Hosts Switzerland are guaranteed a medal at this week’s Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Elite event in Gstaad after two female teams from the host country advanced to the semifinals on Saturday, and home fans will get to see a local team on the podium in the Swiss Alps for the first time since 2012.

While Tanja Hüberli and Leona Kernen are set to face Latvians Tina Graudina and Anastasija Samoilova in the first semifinal on Sunday, the Vergé-Dépré sisters Anouk and Zoé will be matched with Americans Kristen Nuss and Taryn Brasher, the winners of the Gstaad Elite last year. The gold medal match is scheduled for 16:00 local time (14:00 GMT), with the dispute for bronze beginning two hours earlier.

• Watch Beach Pro Tour Gstaad Elite live on VBTV

One of the most traditional and iconic locations of international beach volleyball, Gstaad has not had a Swiss women’s team standing on the podium since 2012, when Simone Kuhn and Nadine Zumkehr finished third in the FIVB World Tour Grand Slam held in the city.

Interestingly, the fourth day of matches in the Swiss Alps started with a duel between the two home teams in the Round of 12, which ended with Anouk and Zoé topping Hüberli and Kernen in straight sets (21-18, 21-15). Despite the result, both teams progressed to the quarterfinals.

In the next round, Anouk and Zoé continued in great form and defeated Germans Sandra Ittlinger and Anna-Lena Grüne in two sets (21-10, 21-19) to make their fourth-straight semifinal appearance on the Beach Pro Tour after taking silver in the Spiez Futures, bronze in the Ostrava Elite and gold in the Alanya Challenge.

The Round of 12 upset, which marked Hüberli and Kernen’s first defeat in the event, didn’t faze the Swiss, who came back strong to beat Americans Terese Cannon and Megan Kraft 2-0 (21-17, 21-13) in the quarterfinals. A new team in 2025, they will have a chance to win their third medal as partners after claiming silver in the season-opening Yucatán Challenge and gold in the Spiez Futures.

Beach Pro Tour Gstaad Elite – Match Schedule & Results

Defending champions claim dramatic victory

Set to face Anouk and Zoé in the semifinals, Nuss and Brasher had to overcome two elimination rounds in Gstaad on Saturday and, if the first of them was always under their control and ended with a two-set (21-18, 21-13) victory over compatriots Julia Donlin and Lexy Denaburg in the Round of 12, the second couldn’t have had more drama.

The Americans were faced with Canadian Olympic medalists Brandie Wilkerson and Melissa Humana-Paredes and, after dropping the first set, had to deny four match points to their opponents after coming out on top 2-1 (19-21, 25-23, 15-7).

Guaranteed in the semifinals in Gstaad, where they also won bronze in 2023, the Americans are one win away from securing their fourth medal in Elite events this season – Nuss and Brasher took gold in Brasília, silver in Saquarema and bronze in Quintana Roo.

The fourth semifinalists and Hüberli and Kernen’s next opponents, Tina and Anastasija also needed a pair of victories to progress in Gstaad on Saturday. The Europeans swept (21-19, 21-16) Brandie and Melissa in the Round of 12 and got a dramatic three-set (21-19, 17-21, 15-13) victory over FIVB World Ranking leaders Thamela Coradello and Victoria Lopes of Brazil in the quarterfinals.

On Sunday, the Latvian Olympians will have the opportunity to win their second Beach Pro Tour medal in 2025 – they got silver in the Ostrava Challenge last month.

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