Fokerots explains why Latvian duo had to win European U-22 beach volleyball title

Latvian beach volleyball duo Kristians Fokerots and Gustavs Auziņš won the European U-22 Championship in Madrid on Sunday, and Fokerots later told the Latvian Volleyball Federation why the victory mattered so much to them.

Fokerots said the pair avoided talking publicly about their ambitions, but privately both felt they simply had to achieve this result. This year was also their last opportunity to compete in this age group, since they will no longer qualify for the U-22 category next year.

The Latvian duo finished the tournament undefeated, winning every set they played. Opponents managed to score more than 18 points in only two of those sets, reflecting a dominant overall performance.

Pressure and adaptation

Fokerots acknowledged that their strong desire to win the title created additional pressure on themselves. He noted that youth tournaments are never easy — the Latvian pair usually enters as favorites, but from the very first matches they must adjust to opponents' levels, which leads to more mistakes. He explained that during a tournament, players first need to accept such errors will happen, then gradually raise their level of play toward the decisive matches. He compared this to their experience at Elite 16 tournaments with partner Mārtiņš Pļaviņš, where the situation is reversed — there, the Latvian pair must adapt upward toward the favorites' level.

A strong youth track record

Fokerots and Auziņš rank among the most successful players in youth beach volleyball. In 2022, they won the European U-18 Championship in Greece and the World U-19 Championship in Turkey. In 2024, they triumphed at the European U-20 Championship in Poland, and in 2025 they took first place at the World U-21 Championship in Mexico. The European U-22 title was the only major youth honor still missing from their collection — last year, Fokerots competed in this age group with a different partner and lost the final to a French duo.