Beach Pro Tour 2022 - News

David Ahman & Jonatan Hellvig celebrate in Kuşadası

David Ahman & Jonatan Hellvig celebrate in Kuşadası

Sweden’s David Ahman and Jonatan Hellvig moved up nine positions in the men’s World Ranking after winning gold at the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Kuşadası Challenge on Sunday. Cinja Tillmann and Svenja Muller of Germany joined the top 10 in the women’s ranking.

20-year-old Ahman and Hellvig added 800 points to their tally for their first place in Turkey and rose from 19th last week to 10th this week on a new total of 3,140 points.

Stefan Boermans and Yorick de Groot of the Netherlands, Andre Stein and George Wanderley of Brazil and Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan of Qatar still lead the way in the ranking, in spots one to three. The only other upward movements in the top 10 were those of Chile’s Marco Grimalt and Esteban Grimalt, who reached the Kuşadası quarterfinals and moved from seventh to fourth, and of Latvia’s Aleksandrs Samoilovs and Janis Smedins, who went from eighth to sixth.

Pablo Herrera and Adrian Gavira, who were 20th in the ranking two weeks ago, closed in on the top 10, following their Madrid Futures silver and ninth-place finish in Kuşadası. The Spaniards are now 11th, 42 points above Michal Bryl and Bartosz Losiak and 100 points behind Ahman and Hellvig.

Kuşadası silver medallists Christopher McHugh and Paul Burnett picked up 760 points and rose from 22nd to 14th on a new total of 2,938. Third-placed Clemens Wickler and Nils Ehlers jumped 35 positions, from 74th to 39th.

At their rookie appearance as a pair, Poland’s Piotr Kantor and Maciej Rudol collected 600 points for reaching the Kuşadası quarterfinals and entered the World Ranking straight at position 126.

The women’s top 10 also features a new member. For their fifth place at the Kuşadası Challenge, Germany’s Tillmann and Muller picked up 600 points, enough to take position nine, which they now share with Latvia’s Anastasija Kravcenoka and Tina Graudina on 2,980 points each.

Brazil’s Elize Maia and Thamela Coradello failed to make it to the quarterfinals in Turkey, but their ninth place earned them 460 points, just enough to tie Switzerland’s Nina Brunner and Tanja Huberli in third place on 3,940 points apiece, 640 short of second-ranked compatriots Barbara Seixas and Carol Solberg and 1,120 short of the world’s number one team, Katja Stam and Raisa Schoon of the Netherlands.

Kuşadası gold medallists Taryn Kloth and Kristen Nuss of USA shot up 42 places, from 79th to 37th on a new total of 1,660 points. Runners-up Taliqua Clancy and Mariafe Artacho Del Solar of Australia rose from 30th to 17th, while American bronze medallists Terese Cannon and Sarah Sponcil gained 22 positions to 29th.

Meanwhile, both Madrid Futures finalists leaped into the top 100. Winners Paula Soria and Sofia Gonzalez of Spain took 400 points to jump 53 positions to 79th while runners-up Marta Menegatti and Valentina Gottardi of Italy climbed 63 positions to number 90.