Elite16 - Newport Beach, USA - 2025

Grimalts make first semifinal appearance of the season in Newport Beach

The Chileans will play Brazilians Evandro and Arthur – Qatar’s Cherif/Ahmed and USA’s Crabb/Crabb to meet on the other side of the bracket

Published 11:31, 10 Oct 2025

Evans/Budinger (USA) vs. Grimalt M./Grimalt E. (CHI) - Round of 12 #66778714

The Chilean Olympians won two matches on Friday to make it to the medal rounds

The Chilean Grimalt cousins Marco and Esteban are set to make their first semifinal appearance in the 2025 season of the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour on Saturday, when the Elite event held in Newport Beach comes to an end.

The South Americans will face Brazilian Olympians Evandro Gonçalves and Arthur Lanci in the first semifinal, scheduled for 9:00 local time (16:00 GMT), while Qatari Olympic medalists Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan play American brothers Taylor and Trevor Crabb one hour later. The final will begin at 14:00 (21:00 GMT).

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The 2025 Beach Pro Tour season has been a difficult one for the Grimalts, who played in 12 international events before traveling to California this week and only got to finish in the top ten three times, ranking ninth in the Yucatán and Veracruz Challenges and the Montréal Elite.

The three-time Olympians suffered the toughest blow of the year just over a month ago, when their coach, former Brazilian player Paulão Moreira, passed.

The Grimalts’ campaign in Newport Beach has had plenty of ups and downs, as after winning two qualifier matches on Tuesday, they dropped back-to-back pool play matches and only made it to the next round after Brazilians Saymon Barbosa and George Wanderley forfeited their encounter.

Friday, however, was the highest of their highs, as the Chileans produced two massive results, sweeping (21-19, 21-19) American Olympians Miles Evans and Chase Budinger in the Round of 12 and coming out on top in a dramatic three-set (25-23, 13-21, 20-18) battle to knock Swedish sensations Jacob Hölting Nilsson and Elmer Andersson down in the quarterfinals.

Grimalt M./Grimalt E. vs. Hölting Nilsson/Andersson, E - Match Highlights, 10/10/2025

Their semifinal opponents, Evandro and Arthur had a smoother day in Newport Beach, playing just once and progressing with a solid two-set (21-17, 21-18) victory over Norwegians Hendrik Mol and Mathias Berntsen.

Crabbs keep winning

Playing together internationally for the first time since 2016, the Crabbs also had to play twice to make it to the semifinals and become the only men’s team from hosts the United States with a chance of winning a medal in the first elite event in the country since 2018.

Trevor and Taylor started the day in the Round of 12 and counted on the support of the home fans to beat Australian Olympians Izac Carracher and Mark Nicolaidis 2-0 (21-13, 21-19). The victory built their confidence and resulted in another strong performance in the quarterfinals, where they took down German Olympic medalists Nils Ehlers and Clemens Wickler also in straight sets (21-14, 21-18).

Beach Pro Tour Newport Beach Elite - Match Schedule & Results

Cherif and Ahmed dropped their first set in Newport Beach after a perfect pool play campaign on Friday, but recovered and overcame Latvians Martins Plavins and Kristians Fokerots in the tie-breaker (18-21, 21-16, 15-10) in the quarterfinals in their only match of the day.