AUSTRALIA
The 2026 Australian Beach Volleyball Tour got underway with its first stop (pictured in the main photo; credits: Rogue Gun Photography & Media / Volleyball Australia) in Glenelg Beach over the weekend. Elizabeth Alchin & Jasmine Fleming, seeded on top of the women’s bracket, lived up to their status and claimed the first gold of the season. In Sunday’s final, they managed a hard-fought 2-1 (21-16, 18-21, 15-12) victory over the third-seeded Australian-German pairing of Stefanie Fejes & Anna-Lena Grune. Second-seeded Kayla Mears & Tara Phillips settled for bronze after a 2-0 (21-12, 21-15) sweep of the third-place playoff against Jolie Du Plessis & Kyla Sanchez.
Women’s results and standings
In the men’s gold medal showdown, second-seeded Jack Pearse & D’Artagnan Potts came back from a set down against bracket leaders Thomas Hodges & Ben Hood to deliver a 2-1 (18-21, 21-12, 15-9) victory and snatch the trophy. The third-place match was also pushed to three sets, with Solomon Bushby & Justin Schumann achieving a 2-1 (21-12, 14-21, 15-13) win over Klaas McIntosh & Garang Anyang.
NEW ZEALAND
The GJ Gardner Homes New Zealand Beach Tour held its third event of the season in Christchurch. Top-seeded Juraj Krajci & James Sadlier triumphed on top of the men’s podium. In Sunday’s final, they battled it out for a tight 2-1 (22-20, 19-21, 15-13) victory over the mixed Kiwi-American pairing of Jamie Julian & Skyler Kaufman. The bronze went to third-seeded Michael Tyler & Seth Grant. They also needed a three-set match to impose their will on Thomas Vesty & Liam Smith for a 2-1 (17-21, 27-25, 15-11) third-place win.
The mixed duo of New Zealand’s Meile Rose Green and USA’s Avery Poppinga, seeded second in the women’s main draw, mastered a 2-0 (21-13, 21-13) sweep of the gold medal match against third-seeded Lani Rawle & Grace Tiplady. Bracket leaders Maya Dickson & Katie Sadlier had to settle for bronze. They put together a hard-fought 2-1 (21-17, 18-21, 16-14) victory over Sydney Clough & Mollie Allison in the third-place game.
Women’s results and standings
