A new team on the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour in 2025, Spanish Adrián Gavira and Alejandro Huerta are set to appear together in the main draw of an Elite event for the first time this week, after overcoming the qualifier of the tournament held in Newport Beach on Tuesday.

The Spanish were among the four men’s teams that won a pair of matches in California on Tuesday, claiming the last spots in the main draw of the tenth Elite event of the 2025 season. England’s Javier Bello/Joaquin Bello, Chile’s Marco Grimalt/Esteban Grimalt and Australia’s Thomas Hodges/Paul Burnett also advanced.

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

The two became partners after Gavira’s longtime partner and Spanish legend Pablo Herrera retired at the end of the 2024 season. Injuries have severely impacted their inaugural season as partners, as the two didn’t get to compete together until June.

In four events as partners, the 38-year-old Gavira and the 27-year-old Huerta posted a pair of top-ten finishes in Challenge events, but had yet to make it to a main draw at the Elite level after falling in qualifiers in Montréal and João Pessoa.

That changed on Tuesday in Newport Beach, when the Europeans topped Czechs Tomas Semerad and Adam Stocek 2-0 (21-10, 21-17) in the first round of the qualifier and repeated the sweep (21-19, 21-13) against Americans Tim Brewster and Ryan Ierna a few hours later to advance.

In the main draw, they will be part of Pool C, alongside Brazil’s Evandro Gonçalves/Arthur Lanci, Latvia’s Martins Plavins/Kristians Fokerots and USA’s Taylor Crabb/Trevor Crabb.

Bellos return to the main draw

Overcoming the qualifier in Newport Beach was also an accomplishment for the English Bello twins, who were knocked out before playing in the main draw in the two Elite events held in Brazil in September. In California, they were more competitive and qualified after topping New Zealand’s Bradley Fuller and Ben O'Dea 2-0 (21-19, 21-17) and beating Americans Robert Harrison and Cody Caldwell also in straight sets (21-15, 21-18).

Australians Hodges and Burnett started the day with a two-set (27-25, 21-14) victory over Czechs Tadeas Trousil and Jiri Sedlak and qualified after topping Brazilians Heitor Benito and Vinícius Freitas in the tie-breaker (21-19, 13-21, 15-11).

The Grimalts took the opposite path, playing three sets (19-21, 21-91, 16-14) in their first match of the day, against English Frederick Bialokoz and Issa Batrane and getting the job done in two (21-18, 23-21) against Italians Alex Ranghieri and Manuel Alfieri in the second round.

Beach Pro Tour Newport Beach Elite - Match Schedule & Results

The main draw will start on Wednesday, with the first 12 pool play matches. Pool play will continue until Thursday, with the three best teams in each pool advancing. The Round of 12 and the quarterfinals will be held on Friday, with the semifinals and medal matches following on Saturday.

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