Latvia is a small central European nation of under two million people, but it has grown to be a world beach volleyball power to be reckoned with, especially after Tina Graudina & Anastasija Samoilova’s historic achievement at the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships Adelaide 2025, where they claimed the women’s title and climbed on top of their country’s first ever senior World Championship podium in either gender. And as acknowledged by all stakeholders, this success has a lot to do with the support the Latvian federation has been receiving from the FIVB Volleyball Empowerment program.
“I am especially pleased that the FIVB gives opportunities to smaller nations, for whom this kind of support is essential and its impact clearly measurable,” stated Volleyball Federation of Latvia President Arnis Tunte. “It is no coincidence that we are currently number one in the world — and for that, we must also thank the international federation for their support and this program. And of course, thanks to the girls themselves — without their outstanding performance, no amount of support would make a difference.”
Indeed, Tina & Anastasija had already shown their talents even before FIVB Volleyball Empowerment and achieved some great results, like reaching the Olympic semifinals at Tokyo 2020 or claiming the CEV Beach Volleyball European Championship titles in 2019 and 2022. However, with the program support they have been getting, their performance and their results have visibly become much more consistent. They claimed their first ever Beach Pro Tour (or FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour) gold at the Nuvali Challenge in December 2023 and followed up with another one, at the Recife Challenge in March 2024. In fact, Tina & Anastasija made the podiums at five of the nine Beach Pro Tour events they attended in 2024, and achieved a fifth-place finish at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, where they were eliminated by eventual Olympic champions Ana Patricia Ramos & Eduarda Lisboa (Duda) of Brazil. In the fall of 2024, the Latvian duo even reached the number one spot in the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Ranking three times.
The Volleyball Federation of Latvia has so far been allocated a total of USD 210,000 in FIVB Volleyball Empowerment coach support for their national teams in beach volleyball, in addition to USD 5,500 in beach volleyball equipment. Their women’s duos are working under the guidance of FIVB Volleyball Empowerment coach Daniel Luis Wood Rodriguez (Denny) of Spain.
“The Volleyball Empowerment program has been an incredible support in terms of financial stability, allowing us to focus fully on volleyball,” said Tina Graudina. “It’s extremely important to work with top-level professional coaches, because that’s how results are achieved, and we are deeply grateful to have Denny by our side thanks to this program.”
“I truly appreciate the FIVB Empowerment program, because the market for beach volleyball coaches is not very large, and one of the key factors in attracting high-level specialists is simply how much we are able to pay for their work,” commented Anastasija Samoilova. “I also believe that coaching in beach volleyball is often undervalued. Coaches spend long periods away from home and their families, all with the goal of helping athletes grow and achieve their ambitions. Especially now, when coaches are allowed to sit on the court and communicate with athletes during matches, it is important that they are properly compensated for the work they do.”
Under the guidance of coach Denny Rodriguez, Tina & Anastasija have reached the final four at four Elite-level events in 2025 so far and peaked at Adelaide 2025, where they triumphed as world champions in an emphatic manner, after dropping only a set in eight matches played.
“Tina and Nastja brought an exceptional level of commitment and professionalism, and the FIVB Volleyball Empowerment support helped us build the right environment around that,” said Denny Rodriguez. “For us, the support from the program made a huge difference by bringing stability to the project. Together with the Latvian Olympic Committee, the Volleyball Empowerment contribution allowed the girls to secure the coach position and provided the project with long-term stability and room to grow. This type of stability is something many teams don’t have, and it became a key factor throughout the season, as the girls could focus entirely on development and performance. We truly appreciate FIVB’s trust in our team.”
While Tina & Anastasija’s result at the World Championship is the highest achievement in the history of Latvian beach volleyball, there is a lot more the small central European country can brag about with confidence that they are now a world super power in the sport. Just about a month earlier, Latvia’s Gustavs Auzins & Kristians Fokerots brought home the FIVB U21 Men’s World Championship title. Last year, another pair of Latvian hopefuls, Matiss Salkovskis & Karlis Jaundzeikars earned silver at the FIVB U19 Men’s World Championship. Latvia is regularly present on the podiums at various youth continental championships in both genders. At the senior level, in 2024, Kristians Fokerots & Martins Plavins snatched the EuroBeachVolley continental title and picked up a Rio de Janeiro Elite16 bronze. This year, they reached number five in the men’s FIVB World Ranking.
“I believe we have proven that by working hard and staying focused on results, it is possible — with the support of the international federation — to reach the very highest goals. We hope to become an example for other countries as well,” President Arnis Tunte concluded. “A big thank you for your trust!”
