As the world’s top beach volleyball athletes descend upon Adelaide for the 2025 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships from 14–23 November, Austria will bring a compelling mix of youthful promise and seasoned experience to the sand courts of The Drive and Pinky Flat/Tarntanya Wama, in the heart of the South Australian capital.
Leading Austria is Greek coach Georgios Kotsilianos who is in charge of the men’s teams as part of a two-year Coach Support Project valued at USD 84,000 under the FIVB Volleyball Empowerment Programme.
At just 21 and 20 years old respectively, Timo Hammarberg and Tim Berger represent the next generation of Austrian beach volleyball. The 15th-seeded duo will make their senior World Championship debut in Adelaide, carrying impressive junior credentials into the event.
Austria’s Timo Hammarberg dives during the 2025 Beach Pro Tour Elite16 stop in Brasilia
Having captured gold at the 2022 European Under 20 Championship and silver at the 2023 World Under 21 Championship, Hammarberg and Berger are no strangers to the international spotlight. Their chemistry, built over years of partnership through youth competitions, makes them one of the most exciting young pairs in Europe. Now, Adelaide offers the opportunity to test their potential against the world’s best.
Drawn into Pool J, they face a tough but exciting lineup: 10th seeds Cherif Younousse & Ahmed Tijan of Qatar, Yves Haussener & Julian Friedli of Switzerland, and Damian Gomez Limonta & Eblis Veranes Kens of Cuba.
Austria’s Tim Berger spikes during the 2025 Beach Pro Tour Elite16 stop in Brasilia
Their campaign begins against Haussener & Friedli of Switzerland on 15 November, followed by Gomez & Veranes of Cuba on 16 November, and concludes with an exciting matchup against Pool J top seeds and Qatar’s Tokyo 2020 bronze medallists Cherif & Ahmed on 17 November.
If Hammarberg & Berger T. are the future, the experienced Christoph Dressler and Philipp Waller are the foundation. Austria’s second men’s team enter as the 29th seeds and bring a wealth of experience to Adelaide. Both have competed at two past World Championships, but 2025 marks their first appearance together as a pair after joining forces earlier this season.
Christoph Dressler (left) and Philipp Waller are the more experienced Austrian pair at the World Championship
In Pool E, they will face a tough trio: fifth seeds Michal Bryl & Bartosz Łosiak of Poland, 20th seeds Lukas Pfretzschner & Sven Winter of Germany, and Yanwei Wang & Hongjun Du of China. Their schedule begins with Pfretzschner, L.& Winter of Germany on 14 November, followed by Bryl & Łosiak of Poland on 16 November and Wang Y.W. & DU Hongjun of China on 17 November.
In each gender, the 48 participating teams are split into 12 single round-robin pools of four. The pool winners, the pool runners-up and the best four of the third-placed teams (first ranked by match points, then by set ratio, then by rally point ratio and lastly by the tournament seeding established at the general technical meeting), advance straight to the sixteenthfinals. The remaining eight third-placed teams in the pools advance to the first knockout round, dubbed “the lucky loser round”. The single elimination phase starts with the four matches of “the lucky loser round” and the four winning teams advance to the sixteenthfinals.
Austria’s Christoph Dressler passes during the 2025 Beach Pro Tour Elite16 stop in Ostrava
While Austria’s immediate goal is to push both teams beyond the pool phase, the broader objective remains clear—building momentum toward sustained success on the world stage. Waller will have memories of his Round of 16 exit in the 2019 and 2022 editions while playing alongside Robin Seidl and he will hope that he can go one better with his new partner Dressler in Adelaide. For Hammarberg & Berger T., the World Championship will test their consistency and adaptability at the senior level, as they aim to progress beyond the group stage and gain invaluable experience.
Regardless of how far Austria’s pairs advance in Adelaide, their participation represents something deeper — a vision taking shape. With structured support from the FIVB’s Volleyball Empowerment Programme, a clear development pathway, and the Olympic Games Los Angeles 2028 dream on the horizon, Austria’s beach volleyball is on the rise and steadily moving towards a bright future.
Meanwhile, Austria will be represented by the Klinger sisters, Dorina & Ronja, in the women’s competition, although they are not supported by Volleyball Empowerment. They are in Pool K together with the Swiss sisters Anouk Vergé-Dépré & Zoé Vergé-Dépré, Australia’s Elizabeth Alchin & Georgia Johnson and The Dominican Republic’s Crismil Paniagua Hinojosa & Julibeth Payano Veras.
