FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships action is underway with world titles and two tickets to the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at stake.
Split into 12 pools, 48 men’s and 48 women’s teams will play 216 teams in Tlaxcala, Huamantla, and Apizaco in Mexico as the event has returned to Latin America for the first time in two decades.
Along with a spot at the Paris 2024 Olympics to their countries, the men’s and women’s winners will earn a share of the $ 1 million prize money as well.
When and Where to Watch the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships?
Venue: Tlaxcala, Huamantla, Apizaco
Dates: Friday, October 6 – Sunday, October 15
How to watch Live Stream:
Worldwide: VBTV ($3.75/month)
Latin America (including Argentina, Colombia, and Mexico): ESPN
United States: NBC
Canada: CBC
Brazil: SporTV
Format: FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships
As mentioned above, all teams are divided into pools with four teams. The top two teams from each pool and the best four teams that rank third in their respective pools will progress to the Round of 32.
The remaining eight third-placed teams will play a four-match lucky loser tournament/round for the last four spots in the elimination rounds. The Round of 32, Round of 16, quarter-finals, semifinals, and medal matches will be played in a single elimination format.
2023 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships preview
Five of the six teams that stepped on the podium at the 2022 World Championship in Rome are in action in the 14th edition of the tournament. This year’s edition’s entry lists also include 14 past world champions. Norway’s Andres Mol and Christian Sorum can become the first men’s team to defend a world title.
Third-seeded American Andy Benesh and Miles Partain have won their first two games; they started with a 21-9, 21-14 win over Peter Hernandez and Hernan Tovar of Venezuela and then won against Norway’s Hendrik Mol and Mathias Bernstein in Pool C.
The USA’s 45th-seeded Chase Budinger and Miles Evans lost to fourth-seeded Brazilians Andre Loyola and George Wanderly 21-17, 24-22 in Pool D.
Also in Pool D, Crabb-Brunner lost to 28th-seeded Ukrainians Sergiy Popov and Eduard Reznik 22-20, 18-21, 15-7 in their opening game but won against 21st-seeded fellow Americans Trevor Crabb and Theo Brunner.
Olympic bronze medallists Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan of Qatar began their event with a comprehensive 21-7, 21-4 win against Guatemala’s Andy Blanco and Luis Garcia in Pool G.
The 2013 world champions Alexander Brouwer and Robert Meeuwsen started the second day of the men’s tournament in impressive fashion against Thailand’s Poravid Taovato and Pithak Tipjan in Pool J, triumphing 21-14, 21-15.
In a competitive Pool K, Argentina’s Nicolás Capogrosso and Tomas Capogrosso took revenge for their defeat in last year’s South American Games final to Chile’s Marco Grimalt and Esteban Grimalt with a 24-22, 21-16 victory, and Poland’s Bartosz Łosiak and Michał Bryl beat France’s Rémi Bassereau and Julien Lyneel 21-18, 21-14.
On the women’s side, reigning world champions, Brazilians Ana Patrícia Ramos and Eduarda ‘Duda’ Lisboa won 21-5, 21-17 against Chile’s María Rivas and Chris Vorpahl in Pool A.
In Pool B in Huamantla, Kristen Nuss and Taryn Kloth secured a fine 21-15, 21-15 win against Japan’s Akiko Hasegawa and Yurika Sakaguchi.
In Pool C, Third-seeded Kelly Cheng and Sara Hughes opened their account with a 21-4, 21-10 win against Mexico’s Esperanza Albarran and Yeray Vidaurrazaga. Also in Pool C, Hughes-Cheng secured a win against Germans Karla Borger and Sandra Ittinger.
The silver medallist from last year, Brandie Wilkerson, has returned with a new partner, 2019 world champion Melissa Humana-Paredes, and is in Pool D.
In Pool E, Olympic silver medallists Taliqua Clancy and Mariafe Artacho del Solar of Australia started their campaign with a 21-16, 21-12 win against the Dominican Republic’s Bethania Almánzar and Julibeth Payano.
Pool F is the only one to feature two past world champions: 2015 champion Bárbara Seixas of Brazil (paired with Carol Salgado) and 2017 winner Laura Ludwig of Germany, partnered with Louisa Lippmann.
Cannon-Kraft won against Mexicans Ivanna Rivera and Susana Torres in Pool I. American duo Julia Scoles and Betsi Flint won against Austria’s Dorina Klinger and Ronja Klinger 21-17, 21-14 in Pool J.
Tokyo 2020 champion Alix Klineman has also returned four months after giving birth to her first child. She lost her first game with Harward at the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Elite 16 event in Paris but overcame a tough opening challenge at the World Championships of last year’s bronze medallists Svenja Müller and Cinja Tillmann of Germany 25-23, 21-14 in Pool K, with Klineman contributing 19 points in the match.
Also in Pool K, China’s Dong Jie and Wang Fan defeated Brazil’s Tainá Silva Bigi and Victória Lopes 21-19, 21-19 in their opening game.
Switzerland’s Tokyo 2020 bronze medallist Anouk Vergé-Dépré, with Joana Mäder, came from behind to beat Thailand’s Taravadee Naraphornrapat and Worapeerachayakorn Kongphopsarutawadee 22-24, 21-15, 15-12 in Pool L.
Schedule: FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships 2023
Monday, October 9
Women | Pool K | Müller/Tillmann vs J. Dong/Wang | 1:30
Women | Pool K | Tainá/Victoria vs Alix/Harward | 1:30
Men | Pool G | Cherif/Ahmed vs HA Likejiang/ Wu Jiaxin | 1:30
Men | Pool K | Grimalt M./Grimalt E. vs Bassereau/Lyneel
Women | Pool E | Mariafe/Clancy vs Liliana/Paula | 2:30
Men | Pool A | Lupo/Rossi vs Monjane/Ainadino Martinho | 2:30
Men | Pool C | Partain/Benesh vs Krou/Gauthier-Rat | 2:30
Men | Pool C | Mol, H./Berntsen vs Peter/Hernan | 2:30
Women | Pool B | Nuss/Cloth vs Paulikiene/Raupelyte | 3:30
Men | Pool J | Brouwer/Meeuwsen vs Nicolaidis/Carracher | 3:30
Men | Pool J | Immers/van de Velde vs T.Pithak/T. Poravid | 3:30
Men | Pool E | Ranghieri/Carambula vs Hörl/Horst | 3:30
Women | Pool B | Andressa/Vitoria vs Akiko/Yurika | 6:00
Women | Pool D | Melissa/Brandie vs Erika/Michelle | 6:00
Women | Pool J | Gottardi/Menegatti vs Klinger D./Klinger R. | 6:00
Women | Pool J | Scoles/Flint vs Quesada/Williams | 6:00
Men | Pool H | Cottafava/Nicolai vs McHugh/Burnett | 7:00
Men | Pool H | Herrera/Gavira vs Barajas/Cruz | 7:00
Men | Pool I | Perusic/Schweiner vs Galindo/Aguirre | 7:00
Men | Pool L | Sarabia/Virgen vs Schachter/Dearing | 7:00
Men | Pool L | Vitor Felipe/Renato vs Abicha/El Azhari | 8:00
Men | Pool D | George/Andre vs Crabb Tr./Brunner | 8:00
Men | Pool D | Popov/Reznik vs Evans/Budinger | 8:00
Men | Pool A | Seidl, R./Pristauz vs Mora/Lopez | 8:00
Women | Pool A | Mariafe/Clancy vs Gruszczynska/Wachowicz | 20:00
Men | Pool F | Ehlers/Wickler vs Schalk/Bourne | 20:00
Men | Pool F | Kantor/Zdybek vs Aravena/Droguett | 20:00
Men | Pool K | Łosiak/Bryl vs Grimalt M./Grimalt E. | 20:00
Women | Pool A | Ahtiainen/Lahti vs Rivas Zapata/Chris | 21:00
Women | Pool E | Liliana/Paula vs Almanzar/Payano | 21:00
Men | Pool B | Åhman/Hellvig vs Hodges/Schubert | 21:00
Men | Pool B | Pedrosa/Campos vs Leon/Marcos | 21:00
Women | Pool A | Ana Patrícia/Duda vs Placette/Richard | 22:00
Women | Pool F | Carol/Barbara vs Ludwig/Lippmann | 22:00
Women | Pool F | Ishii/Mizoe vs Bianchin/Scampoli | 22:00
Men | Pool I | Evandro/Arthur vs Perusic/Schweiner | 22:00
Women | Pool G | Hüberli/Brunner vs Tina/Anastasija | 23:00
Women | Pool G | Gallay/Pereyra vs Ariana/Karelys | 23:00
Men | Pool G | Cherif/Ahmed vs Pedro Solberg/Guto | 23:00
Men | Pool K | Capogrosso N./Capogrosso T. vs Bassereau/Lyneel | 23:00
Tuesday, October 10
Women | Pool B | Nuss/Kloth vs Andressa/Vitoria | 1:30
Women | Pool D | Melissa/Brandie vs Hermannova/Stochlova | 1:30
Women | Pool H | Stam/Schoon vs Esmée/Zoé | 1:30
Women | Pool H | Pavan/McBain vs Navas/Gonzalez | 1:30
Women | Pool B | Paulikiene/Raupelyte vs Akiko/Yurika | 2:30
Women | Pool D | Erika/Michelle vs Yakki/Mahassine | 2:30
Women | Pool J | Gottardi/Menegatti vs Scoles/Flint | 2:30
Women | Pool J | Klinger D./Klinger R. vs. Quesada/Williams / 2:30
Men | Pool G | HA Likejiang/Wu Jiaxin vs Blanco/Garcia | 3:30
Men | Pool J | Brouwer/Meeuwsen vs Immers/van de Velde | 3:30
Men | Pool J | Nicolaidis/Carracher vs T.Pithak/T. Poravid | 3:30
Men | Pool L | Schachter/Dearing vs El Azhari | 3:30
Women | Pool C | Ittlinger/Borger vs Albarran/Vidaurrazaga | 6:00
Women | Pool I | Álvarez M/Moreno vs Torres/Rivera | 6:00
Women | Pool L | Gutierrez/Flores vs Vergé-Dépré, A./Mäder | 6:00
Women | Pool L | Naraphornrapat/Worapeerachayakorn vs Vanessa/Sinaportar | 6:00
Men | Pool H | Cottafava/Nicolai vs Herrera/Gavira | 7:00
Men | Pool H | McHugh/Burnett vs Barajas/Cruz | 7:00
Men | Pool I | Alayo/Diaz vs Galindo/Aguirre | 7:00
Men | Pool L | Sarabia/Virgen vs Vitor Felipe/Renato | 7:00
Women | Pool C | Hughes/Ching vs Agatha/Rebecca | 8:00
Women | Pool I | Xue/X. Y. Xia vs. Cannon/Kraft | 8:00
Women | Pool K | Müller/Tillmann vs Tainá/Victoria | 8:00
Women | Pool K | J. Dong/ Wang vs Alix/Harward | 8:00
Lucky Losers tournament | TBD
Wednesday, 11 October
Women | Round of 32 | TBD
Men | Round of 32 | TBD
Thursday, 12 October
Women | Round of 16 | TBD
Men | Round of 16 | TBD
Friday, 13 October
Women’s quarter-finals | TBD
Men’s quarter-finals | TBD
Saturday, 14 October
Women | semi-finals | TBD
Men | semi-finals | TBD
Sunday, 15 October
Women | Third place match | TBD
Women | Final | TBD
Men | Third place match | TBD
Men | Final | TBD
