Jacob Holting Nilsson and Elmer Andersson have made Swedish beach volleyball history by climbing to third place in the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Ranking after winning gold at the Cape Town Elite16 tournament. This notable achievement marks the highest-ever ranking for a men's team from Sweden.
The pair, aged just 20 and 19, earned 1,200 ranking points in Cape Town. Due to FIVB’s ranking rules, only a team’s top eight results count toward their total. The victory replaced their previous eighth-best finish, resulting in a net gain of 600 points. This boost raised their total to 7,320 points, moving them ahead of Brazil’s Evandro Oliveira & Arthur Mariano (7,080) and Sweden’s Olympic gold medalists David Åhman & Jonatan Hellvig (6,920).
Nilsson and Andersson now stand only 20 points behind second-place Dutch team Stefan Boermans and Yorick de Groot and trail Norway’s top-ranked duo, Anders Mol and Christian Sørum, by 840 points.
Other Notable Movements
- Austria’s Timo Hammarberg and Tim Berger climbed eight places to 14th after capturing silver in Cape Town.
- Germany’s Svenja Müller and Cinja Tillmann won gold and rose from ninth to fourth in the women’s rankings, tying with Latvia’s Tina Graudina and Anastasija Samoilova.
- Brazil’s Thamela Coradello and Victoria Lopes retained the top spot despite not participating due to injury.
- The Netherlands’ Katja Stam and Raisa Schoon made the week's biggest jump, soaring from 105th to 56th place after reaching the final.
- Germany’s Sandra Ittlinger and Anna-Lena Grüne claimed bronze and improved to 15th in the rankings.
These rankings reflect the intensifying global competition and underscore how extraordinary performances can lead to rapid advancements. As the beach volleyball season progresses, the fight for top ranking positions continues to heat up.
For the latest updates, you can view the full rankings and news on the official Beach Pro Tour website.
