Italy crowns 2024 beach champions; national tour stop held in Türkiye

ITALY

The Finals of the Fonzies Absolute Italian Beach Volleyball Championship tour took place in Bellaria-Igea Marina to finalise the season’s standings and determine the 2024 national champions. Second-seeded Reka Orsi Toth & Giada Bianchi triumphed in the women’s competition and collected enough points to claim the crown. They grabbed the title after a 2-1 (21-23, 21-17, 15-10) turnaround in the final showdown against third-seeded Valentina Gottardi & Claudia Scampoli.

Top-seeded Chiara They & Sara Breidenbach settled for the season’s silver after a 2-0 (21-18, 21-13) sweep of the Bellaria-Igea Marina third-place match against Giada Benazzi & Michela Lantignotti, who finished fourth in the tournament, but took the season’s bronze in the Championship tour.

Women’s results and standings

In the men’s competition, the duo of Ivan Zaytsev & Daniele Lupo (pictured in the main photo; credits: Mancini Agency / FIPAV) only needed to finish fourth in Bellaria-Igea Marina to claim the national championship title. Seeded fourth in the main draw bracket, they finished third to claim the gold after a 2-0 (21-13, 21-11) sweep of their encounter with second-seeded Gianluca Dal Corso & Marco Viscovich, who finished third in the overall tour standings and took the bronze.

Sixth-seeded Carlo Bonifazi & Davide Benzi took the silver. They came second both in the season’s ranking and in the tournament. In the final, the top-seeded mixed Italian-French pairing of Samuele Cottafava & Remi Bassereau claimed victory over them in a 2-1 (16-21, 21-9, 15-12) comeback.

Men’s results and standings

TÜRKIYE

The last stop on Türkiye’s 2024 Bioderma Pro Beach Tour was held in Mersin. Pair from Iran Bahman Salemiinjehboroun & Alireza Aghajanighasab topped the men’s podium. In the final match, their opponents, top-seeded Yusuf Ozdemir & Batuhan Kuru, forfeited the game on an injury-prompted withdrawal. In the match for the third place, second-seeded Hasan Huseyin Mermer & Sacit Kurt managed a 2-0 (21-19, 21-15) win over Bulgaria’s Dimitar Kalchev & Dimitar Mehandzhiyski.

Men’s results and standings

The top-seeded duo in the women’s tournament, Nursel Yaren Sencel & Merve Celebi, lived up to their status and topped the podium. In the final, they mounted an epic 2-1 (19-21, 23-21, 20-18) comeback against fourth-seeded duo from Ukraine Kseniia Mazur & Anna Kalchenko. Second-seeded Ceylin Sayar & Su Simdim mastered a 2-0 (21-10, 21-19) sweep of the bronze medal game against Kubra Hatice Tanrikulu & Medine Korkmaz.

Women’s results and standings