Beach Pro Tour Finals: Women’s Semifinals Set for Showdown in Doha

The Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Finals in Doha are down to the final four, as Latvia’s Tina Graudina & Anastasija Samoilova and China’s Chen Xue & Xinyi Xia secured the last two spots in the semifinals on Friday. Both teams will now face American duos in Saturday’s decisive matches for a chance to play in the gold medal match.

Semifinal Matchups (Saturday, December 7):

🕐 13:00 local time (10:00 GMT):
🇱🇻 Tina Graudina / Anastasija Samoilova (Latvia) vs. Terese Cannon / Megan Kraft (USA)

🕑 14:00 local time (11:00 GMT):
🇨🇳 Chen Xue / Xinyi Xia (China) vs. Taryn Kloth / Kristen Nuss (USA)

How They Got Here:

Latvia’s Road to the Semifinals 🇱🇻

Graudina and Samoilova rebounded strongly after suffering back-to-back losses in pool play. On Friday, they scored two crucial wins:

• Defeated Xue/Xia (China) 2-1 (21-17, 14-21, 15-12)
• Defeated Schoon/Stam (Netherlands) 2-1 (16-21, 21-15, 15-13) in the quarterfinals

They will now face Cannon/Kraft in the semifinals, a team they played earlier in the tournament, with the Americans winning in straight sets. The head-to-head record between the teams is now tied at 2-2.

Cannon/Kraft’s Dominant Run 🇺🇸

The only undefeated team in the tournament, Terese Cannon & Megan Kraft, won Pool A with an impressive 4-0 record, dropping just one set. They secured a direct semifinal spot after dominating Italy’s Gottardi/Orsi Toth in a 2-0 win (21-10, 21-15).

China’s Road to the Semifinals 🇨🇳

Despite a pool play loss to the Latvians, Xue and Xia advanced in second place and took on the reigning European champions Müller/Tillmann (Germany) in the quarterfinals. They emerged victorious with a 2-1 win (21-16, 16-21, 15-11).

Kloth/Nuss Eye Back-to-Back Titles 🇺🇸

The defending Beach Pro Tour Finals champions, Taryn Kloth & Kristen Nuss, topped Pool B with a 3-1 record, earning a direct ticket to the semifinals. However, they suffered their only loss of the tournament on Friday to Müller & Tillmann (2-1: 23-25, 22-20, 15-8).

They will face Xue & Xia for the fourth time in just over a year. The Americans won their last two meetings, including a crucial match during the Paris 2024 Olympic pool phase.

What’s at Stake?

The winners of the semifinals will advance to the gold medal match, while the losers will play for bronze. With a mix of Olympians, world champions, and rising stars, Saturday’s matches promise high-intensity action as the world’s best battle for the season-ending crown.