Anticipation mounts as elite Beach Volleyball returns to Madrid for fourth straight year

The Beach Volleyball Centre of Puerta de Hierro Sports Park in Madrid will welcome a series of high-profile Beach Volleyball events from May 9 to 19. The Beach Pro Tour returns to the Spanish capital for the fourth consecutive year. The men’s event will take place from May 9 to 12, followed by the women’s competition a week later (May 16-19). Moreover, from May 13 to 15, at the very same venue, the preliminary phase of the CEV Beach Volley Nations Cup will be contested as teams pursue their dream of competing at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. 

The state-of-the-art facilities of the Beach Volleyball Centre at Puerta de Hierro Sports Park hosted an opening ceremony this Monday, with the presence of local authorities who reviewed the spectacular setup of the event and expressed their pride in welcoming such competitions to Madrid. Virginia Blázquez and María Cabezón, Deputy Director General of Sports Programmes and head of the General Directorate of Sports of the Community of Madrid attended the event together with Borja Fanjul, Council President of the Moncloa-Aravaca District, Javier García Romero, Vice-President of the Madrid Volleyball Federation, and Belén Carro, representing the many elite athletes who will compete for gold on the ‘beach’ of Madrid.

Daniel Moreno/Roberto Sanfélix, Alvaro Viera/Antonio Saucedo, Nathan Matos/José Aba, and Oscar Feltrer/Pablo Pérez will be the Spanish tandems featuring in the men’s tournament against opposition from more than 20 different countries during the first weekend of international competition, which kicks off an intense month of May. 

In the women’s tournament, the high level of past editions is maintained, as the competition will feature the return of Belén Carro to the sand, this time playing with Sofía González, thereby accounting for two players who have already tasted victory in Puerta de Hierro. Additionally, the defending champions, Liliana Fernández Steiner/Paula Soria, will be present as well. 

Furthermore, from May 13 to 15, at the same venue, the preliminary phase of the Nations Cup will be contested in each gender. This will feature the highest-ranked Spanish teams, i.e. Pablo Herrera/Adrian Gavira and the Huerta brothers, Alejandro and Javier, with Tania Moreno/Daniela Álvarez and Liliana/Paula contesting the women’s event. The objective is to advance to the Final Phase scheduled for mid-June in Latvia and to get closer to the Paris 2024 Olympics, since the winning team in the grand finale will punch a ticket to the French capital city.

Following Monday’s ceremony, everything is set for the action to begin on the courts of Puerta de Hierro Sports Park, promising Beach Volleyball of the finest level, lots of fun, and much entertainment for the fans from the Spanish capital.