At the recent women`s Geneva Futures event on the Beach Pro Tour, two pairs from federations supported by FIVB Volleyball Empowerment achieved podium finishes. Ieva Dumbauskaite and Gerda Grudzinskaite of Lithuania secured the silver medal in Switzerland, while France`s Elsa Descamps and Romane Sobezalz earned the bronze. The gold medal went to Alexis Durish and Audrey Koenig from the United States, who were competing on the Beach Pro Tour for the first time and had a remarkable debut.
The Lithuanian Volleyball Federation has received substantial support for its beach volleyball program through FIVB Volleyball Empowerment, including $477,000 for coaching national pairs and $12,000 for coach development. Their women`s teams are coached by Paulius Matulis and Austrian coach Simon Nausch. Similarly, the French beach volleyball program has been allocated $1,077,000 in coach support funding from the same program. The French women`s national teams are coached by Youssef Krou. Additionally, the French Federation received $5,500 worth of beach volleyball equipment.
Lithuania`s second-seeded pair, Dumbauskaite and Grudzinskaite, advanced to the Geneva Futures final without losing a set. In their semifinal match, they defeated the fourth-seeded French duo, Descamps and Sobezalz, with a score of 2-0 (21-19, 21-11), guaranteeing themselves a medal. This silver medal is their second silver and fourth medal overall on the Beach Pro Tour. It also marks their third podium finish this season, following a bronze at Nuvali Futures and silver at Battipaglia Futures.
Descamps and Sobezalz of France ended the tournament with a 4-1 record. Following their semifinal loss to Lithuania, they competed for bronze. They secured their second Beach Pro Tour medal as a team by winning the third-place match against Canada`s sixth-seeded pair, Kaylee and Emma Glagau, in straight sets (21-12, 21-16). Their previous medal was a silver at the 2024 Castellon Futures.
American newcomers Alexis Durish and Audrey Koenig, both 21, began the Geneva tournament in the qualifying rounds and achieved seven straight wins to reach the gold medal. They lost only two sets throughout the event, including an extended second set in the final. Seeded 14th in the main draw, Durish and Koenig clinched the title by defeating Dumbauskaite and Grudzinskaite with a 2-1 score (21-16, 24-26, 15-5). In their semifinal, the American pair won 2-0 (21-15, 21-18) against the Glagau sisters.
The women`s tournament in Geneva last week followed a men`s Futures event held there the previous week. The women`s competition featured 25 teams from 14 countries. The Beach Pro Tour Futures series is scheduled to continue this week in Montpellier, France, from July 3rd to 6th.
Jasper Thornfield 
Finley Blackwood