European season continues at full pace this week in Baden (original) (raw)
One of the most traditional host countries for international beach volleyball in Europe, Austria is set to welcome another tournament this week, as the city of Baden will host a Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Futures event from Wednesday to Sunday.
Fan favorites Katharina Schützenhöfer and Lena Plesiutschnig enter the event in good form following a victory in the Austrian national tour last weekend
Part of the sport’s international calendar since 2018, the Austrian city will host the 13th Futures event of the season in Europe, with matches taking place at the Weilburgpark. The women’s tournament starts and ends first, going from Wednesday to Saturday, while the men play from Thursday to Sunday.
The women’s tournament in Baden will feature 28 teams, 12 of which start directly in the main draw, with the remaining 16 fighting for four spots on Wednesday’s qualifier. As many as 17 nations will be represented, 14 of them from Europe – hosts Austria will have four teams, Czechia three, Estonia, Germany and Switzerland two and Belgium, Finland, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia and Ukraine one each. Completing the lineup will be three duos from Australia, two from Japan and one from Canada.
The winners of an FIVB World Tour one-star event held in the city in 2019, home heroes Katharina Schützenhöfer and Lena Plesiutschnig are one of four Austrian teams guaranteed in the main draw, starting as the top-seeded duo in the tournament.
Swiss Leona Kernen and Annique Niederhauser will try to replicate the campaign that took them to the podium last year in Baden
Five of the eight players that competed in the semifinals in Baden last year will be back in 2024, with Swiss silver medalists Leona Kernen and Annique Niederhauser beginning in the main draw, Swiss bronze medalist Menia Bentele playing the qualifier with new partner Muriel Bossart and fourth-placed Germans Melanie Paul and Hanna-Marie Schieder also holding a main draw spot.
On the men’s side, the 28 teams entered represent 18 different nations. Europe accounts for 12 of these countries, with hosts Austria having five teams, Germany bringing four, Czechia and Norway entering two and Croatia, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia and Switzerland featuring one each. Seven teams will come from outside of Europe, with Australia having two and Argentina, Canada, Cameroon, Japan and the United States one each.
The winner of last year’s Baden Futures and also of the FIVB World Tour event held in the city in 2020, Austrian defender Philipp Waller will be back to defend his title, but with partner Martin Ermacora sidelined due to an injury, he will play with Laurenz Leitner.
Phlipp Waller (right) will try to defend the title he won last year without partner Martin Ermacora
Also present at the podium last year, Austrian blocker Timo Hammarberg, who took silver, begins in the qualifier with partner Tim Berger, while German bronze medalists Jonas and Benedikt Sagstetter are guaranteed in the main draw.
The Beach Pro Tour Futures events in Europe are run by the CEV in close cooperation with Volleyball World and provide teams from the continent with several opportunities to compete and gain valuable international ranking points.