New formula, new name, but above all new Italian teams in this first stage of 2022
It’s a new year zero for our home beach volleyball. After a long winter break, the new international season begins tomorrow in Tlaxcala, Mexico, a few kilometers from the capital. Also abandoned the name World Tour, which for decades represented the best of tournaments around the world, the advent of the American fund Cvc capital, which has invested so much in volleyball at all levels, has also brought a new name . From this year the circuit is called Beach Pro Tour and the tournaments will no longer be characterized by stars as in previous years. There will be the Elite 16, those reserved for the best couples in the ranking (12 in main draw and 16 to play the other 4 places in qualification) and with the highest prize pool, then the Challenges, to improve their ranking and access the Elite 16 , and finally the Future, promotional tournaments to bring beach volleyball where it is less known and allow new couples to enter the international scene. But it will also be the year zero for the Italian beach, with several new couples ready to chase the Olympics in Paris 2024. And the year of the World Cup in Rome, from 10 to 19 June.
Men in the main draw
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Italy comes to the starting line on paper with 7 pairs of international level, 5 of which are in Mexico, ready to take the field in the first Challenge of the season. In the main draw of the tournament Daniele Lupo and Alex Ranghieri on one side and the nationals Paolo Nicolai and Samuele Cottafava on the other, respectively in seventh and thirteenth place in the seed of the tournament. And these two couples already represent the first big news, with Lupo and Nicolai divided after ten years and three Olympics together (for Lupo-Ranghieri, who are not part of the national team, but who still receive support from Fipav, it is the second tournament after Brazil in the final of last season). In qualifying Jakob Windisch and Gianluca Dal Corso, young promises of the Italian national team, called to compete at a higher level. Instead, they will arrive in Mexico in the next few days for the Elite 16 which next week will be staged by Rosarito, Adrian Carambula and Enrico Rossi (also with federal support, but not in the national team), currently the Italian couple with the highest ranking.
Qualifying women
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In the women’s field, two of the three blue couples will start from qualifying. Marta Menegatti and the very young Valentina Gottardi will represent the national team in Tlaxcala. For Gottardi it will be the first real international tournament after the World Tour Finals in Cagliari last year in which she found herself catapulted by Viktoria Orsi Toth’s injury. She who, in the meantime, is recovering and shows up at the Mexican Challenge paired with her sister Reka, an independent team without federal support, on their absolute debut. On the other hand, Margherita Bianchin and Claudia Scampoli, the second couple of the Italian national team, remain in Tenerife to train. The tournament includes a draw with 24 pairs with 16 already in the main draw and the other 8 that will come from the double qualifying round. In the first phase, the teams will be divided into 6 groups of 4: the pair with the highest seed will face the one with the lowest and the second will challenge the third. The two winners will then play for the first place and the two losers for the third, the last one available. At that point, the four worst thirds will face each other in a sort of playoff to define the scoreboard at 16 which, from the round of 16, will lead to the final.
Menegatti hen
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In an interview with Volleyball World on the eve of the tournament, Marta Menegatti recounted the genesis of the new path with Valentina Gottardi: “After the Tokyo Olympics, Fipav decided to start a new project with the aim of Paris 2024 and asked me to play with Valentina. I thought it was time to share my experience with such a young girl and I accepted the challenge. ” The debut came at the finals of the Italian championship in Caorle: “Despite just a couple of training sessions together, things went quite well in Caorle. I was impressed by his physicality and I really appreciated his dedication, tenacity and determination. It was much more at ease than I expected and I think he has great potential. ” Now, however, we will have to deal with a much more competitive world: “Like any new couple we will have to deal with problems and difficult moments, but it is part of the game. I hope to be able to help you have a positive attitude even in difficulties and never leave. that emotions take her away from her goals. We just have to be patient and build our understanding as a team day after day. But sharing this journey with her is still stimulating and fun: she seems to have infinite energy and we often laugh about it. to warm up in 5 minutes, while I have to follow all my routine as an older player. “
March 16 – 09:18
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