Czechia’s Ondrej Perusic & David Schweiner, who triumphed as 2023 world champions in Tlaxcala, returned to Mexico to win another gold, at the Yucatan Challenge on the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour in Puerto Progreso. Seeded fifth in the main draw, the 30-year-old two-time Olympians cruised through the tournament without dropping a single set in six matches and collected their fifth gold and overall eighth medal on the Beach Pro Tour.
Beach Pro Tour
Back with a bang! Perusic & Schweiner take home another gold from Mexico
Haussener & Friedli and Pedrosa & Campos complete the podium in Yucatan
Published 10:48, 23 Mar 2025
- Watch the Yucatan Challenge on VBTV.
Switzerland’s Yves Haussener & Julian Friedli, who started the Yucatan Challenge from Wednesday’s qualifiers and were seeded 26th in the 32-team main draw, lined up seven wins in a row to make it all the way to Sunday’s final and earn silver. It was the third Beach Pro Tour medal for the pairing of 26-year-old Haussener & 18-year-old Friedli, but the first at the Challenge level.
The bronze went to Joao Pedrosa & Hugo Campos. For the 23rd-seeded pairing of 24-year-old Portuguese athletes, it was also the third Beach Pro Tour podium. Previously, they won silver at the 2022 Cortegaca Futures and gold at the 2023 Edmonton Challenge.
The final match in Progreso was a straight-set affair. The reigning world champions stayed well in control through most of the match and achieved an emphatic 2-0 (21-14, 21-12) victory. The Czechs outplayed their younger Swiss opponents in all fundamentals, with Perusic leading the way with 16 points, including four aces, and Schweiner adding another 15, including three kill blocks and two aces, as well as the match winner. Haussener and Friedli scored 11 and 8 points, respectively, with a combined total of three aces.
“If you look at the score it may look it was quite easy, but it was not,” Perusic told VBTV after the final. “These guys played an amazing tournament. They were a tough opponent. They know how to play in the wind, so we had to be really careful in every set and play our game. So I am really glad that we won. Congratulations to our coaches! Mexico is the country to play in. We love it here. It’s always a great atmosphere.”
“Mexico has some of the best food in the world and some of the best fans in the world, and we play very well here, so it’s a perfect combination,” Schweiner confirmed. “I cannot imagine a better start to the season. Of course, there are still plenty of weak spots in our game, but winning the first tournament of the season is like a paradise beginning.”
Perusic/Schweiner 🇨🇿 vs. Haussener/Friedli 🇨🇭 - Gold Match Highlights | Yucatan 2025 #BeachProTour
The third place match offered a three-set battle with an epic tie-breaker. Pedrosa & Campos clearly dominated the first set against 17th-seeded Christoph Dressler & Philipp Waller, but the Austrians reacted well in the second to gain control and level the score. They seemed to be cruising towards the victory as they opened a 9-4 lead in the tie-breaker, but the Portuguese team fought back to catch up at 11-11 and regain the initiative. Dressler & Waller denied as many as seven opponent match points in a row, but an unforced error on the eighth handed Pedrosa & Campos a 2-1 (21-12, 14-21, 21-19) victory. Pedrosa, with five aces and a kill block on his tally, and Dressler, with two blocks to his name, shared the top scorer honors of the match with a total of 23 points each. Campos contributed another 18 points towards his team’s success.
Earlier on Sunday, Perusic & Schweiner mastered a 2-0 (21-18, 21-13) shutout of Pedrosa & Campos in the first semifinal. Schweiner put up five kill blocks and delivered two aces to finish as the best scorer of the match with 17 points, while Perusic added 14. Pedrosa led the Portuguese team with 15 points, including four blocks.
After an epic second set, Haussener & Friedli managed to close their semifinal with Dressler & Waller in straight sets. Friedli contributed five aces and 16 spike points towards a tight 2-0 (21-19, 27-25) victory. Haussener chipped in 13 kills in attack, while Dressler was the best scorer of the match with 22 points, including two aces.
