Two additional nations have secured their places in the 2025 CEV Beach Volley Nations Cup Finals. On Saturday in Riga, Latvia, the Austrian men`s team and the Ukrainian women`s team emerged victorious in their Preliminary Phase pools, earning them the right to compete for the title in four weeks.
Austrians and Ukrainians were the winners in Riga
The Beach Nations Cup, an innovative `country vs country` format introduced in 2022, akin to tennis`s Davis Cup, will host its 2025 Finals in Espinho, Portugal, from July 17-20. Eight national teams will compete in each gender category.
On the men`s side, hosts Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, Czechia, France, Denmark, and Austria have already confirmed their participation. For the women, Spain, Estonia, Germany, the Netherlands, France, and Ukraine have qualified.
Austria`s qualification in Riga was particularly dramatic. The Austrian men`s national team narrowly defeated hosts Latvia in Pool B, securing first place based on a superior point-ratio tie-breaker to clinch their spot in the Finals.
CEV Beach Nations Cup – Men’s Pool B
Austrian men pose with the trophy
Following their win against Israel on Friday, Austria and Latvia faced off on Saturday with a spot in the Finals at stake. The Austrians took the first match, with Julian Hörl and Moritz Pristauz triumphing over Arturs Rinkevics and Ardis Bedritis 2-1 (21-19, 21-23, 15-4). Although Tim Berger and Timo Hammarberg lost the second match 2-0 (21-16, 25-23) to the reigning European champions Martins Plavins and Kristians Fokerots, Austria`s better point ratio across the two matches secured their overall victory in the tie.
Julian Hörl
Austrian Beach Volleyball Player
Ukraine`s path to qualification among the women was more decisive. The Ukrainian teams dominated their matches against both Israeli and Latvian opponents on Friday and Saturday at the O-Sands Beach Stadium, finishing atop Pool C.
Ukrainian women take a selfie after their victory
On Friday, Valentyna Davidova and Anhelina Khmil convincingly defeated Israelis Ronni Lavie and Shiray Danenberg 2-0 (21-8, 21-7). Later, Maryna Hladun and Tetiana Lazarenko also won their match against Daniela Gonzalez and Dafna Maor in straight sets (21-11, 21-13).
CEV Beach Nations Cup – Women’s Pool C
The crucial series against the Latvians began with Davidova and Khmil sweeping Līva Ēbere and Paula Krieva 2-0 (21-17, 21-16). Hladun and Lazarenko then clinched the tie by beating Anija Ozolina and Marta Ozolina in a tie-breaker (21-18, 17-21, 15-11).
The final qualification spots for the Finals in both genders will be determined on Sunday in Vilnius. The remaining pools feature Lithuania, Croatia, Finland, and Norway competing in the women`s event, while Lithuania, Bulgaria, Poland, and Slovenia vie for qualification on the men`s side.
Gideon Holt