Samoilova and Graudiņa win world elite silver for the second time

The women's elite stage of the Beach Pro Tour in beach volleyball has concluded on the courts set up at the Roland Garros tennis complex in Paris. Two-time European champions Tīna Graudiņa/Anastasija Samoilova won silver.

In Paris, the ninth-seeded Tīna Graudiņa/Anastasija Samoilova faced Dutch pair Katja Stam and Raisa Schoon (#10) in the final; their previous head-to-head record was 1–2. In March, the Latvians lost to them in the gold-medal final of the elite stage in Rosarito, but in August they exacted revenge with 21:13 and 21:19.

At the start of the final, the Latvian pair fell behind (1:5 and 2:8). Samoilova made a defensive play to bring the score to 4:8, while Graudiņa blocked to make it 5:8. The Dutch pair restored a larger lead (5:10), and Schoon served an ace off the net (11:17), forcing the Latvians to concede 16:21.

At the beginning of the next set, Schoon hit the ball over the court (1:0). Samoilova turned her set into a back-row attack to make it 8:8, and Graudiņa triumphed at the net (9:8). The opponents responded with two points (9:10) and increased their lead to 10:13. Graudiņa produced an ace (12:13), and Samoilova did the same to level the score at 13:13. Stam made it 17:19, but a crazy rally ended with Schoon hitting into the net without a block (20:20). Stam's block made it 20:22.

The central court was set up at the majestic Philippe Chatrier, which, among clay-court venues, is the largest tennis stadium in the world (15,225 seats). In 2017, Latvia's Alona Ostapenko became the French Open champion there.

Latvia's beach volleyball players have reached the elite podium on the Beach Pro Tour for the second time.