Teams receiving support from the FIVB Volleyball Empowerment program achieved significant success at the Brno Futures on the Beach Pro Tour. These teams swept all the women`s podium spots and secured a men`s bronze medal, highlighting the program`s impact. Czech Republic`s Valerie Dvornikova and Michaela Brinkova claimed gold, followed by France`s Elsa Descamps and Anouk Dupin with silver, and Estonia`s Heleene Hollas and Liisa Remmelg taking bronze. In the men`s competition, Switzerland`s Florian Breer and Luc Fluckiger earned a bronze medal. Local fans in Brno were treated to an all-Czech men`s final where Jakub Sepka and Jiri Sedlak defeated Adam Waber and Matyas Jezek.
FIVB Empowerment Program Support
The FIVB Volleyball Empowerment program has significantly bolstered national federations. The Czech Volleyball Federation has received USD 168,000 for women’s beach volleyball coach support, plus an additional USD 24,000 for national team coach development programs, benefiting from the expertise of Argentinean coach Sebastian Menegozzo.
France’s beach volleyball department has been allocated a substantial USD 1,077,000 in coach support funding, with their women’s national duos training under the guidance of Paris 2024 Olympian Youssef Krou. The Federation Francaise de Volleyball also received USD 5,500 in beach volleyball equipment.
Similarly, the Estonian Volleyball Federation’s beach volleyball department has secured USD 168,000 in coach support for their national teams, supervised by Beijing 2008 Olympian Rivo Vesik. Estonia’s beach volleyball program further received USD 11,500 in equipment.
Women`s Tournament Highlights
In Brno, Czech Republic`s 22-year-old Valerie Dvornikova and 23-year-old Michaela Brinkova achieved their first-ever Beach Pro Tour gold medal. As the 11th seeds in the women’s main draw, they powered through five consecutive matches undefeated to claim the trophy. Their journey to the final included a challenging all-Czech semifinal against fifth-seeded Anna Pospisilova and Daniela Mokra, which they won in a thrilling 2-1 comeback (15-21, 21-19, 16-14). In the final, Dvornikova and Brinkova showed immense resolve, securing another tough three-set comeback victory (27-29, 21-12, 15-12) over France’s Elsa Descamps and Anouk Dupin.
22-year-old Anouk Dupin maintained her remarkable consistency, achieving a podium finish at every Beach Pro Tour event she has entered this year. Her 2025 medal collection now boasts two golds, three silvers, and a bronze from six Futures tournaments with various partners, in addition to a bronze from 2023. This silver medal marked her second consecutive podium alongside Elsa Descamps, following their silver at the Montpellier Futures last month. For Descamps, this was her fourth career podium on the Beach Pro Tour. The second-seeded French pair reached the Brno final with a streak of four consecutive wins, culminating in a narrow 2-1 (21-12, 19-21, 17-15) semifinal victory against Heleene Hollas and Liisa Remmelg.
The fourth-seeded Estonians, Heleene Hollas and Liisa Remmelg, rebounded strongly in the third-place match, securing a 2-0 (21-16, 21-19) sweep against Pospisilova and Mokra. This victory earned them the bronze medal, completing the tournament with a 4-1 win-loss record, and marked their eighth Beach Pro Tour medal.
Men`s Tournament Overview
Swiss Volley’s beach volleyball department has received USD 366,000 in coach support from FIVB Volleyball Empowerment. This funding enables their men’s national teams to train effectively under the guidance of coach Philip Gabathuler.
In Brno, eighth-seeded Florian Breer and Luc Fluckiger of Switzerland secured their second Beach Pro Tour medal together, following their silver at the Geneva Futures in June. After a narrow semifinal defeat to Czechia’s Adam Waber and Matyas Jezek, they rallied to win a hard-fought bronze medal match 2-1 (21-19, 18-21, 15-13) against ninth-seeded Lubos Nemec and Adrian Petruf of Slovakia.
The top seeds in the men`s bracket, Jakub Sepka and Jiri Sedlak, had an dominant run in Brno, winning all five matches without dropping a single set. This stellar performance earned them their second gold and third overall medal on the Beach Pro Tour. The Czech duo secured their semifinal match 2-0 (21-18, 21-16) against Nemec and Petruf, before clinching the gold medal showdown with a decisive 2-0 (21-13, 21-16) victory over their 11th-seeded compatriots Waber and Jezek.
Adam Waber and Matyas Jezek replicated their silver medal finish from last year’s Brno Futures, adding a second podium placement to their Beach Pro Tour record. They advanced to the final after a hard-fought 2-1 (25-23, 18-21, 15-12) semifinal win against Breer and Fluckiger.
The Brno Futures tournament saw strong participation, with 28 women’s and 28 men’s duos from 21 different federations competing.
Looking ahead, the next Beach Pro Tour Futures events are scheduled to take place in Budapest, Hungary, and Warsaw, Poland, from September 4 to 7.
