Karla Borger and Julia Sude finished their 2021 season on a high note. Over five months later, their gold medal at the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour Finals in Cagliari is an added source of motivation as they approach the start of the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour season in Tlaxcala on Thursday.

The top German team are cautious about beginning the event with high expectations concerning their results, but at the same time they are enthusiastic about jumping into competitive action again.

“The Finals are, of course, still very present,” 34-year-old blocker Julia Sude told the German Federation website. “It was a special tournament because it took place in October, a few weeks after the rest of the season, with a focus on the top teams. For us, it was the best season ending we could have had, and we even won the tournament. We were asked about it all winter...

“It is, of course, a very nice feeling and gives us a lot of motivation. The feeling that we can invest so much in a competition even at the end of a very mixed season is great. That might sound like a cliché, but now we know not to give up when things are not going so well. We know that we are able to perform at a major tournament when it matters. That strengthens us and gives us a lot of self-confidence.”

Some medical problems during the off-season prevented the two Tokyo Olympians from having the best preparation for the new season, but they managed to attend two training camps, one in Egypt and one in Brazil, which gives them added confidence ahead of their Tlaxcala debut.

“Our preparation was not optimal because we had to deal with some health issues,” 33-year-old two-time Olympian Karla Borger said. “We're aware of that, which is why we're just happy to be fit and playing. Personally, I don't have huge expectations for the first tournament. I'm looking forward to being on the court and seeing where we're going, but we will do our best. I'm happy to finally be able to play competitively again.”

“We know that we won’t be able to pick up exactly where we left off in the autumn, because there was a long preparation phase in between,” Sude added. “The last few months have been a bit bumpy. Coronavirus incidents made it necessary to constantly reschedule flights, change training partners, and so on. But overall I'm very satisfied. We had two good training camps. Especially the last one in Rio de Janeiro was very good. We were able again to train fully for two weeks under extreme conditions.”

Borger and Sude were the only German duo to qualify directly for the Tlaxcala Challenge main draw. Seeded seventh, they will start the tournament in Pool F with a match against Czech qualifiers Barbora Hermannova and Marie-Sara Stochlova at 12:30 local time on Thursday. Sixth-seeded Mexicans Maria Quintero and Abril Flores and German qualifiers Cinja Tillmann and Svenja Muller are the other two teams in the pool - all brand new or recently formed pairings.

“Many new teams are showing up. We must adjust to that first. We are going into the first competition of the season with relatively neutral expectations, but will approach it with the same motivation and enthusiasm,” Sude said.

“Tlaxcala will be a very exciting tournament,” said Borger. “It is the first tournament of the season and there are many new team formations. So it's cool that we're an experienced team, we know each other well and we have overcome many stressful situations together on the court, most recently, of course, the World Tour Finals, which we are still feeding off of. We get a lot of motivation from that. We are at an altitude of 2,400m and this is very special and also something new for us. We sense it in our breathing...”

Borger and Sude are entering their fourth season together as a team. They know that it will be a long season, so their plan is to be flexible in their plan. In addition to the Beach Pro Tour events they have signed up for, the year ahead also includes the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships in Rome and the European Championships at home in Munich.

“We are planning our season in sections this year, because it could be very long,” said Borger. “The summer offers many highlights, sometimes close together, so we have to distribute our energy throughout the season. It will be difficult to play the entire season at the highest level.”

“Right now our planning is tournament-to-tournament oriented,” Sude confirmed. “We have a rough season plan, but we have to remain flexible.”

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