Sisters Anouk and Zoé Vergé-Dépré are set to compete against fellow Swiss team Tanja Hüberli and Leona Kernen on Saturday, vying for a place in the quarterfinals at the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Elite event in Gstaad.
Spectators attending the fourth day of action will witness this all-Swiss battle in the Round of 12. Both pairs are new teams for the 2025 season and will face off in one of the early women`s matches of the day in the Swiss Alps.
The matchup was confirmed after Anouk and Zoé overcame the Round of 18 on Friday. The sisters, who have represented Switzerland in the last three Olympics (Anouk winning bronze in Tokyo 2021), secured a significant victory in their first elimination match, defeating Brazilian Olympians Carol Salgado and Rebecca Cavalcanti in a thrilling three-set tie-breaker (21-17, 17-21, 15-13) to stay in the tournament.
Anouk (33) and Zoé (27) are currently enjoying a strong phase in their partnership, having earned medals in three consecutive Beach Pro Tour events leading up to Gstaad – silver at the Spiez Futures, bronze at the Ostrava Elite, and gold at the Alanya Challenge.
Hüberli (32), a two-time Olympian and Paris bronze medalist, and Kernen (19), a European U18 and U20 champion, are also having a promising start to their new collaboration. They took silver at the season-opening Yucatán Challenge and gold at the Spiez Futures, where they defeated the Vergé-Dépré sisters in their only prior meeting. As the top team in Pool B, Hüberli and Kernen advanced directly to the Round of 12, avoiding play on Friday.
World Ranking Leaders Recover
Another key development on Friday was the recovery of FIVB World Ranking leaders Thamela Coradello and Victoria Lopes of Brazil. After losing their opening pool play match, they secured two wins on Friday to reach the Round of 12, where they are scheduled to play Americans Kelly Cheng and Molly Shaw.
Coradello and Lopes won their pool play match against Spanish Olympians Tania Moreno and Daniela Álvarez after Álvarez sustained an injury. They then swept Austrian sisters Ronja and Dorina Klinger in the Round of 18 (21-15, 21-13).
Czech pair Marketa Svozilova and Marie-Sára Štochlová also had a two-win day on Friday. They defeated Swiss wildcards Annique Niederhauser and Menia Bentele 2-0 (21-17, 21-17) in pool play and Dutch duo Raisa Schoon and Mila Konink in straight sets (21-18, 21-16) in the Round of 18. They will now face Americans Terese Cannon and Megan Kraft in the Round of 12.
Americans Julia Donlin and Lexy Denaburg followed a similar path, winning a lengthy three-set battle against Finland’s Niina Ahtiainen and Taru Lahti (35-33, 17-21, 15-9) in pool play. They then needed another tie-breaker (16-21, 21-17, 15-13) to defeat German qualifiers Louisa Lippmann and Linda Bock in the Round of 18. Their next opponents in the Round of 12 are compatriots Kristen Nuss and Taryn Brasher.
Germany will also feature a domestic matchup in the Round of 12. Sandra Ittlinger and Anna-Lena Grüne dominated Dutch pair Emi van Driel and Wies Bekhuis in two sets (21-12, 21-14) in the Round of 18, earning a quarterfinal-spot match against fellow Germans Svenja Müller and Cinja Tillmann.
The sixth and final Round of 12 duel in Gstaad will see Latvian Olympians Tina Graudina and Anastasija Samoilova, who won a three-setter against Brazilians Vitória Rodrigues and Hegeile ‘Hegê’ Almeida (21-16, 20-22, 15-7) in the Round of 18, compete against Canadian Olympic medalists Brandie Wilkerson and Melissa Humana-Paredes.
Both the Round of 12 and the quarterfinal matches are scheduled to be played on Saturday in Gstaad. The semifinals and medal matches will take place on Sunday.
Jasper Thornfield 
Oliver Wrenwick