EuroBeachVolley semifinalist Mäder just happy to be back
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Advancing to the women’s semifinals of the 2023 A1 CEV EuroBeachVolley brought out strong emotions from the players from all four teams that will compete for the title in Vienna on Saturday, but for Swiss Olympian Joana Mäder, it meant a little bit more.
Competing in the tournament for the first time since 2020, when partner Anouk Vergé-Dépré and her took the title in Jurmala, the 31-year-old blocker has recently returned to the courts after recovering from a severe shoulder injury that threatened the future of her career and kept her sidelined for more than ten months.
The 2023 EuroBeachVolley is just the sixth tournament after Mäder’s return and although her performance has been noticeably getting better every time she gets to play, it’s the simple fact of being on the court that makes her smile at the Danube Island.
Joana Mäder“Last year was so tough, I didn’t even know if I would be able to continue my career. I’m super happy that I have the chance to play again and to have fun on the court with Anouk. And now to be in the semifinals, it just shows that when you believe and work hard, everything is possible. I wouldn’t be here without the support of my family and our coaching staff, they were great at pointing out all the small steps I was making during my recovery, which sometimes I couldn’t see.”
Swiss Beach Volleyball Player
The Swiss star got back to international competition at the end of April with a new last name, Mäder, acquired after her recent marriage, and also with new tools in her game. One of them is a powerful jump serve, that has helped Vergé-Dépré and her progress to the semifinals in Vienna.
More important than that, she thinks, is the mental strength she had to develop in order to deal with her injury and the time she spent away from the courts.
Joana Mäder“The jump serve is something my coach wanted me to try and it’s going well. I’m still getting started with it, but it will get better. As difficult as they are, injuries make your mindset stronger. I had a back injury in 2018 and came back stronger after that because I got to know my body better and what it means to be healthy or not. I learned a lot this time too from talking to people, but also about believing and staying strong in difficulties.”
Swiss Beach Volleyball Player
Mäder and Vergé-Dépré were both present at the last two Olympics, claiming bronze in their only appearance as partners, in Tokyo, two years ago. They want to represent Switzerland again next year in Paris, but because of the blocker’s injury, missed a few tournaments at the start of the qualification period and had a little bit of a late start to the race for a spot in the Games.
The two still have several tournaments to earn the points they need to qualify until June 2024, but will also have to pass at least one of the two teams formed by their compatriots – Nina Brunner/Tanja Hüberli and Zoé Vergé-Dépré/Esmée Böbner – since each country can only have a maximum of two duos at the Games.
Joana Mäder“Regardless of the situation, I just try to not look at the rankings or anything. I think that if we play well and get the results, we’ll get there no matter what. This is where our focus is, on making it to semifinals or the finals in every event we compete. And then we’ll see where we are at.”
Swiss Beach Volleyball Player