaced. In contrast, Cannon & Kraft, who earned 1,000 points for their bronze medal performance in Brazil last week, were able to fully incorporate this entire amount into their total. This was because the Rio event marked their eighth qualifying tournament within the past year, eliminating the need to discard any previously accumulated points. These strategic calculations propelled the American duo two spots higher than their former fourth position, also moving past Latvia’s Tina Graudina & Anastasija Samoilova. They now stand just 20 points ahead of the Brazilians in the World Ranking, with a total of 7,340 points compared to 7,320.
The formidable Brazilian team of Thamela Coradello & Victoria Lopes, silver medalists in Rio, continues to firmly hold the number one spot with an impressive total of 8,320 points.
Reigning world champion Kelly Cheng and her current partner Molly Shaw, after finishing fourth in Rio, made a significant ascent of four positions to reach number nine. This American duo, currently in their inaugural season together and having now accumulated points from seven qualifying tournaments, has entered the World Ranking`s top 10 for the very first time in their partnership.
Further adjustments within the women`s top 10 include Germany’s Svenja Muller & Cinja Tillmann overtaking Switzerland’s Anouk Verge-Depre & Zoe Verge-Depre to claim sixth place. Additionally, Paris 2024 Olympic silver medalists Melissa Humana-Paredes & Brandie Wilkerson of Canada advanced, surpassing both reigning Olympic champions Ana Patricia Ramos & Eduarda Santos Lisboa (Duda) of Brazil and USA’s Kristen Nuss & Taryn Brasher to secure the 10th position.
The remainder of the top 10 is completed by fifth-ranked Valentina Gottardi & Reka Orsi Toth of Italy and eighth-ranked Dorina Klinger & Ronja Klinger of Austria, both teams successfully maintaining their positions from the previous week.
Meanwhile, USA’s Julia Donlin & Lexy Denaburg, who managed to orchestrate several major upsets in Rio to reach the quarterfinals, climbed an impressive six spots from their 21st position last week, marking their debut appearance in the top 15.
FIVB Beach Volleyball World Ranking – Men
Boermans & De Groot, who have previously held the top spot in the men’s World Ranking for short durations in both 2022 and 2024, secured a bronze medal at the Rio de Janeiro Elite event. This achievement, their fourth consecutive podium finish, propelled them another spot up the chart to number two. They accrued 712 points, contributing to a new total of 7,340, which now places them 100 points above the previous number two, Ahman & Hellvig. A substantial gap of 1,260 points currently separates the Dutch pair from the top-ranked Anders Mol & Christian Sorum of Norway.
The champions of the Rio de Janeiro tournament, Cherif Younousse & Ahmed Tijan, a team that also previously held the world number one title for many weeks in 2021 and 2022, made a significant leap of five positions in the ranking. They now share the fourth place with Argentina’s Nicolas Capogrosso & Tomas Capogrosso, with both duos accumulating 6,600 points.
Last week’s runners-up, Noslen Diaz & Jorge Alayo of Cuba, achieved an even more remarkable ascent, moving up nine positions to number 11. This places them just below Latvia’s Martins Plavins & Kristians Fokerots, who secured fourth place in Rio and managed to maintain their 10th position in the rankings.
The remaining positions within the men`s top 10 are occupied by sixth-ranked Jacob Holting Nilsson & Elmer Andersson of Sweden, seventh-ranked Evandro Oliveira & Arthur Mariano Lanci of Brazil, eighth-ranked Michal Bryl & Bartosz Losiak of Poland, and ninth-ranked world champions Ondrej Perusic & David Schweiner of Czechia. These teams either maintained their previous rankings or experienced minor shifts without impacting their presence in the top 10.
Oliver Wrenwick