Jacob Holting-Nilsson is the 2025 Beach Pro Tour Rookie of the Year
Honorable Mention
- Elmer Andersson, Sweden
- Tim Berger, Austria
- Teo Rotar, France
It was easy to forget, that Jacob Holting-Nilsson was a rookie in 2025. How can one possibly explain his cool during their indelible run, from the reserve list to the gold medal match, in Gstaad? How can one think he’s a rookie when he stuns David Ahman and Jonatan Hellvig in the Montreal semifinals and acts as if it’s simply another victory, when in reality, it’s a victory he’s never before enjoyed? How can he claim to be a freshman on this Beach Pro Tour, as talented and deep as it’s ever been, while making it to the finals of his maiden World Championships, playing better than anyone in the tournament?
And yet, Holting-Nilsson is just 20 years old. This year was his first playing in an Elite event. His first playing more than two Challenges. His first World Championships.
His first everything.
It is a bummer for the rest of the rookies — including his own partner, Elmer Andersson, who finished third in the voting, behind Teo Rotar — that they timed their debut season with Holting-Nilsson.
Nobody was matching the pace he put on in his rookie year.
2023 Rookie of the Year: Miles Partain
2024 Rookie of the Year: Kristians Fokerots
