After the victory of Polish pair Mateusz Florczyk and Jakub Szalankiewicz last Sunday, it’s now time for the women to take the stage at the Sofia Beach facilities for a single gender FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour one-star event.
The tournament, the third of four scheduled in the city this summer, will reunite 28 women’s teams from 18 different countries and four continents from July 22-25.
Italians Claudia Scampoli and Margherita Bianchin are the top-seeded team in the Sofia Beach Open 3 and they arrive in the Bulgarian capital fresh from having won the Italian Cup title last weekend at Bellaria-Igea Marina.
The tournament will also feature 37-year-old veteran Erika Nystrom, a player with 160 World Tour events under her belt. Born in Finland, Erika represented the country for 15 years alongside her twin sister Emilia but has switched federations to Cyprus and returned to international competition in 2021 playing with Daria Gusarova.
Competition starts in the outskirts of Sofia on Thursday with the 16-team qualification tournament. Four teams will end the day undefeated and with a spot guaranteed in Friday’s main draw.
Also among the teams are Canadian Sophie Bukovec, a 2014 U-21 world champion who now plays with Camille Saxton, and Brazilian Carolina Horta, a silver medallist at the 2018 Fort Lauderdale Major who pairs with Maria Clara ‘Caca’ Richa.
Quick links:
FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour - Sofia Beach Open 3
Olympic Games Tokyo 2020
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