Mexico’s new heroes Lares & Carlos Andres have what it takes for a bright future

Rising Mexican beach volleyball stars Ines Antonio Vargas Lares & Carlos Andres Ayala Herrera have been real ambassadors for the 2025 FIVB Beach Volleyball U21 World Championships that got underway in Puebla on Wednesday. The fans have been going crazy as soon as the young talents show up on the premises of the event in Cholula, but when they won their opening main draw match on Thursday, the euphoria around them was indescribable.

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One can only imagine what it will be like in Mexico if Lares & Carlos Andres continue to follow along the path to the goal they have set for themselves, and that is to win the title. All the prerequisites for that are there – talent, past results, progress, a real beach volleyball legend as a coach, and the fantastic Mexican fans on the stands in Puebla – all sources for confidence and energy on the court.

In front of a packed center court stadium on Thursday, and with legendary Brazilian Ricardo Santos by their side as a coach, the top-seeded home favorites Lares & Carlos Andres achieved an emphatic 2-0 (21-16, 21-14) shutout of Belgium’s Casper Willems & Alexy Humblet for a perfect start to their campaign in Pool A.

“We are feeling really good. The level is very high here in Mexico and we appreciate that,” Carlos Andres told FIVB.com.

“The feeling is great!” Lares confirmed. “We are at home, in front of these great fans, and we managed to show what we can do. But this was only the first step and we are already looking forward to our next game now.”

The Mexican fans in Puebla will get to enjoy their favorites’ next performance on the center court again on Friday, when they play their next two matches in the pool, against Thailand’s Paphawin Manyahong & Wichaya Wisetkan and against Canada’s Louis Charbonneau & Henry Heider.

Last year, Lares & Carlos Andres stopped just short of winning a medal at the U19 World Championship in China and finished fourth, still a very prestigious result for the young Mexicans. This year, the 19-year-old athletes have been NORCECA Tour regulars and have already collected four continental medals, including one gold. Just two weeks ago, at an even higher senior level, Lares & Carlos Andres made headlines at the Veracruz Challenge on the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour by moving from the qualifications all the way to the eighthfinals, upsetting some very strong opponents on the way.

“With the results in Veracruz we gained more confidence. Maybe that’s the thing about it – we feel better. With every game we feel more confidence and that’s very important,” Carlos Andres commented.

“They played very well there and made the main draw for the first time and I am so happy that they got to experience a new level of the game,” coach Ricardo Santos said. “Now I can see that, step by step, the team is getting better. They showed it in today’s game and that’s the most important thing – to keep playing better and better.”

Of course, having someone like Ricardo Santos, a four-time Olympian, a three-time Olympic medalist and an Athens 2004 Olympic champion, a 2003 world champion and a three-time World Championship silver medalist, as a coach is another great asset that boosts Lares & Carlos Andres’s confidence and ambition for a great future.

“Aside from the technical and the tactical matters, Ricardo shares with us his experience as a player and everything he is sharing with us – we are absorbing it and we are planning to apply it the same way as he did or even better,” said Lares.

“This is a new process for the Mexican national team. I came here four or five months ago and the goal is, step by step, to play better and improve in time for the qualifications for the Pan American Games, for the Olympic Games…,” said Ricardo. “For starters, this tournament is very important for us, because it brings more experience to the guys, to the team. Playing at home, in front of family and friends, adds a lot to the pressure and that experience helps a lot towards the next competitions.”

The talented Mexican teenagers are not too young to remember when Ricardo still competed professionally as a player, but they are also looking up to current beach volleyball stars and try to follow their example.

“I love how Anders Mol & Christian Sorum play and they are a source of inspiration for me,” Carlos Andres pointed out. “And I love the way our coach Ricardo Santos played when he was a player.”

So what are the short-term and the long-term goals Lares & Carlos Andres envision for themselves?

“First of all, we are eager to win this tournament. This is our main goal for now. Afterwards, we will focus on senior events only and our long-term objective is Los Angeles 2028,” Lares summed it up.

2025 FIVB Beach Volleyball U21 World Championship: schedule and results

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