Graudiņa/Samoilova secure second win, advance to European Championship round of 16

Latvia's top beach volleyball duo, Tīna Graudiņa and Anastasija Samoilova, continued their strong run at the European Championship in Stare Jabłonki, Poland. On Thursday, the reigning world champions and the tournament's top seeds defeated Ukraine's Valentina Davidova and Anhelina Khmil, seeded 16th, in straight sets 21:18, 21:17.

The win secured the Latvians first place in Group A, following their convincing victory a day earlier over Estonia's Helēna Hollas and Liisa Remmelg. Ukraine's pair had also picked up a win on Wednesday, beating Spain's Sofía Izuzquiza and Tania Moreno.

Knockout stage begins Friday

The championship's knockout phase starts on Friday. Group winners, including Graudiņa and Samoilova, advance directly to the second round of the elimination bracket, while teams finishing second or third continue from the first round of the play-off. Winners of both the men's and women's tournaments will also earn a qualification spot for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

Other Latvian pairs also in action

In the men's competition, other Latvian teams were also competing Thursday. Mārtiņš Pļaviņš and Kristians Fokerots were fighting for first place in Group D, while Edgars Točs and Gustavs Auziņš aimed for third place, which would allow them to continue in the play-off round. Earlier, in an all-Latvian matchup, Pļaviņš and Fokerots had defeated their compatriots in straight sets.

This is not the first European success for Graudiņa and Samoilova, who previously won continental titles in 2019 and 2022. Latvia's first European beach volleyball champions were Inguna Minusa and Inese Jursone in 2009, while in the men's event, Jānis Šmēdiņš and Aleksandrs Samoilovs won in 2015, followed by Pļaviņš and Fokerots in 2024. The championship in Poland concludes on Sunday.