Graudina/Samoilova and two other Latvian pairs set for Hamburg main draw
World champions Tina Graudina/Anastasija Samoilova, 2024 European champions Martins Plavins/Kristians Fokerots and Latvian champions Arturs Rinkevics/Ardis Bedritis will open their Hamburg main draw campaigns on Wednesday.
Three Latvian beach volleyball duos will play their first matches in the main draw of the Hamburg Elite16 tournament on Wednesday, 6 August.
World champions Tina Graudina and Anastasija Samoilova, seeded third, are placed in Group C. They will face German qualifiers Annalena Grüne and Janne Uhl, the American pair Molly Shaw and Molly Phillips, and Swiss duo Nina Brunner and Tanja Hüberli. In previous Hamburg appearances, Graudina/Samoilova finished fifth in 2025, ninth in 2023 and 13th in 2022.
Last year's European champions Martins Plavins and Kristians Fokerots, seeded fifth, are in Group D. Their opponents are Americans Hayes Schalk and James Shaw, Swiss qualifiers Julian Friedli and Jonathan Jordan, and Germans Paul Henning and Lukas Pfrechner. Plavins and Fokerots are making their second appearance in the tournament; last year they took fourth place.
Latvian champions Arturs Rinkevics and Ardis Bedritis, seeded 16th, are in Group A alongside Swedes Jakob Hellting-Nilsson and Elmer Andersson, Poles Michal Bryl and Bartosz Losiak, and Norwegians Hendrik Mol and Mathias Berntsen. This is their second start in Hamburg; in 2024 they lost in the opening qualifying round 19-17 in the deciding set.
Meanwhile, Edgars Tocs and Gustavs Auzins failed to get past qualifying this time.
The European Beach Volleyball Championship begins on 12 August in Stare Jablonki, with three Latvian teams taking part.
