Ludwig back on the EuroBeachVolley semifinals in Vienna
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The return of the legendary Laura Ludwig to the semifinals of the A1 CEV EuroBeachVolley will be one of the highlights of the last day of the women’s tournament in the 2023 edition of the event, which comes to an end on Sunday in Vienna.
An Olympic and world champion, the German star will play alongside partner Louisa Lippmann against Swiss Olympians Nina Brunner and Tanja Hüberli in the first semifinal, at 11:00. Later, at 12:00, Swiss Olympic medalists Joana Mäder and Anouk Vergé-Dépré will battle Spanish Tania Moreno and Daniela Álvarez. The bronze medal match begins at 16:30 and the final of the 2023 EuroBeachVolley starts at 17:45.
With two teams in the semifinals, Switzerland are guaranteed their fifth medal in the last six editions of the tournament – teams from the country won gold in 2020 and 2021 and silver in 2018 and 2022.
A four-time Olympian, the 37-year-old Ludwig is the most successful player in the history of the EuroBeachVolley, with nine medals won (four gold, two silver, three bronze) in 15 appearances. The last time she made it to the semifinals, however, was when she took gold with historical partner Kira Walkenhorst in 2016.
Competing at the EuroBeachVolley for the first time with Lippmann, who transitioned to the beach last year, the legendary Ludwig saw her team secure two big wins on Saturday, sweeping (21-19, 21-18) compatriots Cinja Tillmann and Svenja Müller in the Round of 16 and overcoming Dutch up-and-comers Brecht Piersma and Emi van Driel also in two sets (21-15, 21-15) in the quarterfinals.
Laura Ludwig“It feels so good, it’s a big relief. We stuck together during the last months and trusted the process. The last tournament in Canada was already a big step forward for us and to make it the semifinals here at the EuroBeachVolley is amazing. The semifinal is going to be another tough battle and we need to focus on our side. It’s so much fun to play on the center court here in Vienna.”
German Beach Volleyball Player
The winners of the 2021 EuroBeachVolley, which was also held in Vienna, Brunner and Hüberli will make their third-straight semifinal appearance in the tournament.
The Swiss Olympians also had to play a pair of matches on Friday and defeated Spanish Liliana Fernández and Paula Soria in two sets (21-16, 21-15) in the Round of 16 and compatriots Zoé Vergé-Dépré and Esmée Böbner in the tie-breaker (21-17, 17-21, 15-12) in the quarterfinals.
Tanja Hüberli“We’re excited and super happy to be back in the Final Four. It was a really tough match against the Swiss, they put a lot of pressure on us and served really well. We really had to give our best to win and are supper happy. We just tried to reset in the tie-breaker and it worked.”
Swiss Beach Volleyball Player
The 2020 European champions, Mäder and Vergé-Dépré are back in the semifinals in their first EuroBeachVvolley appearance after their victory three years ago. The Tokyo Olympic medalists missed the 2021 and 2022 editions of the tournament due to injuries and will now appear in the semifinals for the third time as partners – they were fourth in 2019.
In the quarterfinals, the Swiss had a tough battle with Lithuanians Monika Paulikiene and Aine Raupelyte, but managed to secure a two-set (21-15, 28-26) win.
Anouk Vergé-Dépré“It feels amazing to be in the semifinals, especially after a year that was very tough. Our coach did a great job in terms of studying their game and pointing us out in the right direction. It was very hard, but we kept on fighting until the end.”
Swiss Beach Volleyball Player
Their next opponents, Álvarez and Moreno are among the top four teams on the EuroBeachVolley for a second season. The 21-year-old Spanish finished fourth last year, when they also took home the title at the U22 European Championship.
One day after knocking out defending champions Tina Graudina and Anastasija Samoilova of Latvia in the Round of 16, the two had another big win in the quarterfinals, dominating Italians Marta Menegatti and Valentina Gottardi to a straight-set (21-18, 23-21) victory.
Daniela Álvarez“We’re really excited to be on the semifinals again. We’ve been working hard to improve our game step-by-step and it’s really great to see it’s paying off. We’re also having a lot of fun in the process, which is great. The atmosphere in Vienna has been incredible and we’re enjoying a lot playing here.”
Spanish Beach Volleyball Player