Taliqua Clancy, who is a Tokyo 2020 Olympic silver medalist and a Hamburg 2019 World Championship bronze medalist, and her current partner Jana Milutinovic will start their Veracruz campaign directly from Thursday’s main draw. They are still after their first Beach Pro Tour podium together. Clancy & Milutinovic are second in seed points on the women’s entry list for the competition.
The list is headlined by USA’s Corinne Quiggle & Chloe Loreen, one of as many as six American duos already pre-seeded in the Veracruz women’s main draw.
The top three on the list is completed by Czech Paris 2024 Olympian Marie-Sara Stochlova’s current pairing with Marketa Svozilova.
The list of 24 teams pre-seeded in the main draw features a number of other Paris 2024 Olympians like Lithuania’s Monika Paulikiene & Aine Raupelyte, France’s Lezana Placette & Alexia Richard and Paraguay’s Giuliana Poletti Corrales & Michelle Valiente.
Among the three Ukrainian teams in the line-up is that of Yeva Serdiuk & Daria Romaniuk, U19 world champions in 2022. So is the pairing of 2021 U21 world champion Anhelina Khmil with Valentyna Davidova.
The name that stands out among those set to get their Veracruz campaign started from Wednesday’s qualifiers is that of 2022 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championship silver medalist Sophie Bukovec. After her last appearance on the Tour in June, the Canadian athlete is about to return reunited with Beach Pro Tour rookie Tiadora Miric. Together, they triumphed as U21 world champions back in 2014.
The qualification bracket is also highlighted by two-time Olympians Katja Stam & Raisa Schoon of the Netherlands. The former world’s number one team is trying to find their way back among the high ranks after Stam’s long injury-prompted absence.
The 2025 season has been fantastic for Puerto Rico’s Allanis Navas & Maria Gonzalez on the NORCECA Beach Volleyball Tour, where they have earned six gold medals in seven participations. In Veracruz, they are set to make their first Beach Pro Tour appearance in 2025.
The Veracruz Challenge tournament will be conducted with a 32-team main draw in each gender. It starts with a qualification round with eight teams advancing to the main draw and joining the 24 directly seeded. The main draw begins with modified pool play, with eight pools of four teams each, playing two pool semifinals, a losers’ match and a winners’ match to determine the final standings. The teams that finish third in the pools will take on the runners-up of other pools in the sixteenthfinal single elimination round, the winners of which will move to the eighthfinal round, where they will challenge the eight pool winners. Quarterfinals, semifinals and medal matches will follow to determine the final standings.
Veracruz Challenge action will get underway with the women’s qualifiers on Wednesday morning at 09:00 local time (15:00 UTC).
