Futures Series in Europe Continues
Following stops in Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Poland, Bulgaria, Czechia, Latvia, Sweden, and Greece, the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour arrives in France this week. Montpellier is the host city for a double-gender Futures tournament running from Thursday through Sunday.
France`s Anouk Dupin has secured four medals with three different partners on the Beach Pro Tour in 2025.
The city of Montpellier, serving as a training base for France`s national teams, will provide the backdrop for the event. The tournament will be held at the popular Montpellier Beach Volley Club, located within Parc de La Rauze.
Several players who have already earned medals in this season`s Beach Pro Tour Futures events are set to compete in Montpellier. Among the standout participants is 22-year-old French talent Anouk Dupin. She has impressively reached the podium in all four tournaments she`s played with three different partners: winning gold in Valencia with Saofe Duval and in Jurmala with Marine Kinna, silver in Madrid with Alex Merle, and bronze in Battipaglia with Kinna.
For the Montpellier event, Dupin will team up with 28-year-old Elsa Descamps, who recently won bronze last weekend in Geneva with Romane Sobezalz. Saofe Duval is another player who has medaled with multiple partners this season, finishing third in Ios alongside Marilu Pally.
Featured Women`s Teams
Two pairs seeking their second gold medal of the season are Czechia’s Martina Maixnerova/Kylie Neuschaeferova, winners in Messina, and Germany’s Janne Uhl/Paula Schürholz, who triumphed in Madrid.
The list of competing female medalists also includes Estonians Eva Liisa Kuivonen and Liisa-Lotta Jürgenson, silver medalists in Jurmala, and Spanish players Sofía Izuzquiza, Sofía González, and Ana Vergara. The two Sofías claimed bronze together in Kraków, while Izuzquiza also earned a bronze medal in Sveti Vlas playing with Vergara.
The women`s field in Montpellier includes 28 teams representing 17 nations: France (4), Spain (3), Czechia (2), Latvia (2), Norway (2), Peru (2), Switzerland (2), United States (2), Argentina, Belgium, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, and Netherlands.
Olympians and Medalists in the Men`s Draw
The men`s tournament features players who have also seen success in the Futures series this season. Headlining the entry list are Austrians Robin Seidl and Alexander Huber. They have reunited nine years after representing Austria at the Rio 2016 Olympics and have already secured two bronze medals this year in Battipaglia and Ios.
Austrian duo Seidl and Huber are the top-seeded team entering the Montpellier event.
Competing in their inaugural season together on the Beach Pro Tour, Germans Robin Sowa and Jonas Reinhardt earned a silver medal in Cervia. Other medal-winning men`s pairs in the field are Spain`s Antonio Saucedo and Álvaro Iglesias, bronze medalists in Malmö, and Bulgaria`s Dimitar Kalchev and Dimitar Mehandzhiyski, who won Bulgaria`s first-ever Beach Pro Tour medal with a bronze at their home event in Sveti Vlas.
Beach Pro Tour Montpellier Futures – Men`s Field Breakdown
The men`s event also features 28 pairs, representing 18 countries. Hosts France have the largest contingent with five teams, followed by Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Spain, and Sweden with two teams each. Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, and Switzerland are represented by one team each.
Competition is scheduled to commence on Thursday with qualification rounds for both genders. The main draw, featuring pool play, will begin on Friday and continue into Saturday with the elimination matches. The semifinals and medal matches will conclude the tournament on Sunday in Montpellier.
The Beach Pro Tour Futures events in Europe are a collaborative effort between the CEV and Volleyball World. These tournaments provide European teams with essential opportunities to compete internationally and accumulate valuable ranking points.
#BeachVolleyball
Jasper Thornfield 
Finley Blackwood