The 2025 CEV Beach Volley Nations Cup Finals kicked off in Espinho on Thursday, with Ukraine and Germany dominating the women`s tournament by remaining undefeated on the opening day at Praia da Baía.
Both German and Ukrainian teams concluded the day atop their respective pools in Portugal, securing their spots in the elimination rounds of this thrilling `country vs. country` competition, which was introduced to the European beach volleyball calendar in 2022 and is akin to tennis`s Davis Cup.
Pool play for the women will be completed on Friday, followed by the quarterfinals. The semifinals are scheduled for Saturday, with the gold medal match set for Sunday.
A rising force on the continent, Ukraine had a perfect day in Espinho, as their teams won all four Pool B matches without dropping a single set. The Ukrainians faced a challenging first duel against Spain, but navigated it expertly. Valentyna Davidova and Anhelina Khmil defeated Sofía González and Ana Vergara 2-0 (21-18, 21-19), while the country`s top duo, Maryna Hladun and Tetiana Lazarenko, also secured a straight-sets victory (23-21, 21-19) against Paris Olympians Daniela Álvarez and Tania Moreno.
A few hours later, the Ukrainians returned to the sand, maintaining their strong rhythm with two more sweeps against Estonia. Davidova and Khmil defeated Heleene Hollas and Keira Lukas 2-0 (21-8, 21-14), and Hladun and Lazarenko prevailed over Eva Kuivonen and Liisa-Lotta Jürgenson in two sets (21-9, 21-17).
CEV Beach Nations Cup Finals – Women
After their loss to Ukraine, Spain regrouped and dominated hosts Portugal. González and Vergara topped Gabriela Coelho and Mariana Maia 2-0 (25-23, 21-14), and Álvarez and Moreno downed Vanessa Paquete and Raquel Lacerda, also in two sets (21-8, 21-12).
The other Pool B duel saw Portuguese and Estonians split victories. Maia and Coelho defeated Hollas and Lukas 2-0 (21-15, 21-14), while Kuivonen and Jürgenson leveled the score with a two-set (21-16, 21-16) victory over Paquete and Lacerda.
Germans dominate Pool A
Led by reigning European champions Svenja Müller and Cinja Tillmann, Germany emerged as the top team in Pool A on the first day. The country started strong against Lithuania, securing two victories: Sandra Ittlinger and Anna-Lena Grüne prevailed over Ariana Rudkovskaja and Skalve Krizanauskaite in a tie-breaker (21-12, 19-21, 15-13), and Müller and Tillmann swept (21-9, 29-17) fellow Paris Olympians Monika Paulikiene and Aine Raupelyte.
Germany`s second match of the day was against defending champions the Netherlands, also resulting in two positive outcomes. Ittlinger and Grüne topped Mila Konink and Raïsa Schoon in straight sets (22-20, 21-18), while Müller and Tillmann bested Emi van Driel and Wies Bekhuis, winning in two sets (21-13, 21-13).
The other two duels in Pool A saw countries splitting victories. In the first, the Netherlands and France ended even after Konink and Schoon took down Lézana Placette and Alexia Richard in two sets (26-24, 21-15), and Clémence Vieira and Aline Chamereau handled van Driel and Bekhuis also in straight sets (21-18, 21-15).
The French also had a win and a loss against Lithuania; while Vieira and Chamereau upset Paulikiene and Raupelyte in straight sets (24-22, 21-14), Rudkovskaja and Krizanauskaite defeated Placette and Richard in a tie-breaker (21-18, 17-21, 15-12).
Jasper Thornfield 
Finley Blackwood