The first major international beach volleyball event held in the United States since 2018, this week’s Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Newport Beach Elite ended up being a celebration of the success of American women in the sport, with duos from the host country ranking first and second.

The fans that followed the action in California got to cheer on winners Taryn Brasher and Kristen Nuss and runners-up Julia Donlin and Lexy Denaburg, who made it to the podium in front of their home crowed, joined by third-place finishers Eduarda ‘Duda’ Lisboa and Ana Patrícia Ramos of Brazil.

• Watch the Beach Pro Tour Newport Beach Elite replays on VBTV

The path for a very successful tournament for American teams started to be paved on Tuesday, when four teams from the host country survived the qualifier, getting the United States nine of the 16 participating duos in the main draw.

Pushed by their fans, the home teams continued to progress over the week, accounting for five of the eight quarterfinalists and three of the four semifinalists. The last two American teams standing met in the final, and Brasher and Nuss triumphed, beating Donlin and Denaburg in straight sets (21-15, 21-14) to secure the title.

“Playing at home made us feel great,” Brasher remarked. “We were very comfortable and very excited to be playing at home. We were going to battle and do whatever it took in practice to win this one. We saw a lot of what we had been doing in practice work in matches this week, and that was great too.”

The victory in Newport Beach was a special one for Brasher and Nuss, who for the first time in their careers got to play in a Beach Pro Tour event in their home country and to win it. The two continue to have a very successful 2025 season, which now has five medals (three golds, one silver, one bronze) in seven Beach Pro Tour Elite events.

“Winning this one here in America is huge,” Nuss said. “But also, at the start of the year, we said we wanted to win three golds this season and we knew coming into this tournament that we would either get our goal for the year or we wouldn’t. So, we pushed for it.”

Duda and Ana Patrícia win fifth-straight bronze

Olympic champions Duda and Ana Patrícia Ramos also made their fifth podium appearance of the season in Newport Beach, but for them, it was the fifth bronze, all earned in consecutive tournaments.

The Brazilians avoided an all-American podium with a two-set (21-11, 21-12) victory over Terese Cannon and Megan Kraft in the third-place match.

“It was a great pleasure to play here,” Ana Patrícia said. “We love playing in California, and I hope we can come back here for many, many years.”

Beach Pro Tour Newport Beach Elite - Match Schedule & Results

Next week, the Beach Pro Tour will have a Challenge event in Nuvali, the Philippines. The next Elite tournament will take place in Cape Town, South Africa, from October 22-26.

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