Futures - Modena, ITA - 2026

Italian duos earn five podium spots at Modena Futures

The home teams leave only one silver to a Dutch pair

Published 05:57, 31 Aug 2026

Italy’s Tiziano Andreatta & Raoul Acerbi celebrate in Modena (photo: Alberto Marinelli / FIPAV Modena)

The home teams largely prevailed at the Modena Futures on the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour. Italian pairs collected as many as five of the six medals, leaving only one of the silvers to a non-Italian duo. Leanne van Vegten & Jill de Groot of the Netherlands finished runners-up to home favorites Valentina Gottardi & Reka Orsi Toth, while Anna Pelloia & Maria Rachele Mancinelli completed the women’s podium. Tiziano Andreatta & Raoul Acerbi, Marco Di Felice & Davide Borraccino and Marco Ulisse & Giacomo Spadoni delighted the home fans by claiming the gold, the silver and the bronze, respectively, in the men’s tournament.

The 2026 Modena Futures medalists (source: FIPAV Modena)

Italy’s leading pair of Paris 2024 Olympian Valentina Gottardi and Reka Orsi Toth celebrated their second Beach Por Tour gold together, after the 2025 Hamburg Elite triumph, and made it to their fourth podium (first at the Futures level). The bracket leaders went through the tournament in Modena undefeated in five matches played, dropping one set along the way. In their semifinal, they mastered a 2-0 (21-13, 21-16) win over 13^th-seeded compatriots Anna Pelloia & Maria Rachele Mancinelli, and in the final, they produced a 2-0 (21-11, 21-12) victory over second-seeded Leanne van Vegten & Jill de Groot of the Netherlands.

The Dutch duo also reached the gold medal showdown unbeaten. They lost their first set of the tournament in the semifinals, but squeezed out a hard-fought 2-1 (19-21, 21-16, 17-15) success against another Italian team – 10^th-seeded Claudia Puccinelli & Aurora Mattavelli – to secure their third (second back-to-back) Beach Pro Tour medal, after their golds at the Apeldoorn Futures and at the Laginha Beach Futures earlier this season.

Pelloia & Mancinelli took the bronze after a forfeit win over Puccinelli & Mattavelli in the all-Italian third-place fixture to decorate their Beach Pro Tour debut as a partnership with a spot on the podium.

2026 Modena Futures women’s winners Valentina Gottardi & Reka Orsi Toth (photo: Alberto Marinelli / FIPAV Modena)

Tiziano Andreatta & Raoul Acerbi rode the wave of a seven-game winning streak that took them from the qualifiers all the way to the top of the podium, with only a set dropped along the way. Seeded 12^th in the 16-team men’s main draw, Andreatta & Acerbi delivered a 2-0 (21-14, 25-23) upset of top-seeded compatriots Enrico Rossi & Marco Caminati in the semifinals and a 2-0 (21-17, 21-15) sweep of the final match against 10^th-seeded Marco Di Felice & Davide Borraccino. This way, Andreatta & Acerbi celebrated their first Beach Pro Tour gold and second consecutive podium, after the Geneva Futures bronze in June.

18-year-old Marco Di Felice crowned his Beach Pro Tour debut with a spot on the podium. He and Davide Borraccino reached the Modena final on a four-game winning run that climaxed with a 2-1 (16-21, 21-17, 15-13) comeback victory over third-seeded Marco Ulisse & Giacomo Spadoni in the semifinals.

Ulisse & Spadoni bounced back with a nail-biting 2-1 (30-28, 15-21, 16-14) win over bracket leaders Rossi & Caminati in the bronze medal playoff to enjoy their second consecutive podium finish, after the Geneva Futures silver two months ago.