After a month-long hiatus, the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Futures series resumes in Europe this week. The Czech city of Brno will be the host, staging a double-gender tournament from Thursday through Sunday.
Brno, hosting this event for the third consecutive season, will see intense competition unfold at the lakeside Sokolske Koupaliste. Teams from across the globe are expected to participate, showcasing diverse international talent.
Having claimed titles in both the men`s and women`s categories in 2024, host nation Czechia aims to repeat this success, striving to keep the gold medals on home soil for another year.
Kylie Neuschaeferova, 23, a member of last year`s victorious women`s team in Brno, returns to defend her title. While she previously won with Markéta Svozilová, this year she partners with Martina Maixnerova. This duo has already secured two medals on the Beach Pro Tour this season: a gold in Messina and a bronze in Prague.
Another key player to watch is France`s Anouk Dupin, who has achieved a podium finish in every Beach Pro Tour Futures event she`s competed in this season, boasting two golds, two silvers, and one bronze. For this tournament, she will team up with Elsa Descamps, with whom she earned a silver medal in Montpellier in July.
Estonia also presents strong contenders for a podium spot in Brno this week, represented by Heleene Hollas and Liisa Remmelg (gold in Qingshan, bronze in Jurmala), and Eva Liisa Kuivonen and Liisa-Lotta Jürgenson (silver in Jurmala).
Beach Pro Tour Brno Futures – Women`s Tournament
The women`s tournament in Brno features 28 registered teams from 16 nations. Host nation Czechia leads with six duos, followed by Slovakia (3), and two teams each from Austria, Estonia, Hungary, the Philippines, and Scotland. Other participating countries include Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, France, Japan, Latvia, the Netherlands, Norway, and Poland.
For the men`s event, while last year`s gold medalists and world champions Ondřej Perušič and David Schweiner from Czechia will not be competing, Adam Waber and Matyas Jezek, who were runners-up in last year`s final, are set to return and aim for another podium finish.
With Jakub Sepka/Jiri Sedlak and Tadeas Trousil/Matyas Dzavoronok ranked as the top two seeded teams in the main draw, the host nation appears well-prepared to contend for another gold medal in front of their home crowd.
Beach Pro Tour Brno Futures – Men`s Tournament
Among the international contenders, Switzerland`s Florian Breer and Luc Flückiger, who secured a silver medal in Geneva in June, are strong candidates for a podium spot in Brno.
The men`s tournament also comprises 28 teams, representing 21 different nations. Czechia leads with six teams, while Germany and the Philippines each have two entries. Single teams will participate from Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, France, Greece, Hungary, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, and Türkiye.
Play in Brno commences with qualifiers for both genders on the first day. The main draw will start on Friday with pool play, followed by elimination rounds on Saturday. The semifinals and medal matches are slated for Sunday.
Beach Pro Tour Futures events in Europe, organized by CEV in collaboration with Volleyball World, offer European teams crucial opportunities to compete and accumulate significant international ranking points.
Jasper Thornfield 
Finley Blackwood