Samoilova and Graudiņa to become opponents in Saulkrasti
World champions Tīna Graudiņa and Anastasija Samoilova will compete against each other at the Latvian Championship stage in Saulkrasti, each with a different partner.
Tīna Graudiņa and Anastasija Samoilova, the reigning world champions and two-time European champions in beach volleyball, will face off as opponents at the second stage of the Latvian Championship, "Saulkrastu kokteilis." Both athletes will play with different partners: Graudiņa teams up with Līva Ēbere, while Samoilova partners with Spaniard Daniela Alvarez, with whom she already competed at the "Queen of the court" event in Hamburg earlier in June.
Qualifying rounds take place today, with the main tournament scheduled for June 26 and 27. The women's competition also includes teams from Estonia, Lithuania, and Switzerland.
In the men's event, the top-seeded Latvian duo Mārtiņš Pļaviņš and Kristians Fokerots lead the field. Among the contenders are last year's winners Ardis Daniels Bedrītis and Artūrs Rinkevičs, as well as 2023 champions Joakim Bello and Javier Bello from England, and Edgars Točs with Gustavs Auziņš.
The main draw begins on Friday, June 26, with finals traditionally held under floodlights on Saturday evening.
