Topping the women’s bracket for the Ostrava Elite main draw, American Olympians Kristen Cruz & Taryn Brasher will lead Pool A. They earned gold at all three of their most recent appearances at Elite events – in Newport Beach, in Joao Pessoa and in Saquarema – and are riding the wave of a 20-match winning streak on the Tour. Meanwhile, they also claimed silver at the Adelaide 2025 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championship. Cruz & Brasher’s first opponent in Ostrava will emerge from Wednesday’s qualifications. Their pool also features Netherlands’ Katja Stam & Raisa Schoon and USA’s Piper Ferch & Teegan Van Gunst, who will meet one another in one of the first-leg matches.
The current number one team in the world, Brazil’s Carol Solberg & Rebecca Cavalcanti, headlines Pool B. The World Championship bronze medalists arrive in Czechia as the winners of the previous Elite event, held in Brasilia four weeks ago. Carol & Rebecca are waiting to find out who their first opponents in Ostrava will be. In their second and third matches in the pool, they will face Italy’s Claudia Scampoli & Giada Bianchi and USA’s Kelly Cheng & Megan Kraft. Cheng has already won the Ostrava tournament twice with different partners.
Pool C will be led by reigning world champions and current number two in the World Ranking Tina Graudina & Anastasija Samoilova. The two-time Olympians from Latvia are looking for their first Beach Pro Tour podium after their triumph at Adelaide 2025. In this pool, they will be in the tough company of another two pairs from the top 10 in the World Ranking – Germany’s Svenja Muller & Cinja Tillmann, who topped the Ostrava 2022 podium, and Switzerland’s Anouk Verge-Depre & Zoe Verge-Depre. Tina & Anastasija and Anouk & Zoe both made the medals in Ostrava last year, finishing in second and third place, respectively.
Another Swiss duo, Paris 2024 Olympic bronze medalists Tanja Huberli & Nina Brunner, are awaiting their first opponents from the qualifiers as Pool D leaders. In their first tournament after they reunited following Brunner’s baby break, the Swiss team made the podium, picking up Saquarema Elite bronze in April. Defending Ostrava Elite champions Thamela Coradello & Victoria Lopes of Brazil, still looking for their first podium in 2026, are also in Pool D. They will start off against the host nation’s top team, Marketa Svozilova & Marie-Sara Stochlova.
Pool E will feature Italy’s Valentina Gottardi & Reka Orsi Toth, who took Brasilia Elite silver at their only appearance on the Tour so far this year, and Germany’s Sandra Ittlinger & Anna-Lena Grune. Both teams will meet qualifiers in their opening pool matches in Ostrava.
Similarly, Paris 2024 Olympic silver medalists Melissa Humana-Paredes & Brandie Wilkerson, who won Elite silver at their only appearance on the Tour so far this year in Saquarema, and Switzerland’s Leona Kernen & Joana Mader are waiting to find out their first opponents in Pool F.
