ADELAIDE, Australia — The 15th Beach Volleyball World Championships is set to begin Friday morning in Adelaide, Australia, and Thursday evening for much of the rest of the world. We’ve broken down every single pool, both for the men and the women.
We’ve flown the 10,000 miles
We’ve survived – kind of sort of, but we’re not celebrating until we’re in the end zone – the jet lag.
And now it’s time.
The final preview is here, with notable notes, favorites to win, contenders who can upset their way into the medal rounds, and the dark horses who always seem to throw a wondrous chaos into the mix. Make sure to catch all the action on VBTV using our discount code, SANDCAST, for 10 percent off.
The Main Women’s Storyline: It’s USA vs. Brazil
Eleven of the 14 previous renditions of this event have been won by either USA Volleyball or Brazil. In 2023, the title went to Kelly Cheng and Sara Hughes, and if one of four American teams wins again here in Adelaide, it’ll be the first time since 2007 and 2009 that USA repeats as gold medalists.
In Adelaide, it’s as close to a sure thing as there has been in recent memory that the title will again go to one of those two federations. Six of the top seven teams are from the USA or Brazil, including the top two, Thamela and Victoria, and Carol and Rebecca. Only Tina Graudina and Anastasija Samoilova of Latvia have broken up the bunch as the five seed. Our favorites – our being Kyle Friend and I – are therefore, not surprisingly, from the USA and Brazil: Kristen Nuss and Taryn Brasher, and Duda and Ana Patricia.
Women’s Favorites: TKN, Ana Patricia and Duda
My pick to win is Kristen Nuss and Taryn Brasher. As I said in our Beyond the Sand series from Hamburg, I think they’ll beat Ana Patricia and Duda in the finals.
Why do I like Nuss and Brasher?
They’re winning at a higher percentage than they ever have (81%), are coming off a gold medal in Newport Beach, have won as many gold medals in a single season as they ever have (3) and still have a gargantuan chip on their shoulder from their disappointing ninth-place finish at the Paris Olympics.
Kyle Friend, however, likes my runner-up: Ana Patricia and Duda.
Brazilians are known for peaking at the right time, sacrificing smaller events to taper and win the biggies. Ana Patricia and Duda know this well: They have a World Championship title, in 2022 in Rome, a silver in 2023 in Tlaxcala, and an Olympic gold medal in Paris. Nobody plays better when it matters than them. Have they won since Paris? Nope. Haven’t even made a final.
Does that dissuade either of us?
Nope.
Women’s Contenders: Linda Bock and Louisa Lippmann, Anouk Verge-Depre and Zoe Verge-Depre
To be a “contender” a team had to be seeded outside of the top-10.
The blonde bombers from Germany, Linda Bock and Louisa Lippmann, are as physical as they come, and have proven they can beat elite teams. They’ve won a silver and a gold in Challenges in Stare Jablonki and Baden, respectively, and boast one of the strongest block-defense combos in the tournament. Throw in Lippmann’s massive block, a missile of a serve, and Bock’s excellent transition rate, and they are no easy draw come playoff time.
Kyle likes Anouk Verge-Depre and Zoe Verge-Depre, for mostly obvious reasons: They won three straight medals, in Ostrava (bronze), Alanya (gold), and Gstaad (bronze). Zoe transitions as well as any defender in the world, and Anouk is sneakily one of the world’s best blockers. If Anouk can maintain a consistent sideout percentage, they’ll be contenders to medal.
Women’s Dark Horses: Katja Stam and Raisa Schoon, Daniela Alvarez and Tania Moreno
It’s a bit of a cheat to pick Katja Stam and Raisa Schoon as a dark horse, seeing as their seed was severely depressed because of an injury that kept Stam out almost the entire year. They needed a wild card just to get in as the 34 seed. This, for a team that has been to two Olympics and has made two straight finals, winning gold in Veracruz and silver in Cape Town.
It is not a stretch to say they might be the most dangerous 34 seed in the history of this event.
Meanwhile, Kyle likes Daniela Alvarez and Tania Moreno, who also have shown a propensity for showing up in the biggest events. Their maiden Olympic Games in Paris resulted in an unexpected fifth, and they’ve won a silver at a European Championships and took fourth this year in Dusseldorf, Germany. This year hasn’t been hugely successful for them – aside, of course, from winning the NCAA Championship with TCU – with zero medals and just one semifinal, but they have a knack for playing their best when it’s needed.
Anders Mol and Christian Sorum doing their signature celebration/Volleyball World photo
Main Storyline for the Men: Scandinavia vs. The Field
Has this been the most dominant year for either Norway’s Anders Mol and Christian Sorum or Sweden’s David Ahman and Jonatan Hellvig?
Not by a long shot.
Want to find someone who would take the field over them to win?
Good luck.
Both are known not just for winning, but winning when it matters most. Mol and Sorum have a World Championship title (2022 in Rome), and an Olympic gold (2021 in Tokyo) to go along with five European Championships, while Ahman and Hellvig have a World Championship silver (2023 in Tlaxcala), an Olympic gold (2024 in Paris) and two European Championships. Yes, this has been Ahman and Hellvig’s worst season as bona fide professionals, but such are the lofty standards of being a team that once made 11 straight finals.
And, oh yeah, there’s the other Sweden too: Jacob Holting-Nilsson and Elmer Andersson, the youngsters who have made four finals this season and won two of them.
If it’s Scandinavia vs. The Field, I’m taking Scandinavia.
Any takers?
Men’s Favorites: Anders Mol and Christian Sorum, Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan
If there is a team who is favored to take gold away from Scandinavia, it is Qatar’s Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan. They have a career-high four gold medals to their name this season and are coming off three consecutive wins. The only tournament they have not performed well in throughout their partnership is the World Championships.
There is no reason to think they won’t this week in Adelaide.
My pick, of course, is boring: Anders Mol and Christian Sorum.
They’re the kings. Have been since 2018 and still are today.
I lean on my tried-and-true rule: Don’t bet against Norway.
Not now.
Not ever.
Men’s Contenders: Clemens Wickler and Nils Ehlers, Remi Bassereau and Calvin Aye
There has been no more confounding team to me this year than Germany’s Clemens Wickler and Nils Ehlers. A year ago, they couldn’t avoid the semifinals; in 2025, they’ve seemed allergic to it, with just one podium this year – and that came in a Challenge. Still, I see them as a 14 seed in a friendly pool and I jump all over it.
Kyle is on France’s explosive duo of Remi Bassereau and Calvin Aye, who broke through in Joao Pessoa with a silver medal and then added a fourth in Cape Town, making it two semifinals in their past three tournaments. If Bassereau is blocking well, and they can limit their errors, they can prove to be an awfully dangerous 13 seed.
Men’s Dark Horses: Andre and Rentato, Timo Hammarberg and Tim Berger
Many listeners of the podcast scoffed a bit when I professed my love for the new duo of Andre and Renato. They came with fair points: The small sample size we’ve seen from the Brazilians is not great. In three events, they’ve never finished in the top-10, and they have zero wins of note. But… I’m going on the smell test, and everything about this team makes sense to me. Here you have a World Champ in Andre, and a World Champ silver medalist in Renato. You have a smooth defender with excellent sideout and one of the world’s most formidable blockers. You have a motivated Andre, who took the entire year off of caring about volleyball, and a defender likely trying out for the position of Andre’s partner.
I like this team, especially as a 27 seed.
Kyle is all over Timo Hammarberg and Tim Berger, Austria’s young stars who stumbled at the beginning of the season and who are peaking at the perfect time. They’ve cracked off four straight top-10 finishes, including their first Elite medal, a silver in Cape Town.
Call it recency bias, but we like momentum.
They have it.
