In a surprising upset at the 2025 Beach Pro Tour Elite16 in Brasilia, Italy’s Valentina Gottardi and Reka Orsi Toth stunned top-seeded Brazilians Thamela Coradello and Victoria Lopes in straight sets. The Italian duo, seeded 13th, secured their Pool A lead with an impressive 2-0 (21-15, 23-21) victory on Thursday, advancing directly to the round of 12.
Gottardi led the scoring with 18 points, including six crucial blocks, while Orsi Toth added 13 points in the match. Their strong defensive play and consistent attacking proved too much for the Brazilian favorites.
Teams Advancing to the Round of 12
Gottardi and Orsi Toth join five other teams that clinched the top positions in their pools to secure spots in the round of 12:
- Taryn Brasher and Kristen Nuss (USA)
- Ana Patricia Ramos and Eduarda “Duda” Santos Lisboa (Brazil)
- Tina Graudina and Anastasija Samoilova (Latvia)
- Carol Solberg and Rebecca Cavalcanti (Brazil)
- Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson (Canada)
Notable Matches and Advances
Despite their defeat, Thamela and Victoria move forward to the round of 18, where they'll be joined by Austrian sisters Dorina and Ronja Klinger, who eliminated Canada’s Marie-Alex Bélanger and Lea Monkhouse with a dominant 2-0 (21-13, 21-13) win.
Pool Highlights
- Brasher and Nuss (USA) topped Pool B, beating Talita Antunes and Taiana Lima 2-0 (21-14, 22-20).
- Ana Patricia and Duda (Brazil) dominated Pool C with a 2-0 win over Lezana Placette and Alexia Richard (France).
- Latvia’s Graudina and Samoilova took Pool D with a win over Switzerland’s Huberli and Kernen.
- Carol and Rebecca (Brazil) survived the only three-set match of the day to defeat Switzerland’s Verge-Depre sisters.
- Melissa and Brandie (Canada) swept Pool F by routing world champions Kelly Cheng and Molly Shaw 2-0.
The tournament continues Friday with the round of 18 and the round of 12, setting the stage for Saturday’s quarterfinal matchups.
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