There are few things that bring Paul Henning joy like donning the red, black and white colours of Germany in international tournaments. The 28-year-old Henning has been lucky to live his ‘childhood dream’ with Germany in four major competitions—three European Championships and one World Championship.
“Representing Germany was always a childhood dream. People watching me from Germany in international tournaments is my biggest achievement,” said a beaming Henning.
While there have been medals for Henning on the Beach Pro Tour, he is yet to climb to the podium in any major international competition. However, he is optimistic that could change this season when he lines up on the sand with his new partner Lukas Pfretzschner.
“I‘m excited for what‘s to come. Last year was a good year for me, I had the chance the play many games on the highest level so I want to keep going with that,” Henning told FIVB.com.
“With a new team you need to be patient, we want to develop from game to game and tournament to tournament and build our game like this,” he explained.
Lukas Pfretzschner is Paul Henning’s new beach volleyball partner
Last year, Henning produced decent performances in the Beach Pro Tour playing alongside Lui Wüst. Their World Championship debut in Adelaide ended in the Round of 32 where they faced eventual silver medalists Jacob Hölting Nilsson & Elmer Andersson of Sweden. Having swapped Wüst for Pfretzschner this season, Henning is already impressed by some personal traits of his new partner despite being early days.
“We’ve known each other for long and often trained together but mostly on the other side of the court. Lukas can help anyone with his athletic abilities. He is also a really good setter and can bring in good positions most of the time. I like his training attitude and want to grow together in this,” revealed Henning.
“We think we can help each other grow our personal game to be the best version of ourselves. In combination with our coach, this is the best possibility to make big steps,” he added.
Henninng believes Pfretzschner’s setting ability could turn around his game
While Henning is a good blocker, Pfretzschner’s mastery of back court defence aptly complements him on court. Already, this pairing looks like a match made in heaven though Henning isn’t getting carried away.
“Chemistry and trust will come with time so we don‘t want to hurry too much about these things. Good communication is key, we want to build our partnership on good basics. We are training hard for this and want to get better at it. The creativity will come afterwards,” said Henning.
Henning’s blocking ability and Pfretzschner’s mastery of back court defence makes it a perfect partnership
The 2026 season promises to be a busy one for Henning & Pfretzschner with the highlight being the European Championship in Stare Jablonki, Poland in August.
“The European Championship is always a nice opportunity to show a good level. And of course, the home tournament in Hamburg is always special! I hope the fans like how we play and especially how we are as human beings, both on and off the court,” noted Henning.
Henning is optimistic of breaking into the Top 10 of the World Rankings with his new partner Lukas Pfretzschner
Having crossed over 2026 inside the top 25 of the World rankings with their former partners, Wüst and Sven Winter, the newly formed German pair of Henning & Pfretzschner is eyeing a place in the Top 10 alongside beach volleyball royalty at the end of the season.
“The current international beach volleyball scene is crazy competitive, more than ever I would say. But that‘s what I also like about it. It‘s the challenge to be better everytime,” pointed out Henning matter-of-factly.
“We want to test ourselves against all teams in the top 10. We want to be part of a bigger group of this, not only for some games, but all the time. There is always something to improve on and there is still a lot to achieve. So the hunger is fully there,” he underlined.
