Lausanne, Switzerland, August 29, 2017 - Following another epic celebration of pro beach volleyball, this one in Germany, the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) has now finished the 2017 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour.
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Swatch Beach Volleyball FIVB World Tour Finals presented by VodafoneFIVB Beach Volleyball World TourFIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships Vienna 2017 presented by A1FIVB.com - Beach VolleyballLatest VideosFacebookTwitterInstagramMedia GuidesLast week, the 2017 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour concluded with the $800,000 2017 Swatch Beach Volleyball FIVB World Tour Finals presented by Vodafone. The event started on Tuesday (August 23) and concluded this past Sunday (August 27) with a team from the United States winning the men’s gold medal and a team from host Germany winning the women’s gold medal. The World Tour finals were held in the sold-out Red Bull Beach Arena in Hamburg, Germany. The finals featured the top eight teams in the FIVB World Rankings along with four wild card selections for each gender.
Hamburg - Men
Winning the men’s gold medal last week in Hamburg with a perfect 5-0 match record and a 10-1 set record was USA’s top-seeded Olympians Phil Dalhausser/Nick Lucena who stopped Brazil’s second-seeded world champions Evandro Goncalves/Andre Loyola in straight sets, 2-0 (21-15, 21-13) in 36 minutes. It was the 37th career FIVB World Tour gold medal for Dalhausser, eighth for Lucena and eighth FIVB gold medal for the Dalhausser/Lucena tandem who have now played in 27 FIVB World Tour events as a team.
Earning the men's podium spots in last week's tour finals were, from left, Brazil's Evandro/Andre (silver), USA's Phil Dalhausser/Nick Lucena (gold) and Italy's Paolo Nicolai/Daniele Lupo (bronze).
USA’s Dalhausser/Lucena earned $100,000 in prize money in addition to earning the gold medal for the first time in the Swatch FIVB World Tour Finals. It was the 69th career FIVB final four appearance for Dalhausser and 26th career FIVB final four finish for Lucena. The American Olympians came to Hamburg after winning the gold medal at the AVP Manhattan Beach Open in the United States the week before heading back to Europe.
It was the second silver medal in just nine FIVB World Tour events for Brazil’s Evandro/Andre. Individually, it was the 15th final four finish and seventh career FIVB silver medal for Evandro and fifth final four and second career FIVB silver medal for the 23-year old Andre.
Earning the men’s bronze medal in Hamburg was Italy’s fifth-seeded Daniele Lupo/Paolo Nicolai who held off Poland’s sixth-seeded Piotr Kantor/Bartosz Losiak in three sets, 2-1 (21-17, 19-21, 15-12) in 50 minutes. Playing in their 67th FIVB World Tour event, it was the eighth bronze medal for Italy’s two-time Olympians Lupo/Nicolai. The Italian duo has also won three career FIVB gold medals and the tandem is the 2017 European champions.
In the Swatch FIVB World Tour Finals men’s semifinals, USA’s Dalhausser/Lucena advanced to the gold medal match by defeating Poland’s Kantor/Losiak 2-0 (21-19, 21-15) in 37 minutes and Brazil’s Evandro/Andre advanced by defeating Italy’s Lupo/Nicolai in two sets, 2-0 (21-19, 21-15) in 41 minutes.
Italy's Paolo Nicolai, right, in action at last week's Swatch Beach Volleyball FIVB World Tour Finals.
Hamburg - Women
Winning the women’s gold medal at the women’s FIVB World Championships with a sterling 5-0 match record and a 10-1 set record was Germany’s 10th-seeded Olympic and world champions Laura Ludwig/Kira Walkenhorst who held off Brazil’s powerful fourth-seeded Agatha Bednarczuk/Eduarda ‘Duda’ Lisboa in three sets, 2-1 (21-17, 19-21, 15-10) in 51 minutes, the longest women’s match in the tournament.
Playing in their 43rd FIVB tournament as a team, it was the 11th career FIVB gold medal for Ludwig and Walkenhorst both as a team and individually as well. Winning after keeping their hometown fans that packed the stadium to overflowing on the edge of their seats, the German duo collected $100,000 in prize money in addition to earning the gold medal.
Shining brightly on he podium in Hamburg, Germany the women's podium for the 2017 Swatch FIVB World Tour Finals, from left, Brazil's Agatha/Dunda (silver), Germany's Kira Walkenhorst/Laura Ludwig (gold) and Brazil's Larissa/Talita (bronze).For Brazil’s Bednarczuk/Duda, it was just their second silver medal to go with one gold medal and three bronze medals in just nine tournaments as a team. Duda, just 19 years old, also was the youngest player to earn a women’s podium finish in the three year history of the increasingly-popular tournament.
A truly remarkable run considering they both have had injuries and surgeries, Germany’s Ludwig/Walkenhorst duo has now won the gold medal at the most recent Olympic Games, the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships, the Swatch Beach Volleyball FIVB World Tour Finals twice, the CEV European Championships and the German National Championships.
Earning the women’s bronze medal at the Swatch FIVB World Tour Finals was Brazil’s second-seeded Talita Antunes/Larissa Franca who stopped Canada’s emerging third-seeded Sarah Pavan/Melissa Humana-Paredes in straight sets, 2-0 (21-17, 21-19) in 36 minutes. For Brazil’s Talita/Larissa, they have now competed in 36 FIVB World Tour events as a team, it was their third bronze medal as a team to go along with 16 gold medals and three silver medals.
For Larissa, finishing her 15th FIVB season, it was her 112th FIVB World Tour final four finish with 62 career gold medals, 23 silver medals, 20 bronze medals and seven fourth place finishes. For Talita it was her 86th FIVB World Tour final four finish with 34 career gold medals, 17 silver medals, 16 bronze medals and 18 fourth place finishes.
Brazil's legendary Larissa Franca, left and Talita Antunes worked hard to earn the women's bronze medal in Hamburg last week.For Canada’s Pavan/Humana-Paredes it was their third fourth place finish and seventh final four finish in eight tournaments as a team.
To reach the women’s gold medal match in the Swatch FIVB World Tour Finals from their respective semifinals, Germany’s Ludwig/Walkenhorst stopped Canada’s Pavan/Humana-Paredes in two sets, 2-0 (21-15, 21-14) in 35 minutes and Brazil’s Agatha/Duda iced Brazil’s Talita/Larissa in straight sets, 2-0 (21-12, 21-12) in just 29 minutes.
Men's rankings
Brazil’s Evandro Goncalves/Andre Loyola leads this week’s FIVB World Rankings with 4,180 points, second is Italy’s Daniele Lupo/Paolo Nicolai with 3,920 points, third is Russia’s Viacheslav Krasilnikov/Nikita Liamin with 3,900 points, fourth is USA’s Phil Dalhausser/Nick Lucena with 3,840 points and fifth is Brazil’s Saymon Barbosa/Alvaro Filho with 3,760 points.
Sixth is Poland’s Piotr Kantor/Bartosz Losiak with 3,740 points, seventh is Brazil’s Olympic champions Alison Cerutti/Bruno Oscar Schmidt with 3,340 points, eighth is Austria’s Clemens Doppler/Alexander Horst with 3,156 points, ninth is Brazil’s Gustavo ‘Guto’ Carvalhaes/Pedro Solberg with 3,100 points, 10th is Canada’s Sam Pedlow/Sam Schachter with 2,900 points, 11th is Spain’s Adrian Gavira/Pablo Herrera with 2,80 points, 12th is Latvia’s Aleksandrs Samoilovs/Janis Smedins with 2,600 points, 13th is Russia’s Oleg Stoyanovskiy/Artem Yarzutkin with 2,752 points, 14th is Belgium’s Dries Koekelkoren/Tom van Walle with 2,496 points and 15th is USA’s Ryan Doherty/John Hyden with 2,480 points.
Men's earnings
In the 2017 FIVB World Tour final men’s earnings, USA’s Phil Dalhausser/Nick Lucena duo with $208,000 in seven events with three gold medals finished on the top rung on the money ladder, second was Brazil’s Evandro Goncalves/Andre Loyola with $200,500 in nine events with one gold medal. Third was Italy’s Daniele Lupo/Paolo Nicolai with $129,500 in eight events, fourth was Poland’s Piotr Kantor/Bartosz Losiak with $128,000 in nine events and fifth was Russia’s Viacheslav Krasilnikov/Nikita Liamin with $112,100 in 11 events with two gold medals.
USA's Nick Lucena, left and Phil Dalhausser thrilled packed houses as the American duo won three gold medals and a tour-high $202,000 in the seven events in which they played on the 2017 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour.Sixth was Brazil’s Saymon Barbosa/Alvaro Filho with $100,000 in nine events with one gold medal, seventh was Austria’s Clemens Doppler/Alexander Horst with $98,000 in eight events, eighth was Spain’s Adrian Gavira/Pablo Herrera with $79,000 in nine events, ninth was Brazil’s Olympic Champions Alison Cerutti/Bruno Oscar Schmidt with $78,000 in seven events with one gold medal, and 10th was Brazil’s Gustavo ‘Guto’ Carvalhaes/Pedro Solberg with $77,000 in eight events with one gold medal.
Women's rankings
Brazil’s Talita Antunes/Larissa Franca duo continues at the top of the current women’s FIVB World Rankings with 5,560 points, second is Canada’s Melissa Humana-Parades/Sarah Pavan with 4,480 points, third is Germany’s Chantal Laboureur/Julia Sude with 4,240 points, fourth is Brazil’s Agatha Bednarczuk/Eduarda ‘Duda’ Lisboa with 4,000 points and fifth is the Czech Republic’s Barbora Hermannova/Marketa Slukova with 3,460 points.
Sixth is Brazil’s Fernanda Alves/Barbara Seixas with 3,180 points, seventh is the Czech Republic’s Kristyna Kolocova/Michala Kvapilova with 3,032 points, eighth is Switzerland’s Joana Heidrich/Anouk Verge-Depre with 2,940 points, ninth is USA’s Summer Ross/Brooke Sweat with 2,700 points, 10th is Australia’s Louise Bawden/Taliqua Clancy with 2,616 points, 11th is Canada’s Heather Bansley/Brandie Wilkerson with 2,600 points, 12th is Germany’s Laura Ludwig/Kira Walkenhorst with 2,556 points, 13th is Switzerland’s Nina Betschart/Tanja Huberli with 2,412 points, 14th is Germany’s Victoria Bieneck/Isabel Schneider with 2,060 points and 15th is Germany’s Nadja Glenzke/Julia Grossner with 1,990 points.
Women's earnings
In the final 2017 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour women’s earnings, Brazil’s Talita Antunes/Larissa Franca finished in the top spot with $208,000 in nine events with three gold medals, second was Brazil’s Agatha Bednarczuk/Eduarda ‘Duda’ Lisboa, with $172,000 in earnings in nine events with one gold medal, third was Germany’s Olympic Champions/world champions/FIVB World Tour Finals Champions Laura Ludwig/Kira Walkenhorst with $170,000 in five events with two gold medals, fourth was Canada’s Melissa Humana-Paredes/Sarah Pavan with $161,000 in eight events with one gold medal and fifth was Germany’s Chantal Laboureur/Julia Sude with $122,500 in nine events with one gold medal,
Sixth in earnings was the Czech Republic’s Barbora Hermannova/Marketa Slukova with $101,000 in nine events, seventh was Switzerland’s Joana Heidrich/Anouk Verge-Depre with $82,000 in eight events, eighth was USA’s Summer Ross/Brooke Sweat with $76,000 in eight events and tied for ninth with $72,000 in earnings each were Switzerland’s Nina Betschart/Tanja Huberli with $52,000 in nine events and USA’s Lauren Fendrick/April Ross in five events.
Men's Final Fours
After the last of the tournaments on the 2017 FIVB World Tour, 22 countries had at least one final four placement. Leading with 10 final four placements is Brazil (five gold medals, two silver medals, two bronze medals, one fourth place finish), second with eight final fours was the United States (three gold medals, one bronze medal, four fourth place finishes), third with seven final four finishes was Russia (two gold medals, one silver medal, three bronze medals, one fourth place finish) and tied for fourth with five final four placements each was Italy (two silver medals, three bronze medals) and Poland (three silver medals, two bronze medals).
Sixth with three final four placements is Germany (one gold medal, two fourth place finishes) and tied for seventh with two final four placements each are Australia (one gold medal, one silver medal), Austria (two silver medals), Latvia (two fourth place finishes), Netherlands (one gold medal, one fourth place finish), Norway (one bronze medal, one fourth place finish) and Qatar (two silver medals). Tied for 13th with one final four placement each are Cuba (one gold medal), Estonia (one bronze medal), France (one gold medal), Iran (one bronze medal), Mexico (one bronze medal), Morocco (one fourth place finish), New Zealand (one bronze medal), Serbia (one fourth place finish), Spain (one silver medal) and Switzerland (one fourth place finish).
Women's Final Fours
After 19 women’s FIVB World Tour events in 2017, 17 countries earned at least one final four finish. Leader in final four placements with 18 was Brazil (seven gold medals, three silver medals, five bronze medals, three fourth place finishes), second with 11 was Germany (three gold medals, two silver medals, two bronze medals, four fourth place finishes), third with nine final four finishes was Canada (three gold medals, two silver medals, one bronze medal, three fourth place finishes) and fourth with six final fours was the United States (two gold medals, two silver medals, two fourth place finishes) and fifth with five final fours was the Czech Republic (two silver medals, two bronze medals, one fourth place finish).
Tied for sixth with four final fours each were China (one gold medal, three silver medals) and Switzerland (one gold medal, one silver medal, one bronze medal, one fourth place finish). Tied for eighth with three final fours were Australia (one silver medal, two bronze medals) and Thailand (two silver medals, one fourth place finish). Tied for 10th with two each were Austria (one bronze medal, one fourth place finish) Japan (one gold medal, one silver medal), Lithuania (two bronze medals) and New Zealand (one bronze medal, one fourth place). Tied for 14th with one final four placement each were France (one bronze medal), Greece (one bronze medal), and Paraguay (one fourth place finish) and Russia (one fourth place finish).
Men's winning percentage
Based on percentage, statistically, after 15 men’s events complete the 2017 FIVB World Tour with a minimum of 15 matches played, 2017 leader at 87.5 per cent was USA’s Phil Dalhausser/Nick Lucena (35-5), second at 75.7 per cent was Brazil’s Alison Cerutti/Bruno Oscar Schmidt (28-9), third at 72.0 per cent is Netherlands’ Alexander Brouwer/Robert Meeuwsen (18-7), fourth at 71.7 per cent was Italy’s Daniele Lupo/Paolo Nicolai (33-13) and fifth at 70.7 per cent was Brazil’s Gustavo ‘Guto’ Carvalhaes/Pedro Solberg (29-12).
Sixth at 68.0 per cent was Russia’s Viacheslav Krasilnikov/Nikita Liamin (34-16), seventh at 65.9 per cent was Poland’s Piotr Kantor/Bartosz Losiak (29-15), eighth at 65.7 per cent was Austria’s Clemmen Dopler/Alexander Horst (23-12), ninth at 65.2 per cent was Cuba’s Nivaldo Diaz/Sergio Gonzalez (15-8) and 10th at 65.0 per cent was Spain’s Adrian Gavira/Pablo Herrera (26-14).
Men's match wins
With 35 match wins on the final 2017 FIVB World Tour standings after 15 events, leading this category was USA’s Phil Dalhausser/Nick Lucena (30-5), second with 34 match wins was Russia’s Viacheslav Krasilnikov/Nikita Liamin (34-16), third with 33 match wins was Italy’s Daniele Lupo/Paolo Nicolai (33-13), tied for fourth with 29 match wins each were Brazil’s Gustavo ‘Guto’ Carvalhaes/Pedro Solberg (29-12) and Poland’s Piotr Kantor/Bartosz Losiak (29-15).
Sixth with 28 match wins on the 2017 FIVB World Tour was Brazil’s Alison Cerutti/Bruno Oscar Schmidt (28-9), tied for seventh with 26 match wins each were Spain’s Adrian Gavira/Pablo Herrera (26-14) and Brazil’s Evandro Goncalves/Andre Loyola (26-18), ninth with 25 match wins was Brazil’s Saymon Barbosa/Alvaro Filho (25-14) and 10th with 23 match wins was Austria’s Clemens Doppler/Alexander Horst (23-12).
Women's winning percentage
Based on percentage, statistically, in women’s on the 2017 FIVB World Tour after 19 total events with a minimum of 19 matches played, the final leader at 83.3 per cent was Germany’s Laura Ludwig/Kira Walkenhortst (20-4), second at 81.5 per cent was Brazil’s Talita Antunes/Larissa Franca (44-10), third at 79.2 per cent was Canada’s Melissa Humana-Paredes/Sarah Pavan (38-10), fourth at 78.6 per cent was Brazil’s Maria Antonelli/Carolina Salgado (22-6) and fifth at 72.5 per cent was Brazil’s Agatha Bednarczuk/Eduarda ‘Duda’ Lisboa (37-14).
Sixth at 70.7 per cent was Czech Republic’s Barbora Hermannova/Marketa Slukova (29-12), seventh at 68.9 per cent was Germany’s Chantal Laboureur/Julia Sude (31-14), eighth at 63.3 per cent was Brazil’s Taiana Lima/Elize Maia (19-11), ninth at 62.5 per cent was Czech Republic’s Kristyna Kolocova/Michala Kvapilova (20-12), 10th at 62.1 per cent was Australia’s Louise Bawden/Taliqua Clancy (18-11), 11th at 61.5 per cent was Switzerland’s Joana Heidrich/Anouk Verge-Depre (24-15) and 12th at 60.9 per cent was Brazil’s Fernanda Alves/Barbara Seixes (28-18).
Women's match wins
For the women in match wins at the conclusion of the 2017 FIVB World Tour following the 19 events, the winner with 44 match wins was Brazil’s Talita Antunes/Larissa Franca (44-10), second with 38 match wins was Canada’s Melissa Humana-Paredes/Sarah Pavan (38-10), third with 37 match wins was Brazil’s Agatha Bednarczuk/Eduarda ‘Duda’ Lisboa (37-14), fourth with 31 match wins is Germany’s Chantal Laboureur/Julia Sude (31-14) and fifth with 29 match wins was Czech Republic’s Barbora Hermannova/Marketa Slukova (29-12).
Sixth with 28 match wins during the 2017 FIVB World Tour was Brazil’s Fernanda Alves/Barbara Seixas (28-18), seventh with 24 match wins was Switzerland’s Joana Heidrich/Anouk Verge-Depre (24-15), eighth with 23 match wins was USA’s Summer Ross/Brooke Sweat (23-16), ninth with 22 match wins was Brazil’s Maria Antonelli/Carolina Salgado (22-6), and tied for 10th with 20 match wins each were Germany’s Laura Ludwig/Kira Walkenhorst (20-4) and Switzerland’s Nina Betschart/Tanja Huberli (20-17).
Germany's Kira Walkenhorst, right, battles at the net during the 2017 Swatch FIVB World Tour Finals.
On the horizon
The 2017 portion of the 2018 FIVB World Tour will start in Montpellier, France with a men’s 1-Star tournament (September 7-9) and Qinzhou, China with a double-gender 3-Star event (October 11-15).
Growing history
The Montpellier 1-star will be the 368th men’s tournament since the FIVB began play in 1987 and the Swatch FIVB World Tour Finals was the 332nd women’s tournament since the FIVB launched women’s competition started in 1992.