Date | 24 July – 6 August 2021 | |
---|---|---|
Status | Olympic | |
Location | Shiokaze Park Stadium, 1 Higashiyashio, Shinagawa City, Tokyo 135-0092, Japan | |
Participants | 46 from 16 countries | |
Format | Top 16 teams from round-robin pools advanced to the single-elimination tournament. |
Three-time gold medal winner Kerri Walsh Jennings failed to qualify for the 2021 Olympics, having shortly before the Games undergone a sixth operation on her shoulder. The USA woman had won a medal at every Olympics since 2004 and, with three gold and two bronzes, helped the United States be the only women’s team to medal at four consecutive Games. Their best chance in Tokyo was with the World Championships silver medallists Alix Klineman and April Ross, the second ranked pair in Tokyo, while the sixth ranked Kelly Claes and Sarah Sponcil were also US contenders. Brazil had not won the women’s title since the sport made its début at Atlanta in 1996, but they had a good chance of rectifying that in Tokyo with the third ranked Eduarda Lisboa (known as Duda) and Ágatha, the 2016 Rio silver medallist.
Since winning the 2019 Word Championship in Hamburg, the Canadian pair of Sarah Pavan and Melissa Humana-Paredes had put themselves in contention for a medal place in Tokyo, along with the German 2016 Olympic gold medallist Laura Ludwig and her new partner Margareta Kozuch. Ludwig returned to the sport in 2019 at the age of 33, after taking time off to have a baby. The Canadians were the topped ranked pair in Tokyo
The Czech par of Barbora Hermannová and Markéta Sluková were unable to play their pool matches because of COVID-19. The shock of the pool matches was the departure of the fancied Netherlands duo Sanne Keizer and Madelein Meppelink, who exited after three defeats, while the Brazilians Ana Patrícia and Rebecca Silva were expected to win their pool, but defeat by Claes and Sponcil in their final match meant they could only finish third after just one win, but they still made it through to the last 16. The closest pool match was that between Switzerland’s Nina Betschart and Tanja Hüberli and Germany’s Kozuch and Ludwig. The Swiss duo won 23-25, 22-20, 16-14.
Claes and Sponcil were eliminated in the last 16 by Canada’s Heather Bansley and Brandie Wilkerson, despite winning the first set. The two Brazil teams were in action on the opening day of the knockout competition. Ana Patrícia and Rebecca beat the highest ranked Chinese pair of Wang Fan and Xia Xinyi, and gold medal prospects Ágatha and Duda had a potentially mouth-watering game against Germany’s Kozuch and Ludwig. It turned out to be very close as the third ranked Brazilians lost by the narrowest of margins 21-19, 19-21, 16-14. On Duda’s 22nd birthday, she and Ágatha had match point at 14-13 in the tie-breaker, but the Germans won three-in-a-row to clinch it.
The all-Swiss clash between the tenth ranked Joana Heidrich and Anouk Vergé-Dépré and number seven ranked Betschart and Hüberli went to a deciding tie-breaker set, which was the longest of the match, and was won by Heidrich and Vergé-Dépré 23-21. With four teams seeded between 10 and 18 in the quarter-finals, it looked as though there could be a surprise winner of the women’s title.
April and Alix made themselves favourite for the gold medal after an impressive 21-19, 21-19 quarter-final win over Ludwig and Kozuch. Alix was a former indoor volleyball player who switched to beach to team up with April in late 2017. A place in the semi-final put April one step closer to the elusive gold to go with the silver she won in London 2012, and bronze at Rio in 2016. Going into the semi, their record was an impressive 5-0. Switzerland’s Heidrich and Vergé-Dépré caused a shock by beating the Brazilians Ana Patrícia and Rebecca, who had been struggling since qualifying from their pool in third place.
There were two Canadian pairs in the quarter-finals and the ninth ranked Bansley and Wilkerson came unstuck against Latvia’s Anastasija Kravčenoka and Tīna Graudiņa 15-12 in the deciding third set. The other Canadians, however, the top ranked Pavan and Melissa, were expected to go through to the last four but lost in three sets to the Australians Clancy and Artacho.
In the semi-final, the Australians won in two sets against the Latvians to become only the second Australian women to reach an Olympic final since Natalie Cook and Kerri-Ann Pottharst at Sydney in 2000. In the other semi-final, the American pair of April and Alix had an easy 21-12, 21-11 over the surprise semi-finalists Heidrich and Vergé-Dépré. For the first time in beach volleyball Olympic history, there was no Brazilian team in the semi-final of the women’s competition.
Switzerland won their first ever beach volleyball medal when Heidrich and Vergé-Dépré beat Kravčenoka and Graudiņa to take the bronze medal, while gold went to the favourites April and Alix, or the “A-team” as they had become known, who beat Clancy and Artacho 21-15, 21-16 in just 43 minutes. Victory gave the United States their fourth women’s gold medal in the last five Olympics, and it was 39-year-old April Ross’ third Olympic medal, but her first gold.
Pos | Competitors | NOC | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | United States 1 | USA | Gold | ||
Left Defender | April Ross | ||||
Right Blocker | Alix Klineman | ||||
2 | Australia | AUS | Silver | ||
Right Defender | Mariafe Artacho | ||||
Left Blocker | Taliqua Clancy | ||||
3 | Switzerland 2 | SUI | Bronze | ||
Left Defender | Anouk Vergé-Dépré | ||||
Right Blocker | Joana Heidrich | ||||
4 | Latvia | LAT | |||
Left Blocker | Tīna Graudiņa | ||||
Right Defender | Anastasija Kravčenoka | ||||
=5 | Germany 2 | GER | |||
Left Defender | Laura Ludwig | ||||
Right Blocker | Margareta Kozuch | ||||
=5 | Brazil 2 | BRA | |||
Left Blocker | Ana Patrícia Ramos | ||||
Right Defender | Rebecca Silva | ||||
=5 | Canada 2 | CAN | |||
Left Defender | Heather Bansley | ||||
Right Blocker | Brandie Wilkerson | ||||
=5 | Canada 1 | CAN | |||
Right Blocker | Sarah Pavan | ||||
Left Defender | Melissa Humana-Paredes | ||||
=9 | United States 2 | USA | |||
Left Blocker | Kelly Claes | ||||
Right Defender | Sarah Sponcil | ||||
=9 | People's Republic of China 2 | CHN | |||
Right Blocker | Wang Fan | ||||
Left Defender | Xia Xinyi | ||||
=9 | ROC | ROC | |||
Left Blocker | Nadezhda Makroguzova | ||||
Right Defender | Svetlana Kholomina | ||||
=9 | Brazil 1 | BRA | |||
Left Blocker | Ágatha Rippel | ||||
Right Defender | Duda Lisboa | ||||
=9 | Switzerland 1 | SUI | |||
Left Blocker | Tanja Hüberli | ||||
Right Defender | Nina Betschart | ||||
=9 | People's Republic of China 1 | CHN | |||
Left Defender | Xue Chen | ||||
Right Blocker | Wang Xinxin | ||||
=9 | Cuba | CUB | |||
Right Blocker | Lidianny Echevarría | ||||
Right Defender | Leila Martínez | ||||
=9 | Spain | ESP | |||
Left Blocker | Liliana Fernández | ||||
Right Defender | Elsa Baquerizo | ||||
=17 | Japan | JPN | |||
Right Blocker | Miki Ishii | ||||
Left Defender | Megumi Murakami | ||||
=17 | Netherlands 2 | NED | |||
Right Blocker | Katja Stam | ||||
Left Defender | Raïsa Schoon | ||||
=19 | Germany 1 | GER | |||
Right Blocker | Julia Sude | ||||
Left Defender | Karla Borger | ||||
=19 | Netherlands 1 | NED | |||
Right Defender | Sanne Keizer | ||||
Left Blocker | Madelein Meppelink | ||||
=19 | Argentina | ARG | |||
Left Defender | Ana Gallay | ||||
Right Blocker | Fernanda Pereyra | ||||
=19 | Kenya | KEN | |||
Left Blocker | Brackcides Khadambi | ||||
Right Defender | Gaudencia Makokha | ||||
=19 | Italy | ITA | |||
Right Defender | Marta Menegatti | ||||
Left Blocker | Viktoria Orsi Toth | ||||
Czech Republic | CZE | ||||
Right Blocker | Barbora Hermannová DNS | ||||
Left Defender | Markéta Sluková-Nausch DNS |
Date | 24 – 31 July 2021 |
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Format | Winners and runners-up in each group advanced to round one, along with the highest ranked third-placed teams. |
Date | 24 – 29 July 2021 |
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Pos | Pair | NOC | GP | Wins | Losses | Points | Sets | Set Ratio | Points | Points Ratio | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Sarah Pavan / Melissa Humana-Paredes | CAN | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 6-0 | MAX | 129-96 | 1.344 | ||
2 | Anouk Vergé-Dépré / Joana Heidrich | SUI | 3 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 4-3 | 1.333 | 135-120 | 1.125 | ||
3 | Katja Stam / Raïsa Schoon | NED | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 2-4 | 0.500 | 113-123 | 0.919 | ||
4 | Julia Sude / Karla Borger | GER | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1-6 | 0.167 | 106-144 | 0.736 |
Match | Date/Time | Pair | NOC | Result | Pair | NOC | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Match #1 | 24 Jul 12:00 | Pavan / Humana-Paredes | CAN | 21-16, 21-14 | Stam / Schoon | NED | |
Match #2 | 24 Jul 17:00 | Vergé-Dépré / Heidrich | SUI | 21-8, 21-23, 15-6 | Sude / Borger | GER | |
Match #3 | 25 Jul 12:00 | Pavan / Humana-Paredes | CAN | 21-17, 21-14 | Sude / Borger | GER | |
Match #4 | 26 Jul 21:00 | Vergé-Dépré / Heidrich | SUI | 22-20, 21-18 | Stam / Schoon | NED | |
Match #5 | 28 Jul 10:00 | Pavan / Humana-Paredes | CAN | 21-13, 24-22 | Vergé-Dépré / Heidrich | SUI | |
Match #6 | 29 Jul 15:00 | Stam / Schoon | NED | 24-22, 21-16 | Sude / Borger | GER |
Date | 24 – 30 July 2021 |
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Pos | Pair | NOC | GP | Wins | Losses | Points | Sets | Set Ratio | Points | Points Ratio | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | April Ross / Alix Klineman | USA | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 6-1 | 6.000 | 140-109 | 1.284 | ||
2 | Xue Chen / Wang Xinxin | CHN | 3 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 4-3 | 1.333 | 143-128 | 1.117 | ||
3 | Liliana Fernández / Elsa Baquerizo | ESP | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 2-5 | 0.400 | 108-137 | 0.788 | ||
4 | Sanne Keizer / Madelein Meppelink | NED | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3-6 | 0.500 | 160-177 | 0.904 |
Match | Date/Time | Pair | NOC | Result | Pair | NOC | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Match #1 | 24 Jul 9:00 | Ross / Klineman | USA | 21-17, 21-19 | Xue / Wang | CHN | |
Match #2 | 25 Jul 21:00 | Fernández / Baquerizo | ESP | 19-21, 21-18, 16-14 | Keizer / Meppelink | NED | |
Match #3 | 26 Jul 9:00 | Ross / Klineman | USA | 21-13, 21-16 | Fernández / Baquerizo | ESP | |
Match #4 | 27 Jul 16:00 | Xue / Wang | CHN | 19-21, 31-29, 15-13 | Keizer / Meppelink | NED | |
Match #5 | 29 Jul 9:00 | Ross / Klineman | USA | 20-22, 21-17, 15-5 | Keizer / Meppelink | NED | |
Match #6 | 30 Jul 17:00 | Xue / Wang | CHN | 21-13, 21-10 | Fernández / Baquerizo | ESP |
Date | 24 – 29 July 2021 |
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Pos | Pair | NOC | GP | Wins | Losses | Points | Sets | Set Ratio | Points | Points Ratio | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Wang Fan / Xia Xinyi | CHN | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 6-1 | 6.000 | 138-106 | 1.302 | ||
2 | Ágatha Rippel / Duda Lisboa | BRA | 3 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 4-2 | 2.000 | 116-108 | 1.074 | ||
3 | Heather Bansley / Brandie Wilkerson | CAN | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 3-4 | 0.750 | 126-128 | 0.984 | ||
4 | Ana Gallay / Fernanda Pereyra | ARG | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0-6 | 0.000 | 89-127 | 0.701 |
Match | Date/Time | Pair | NOC | Result | Pair | NOC | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Match #1 | 24 Jul 11:00 | Rippel / Lisboa | BRA | 21-19, 21-11 | Gallay / Pereyra | ARG | |
Match #2 | 24 Jul 20:00 | Wang / Xia | CHN | 18-21, 21-15, 15-11 | Bansley / Wilkerson | CAN | |
Match #3 | 26 Jul 11:00 | Bansley / Wilkerson | CAN | 22-20, 21-12 | Gallay / Pereyra | ARG | |
Match #4 | 27 Jul 22:00 | Wang / Xia | CHN | 21-18, 21-14 | Rippel / Lisboa | BRA | |
Match #5 | 29 Jul 20:00 | Wang / Xia | CHN | 21-14, 21-13 | Gallay / Pereyra | ARG | |
Match #6 | 29 Jul 21:00 | Rippel / Lisboa | BRA | 21-18, 21-18 | Bansley / Wilkerson | CAN |
Date | 25 – 30 July 2021 |
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Pos | Pair | NOC | GP | Wins | Losses | Points | Sets | Set Ratio | Points | Points Ratio | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Kelly Claes / Sarah Sponcil | USA | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 6-2 | 3.000 | 147-110 | 1.336 | ||
2 | Tīna Graudiņa / Anastasija Kravčenoka | LAT | 3 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 5-3 | 1.667 | 135-120 | 1.125 | ||
3 | Ana Patrícia Ramos / Rebecca Silva | BRA | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 4-4 | 1.000 | 141-125 | 1.128 | ||
4 | Brackcides Khadambi / Gaudencia Makokha | KEN | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0-6 | 0.000 | 58-126 | 0.460 |
Match | Date/Time | Pair | NOC | Result | Pair | NOC | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Match #1 | 25 Jul 9:00 | Claes / Sponcil | USA | 21-13, 16-21, 15-11 | Graudiņa / Kravčenoka | LAT | |
Match #2 | 25 Jul 11:00 | Ramos / Silva | BRA | 21-15, 21-9 | Khadambi / Makokha | KEN | |
Match #3 | 27 Jul 11:00 | Graudiņa / Kravčenoka | LAT | 21-15, 12-21, 15-12 | Ramos / Silva | BRA | |
Match #4 | 28 Jul 9:00 | Claes / Sponcil | USA | 21-8, 21-6 | Khadambi / Makokha | KEN | |
Match #5 | 30 Jul 9:00 | Claes / Sponcil | USA | 17-21, 21-19, 15-11 | Ramos / Silva | BRA | |
Match #6 | 30 Jul 10:00 | Graudiņa / Kravčenoka | LAT | 21-6, 21-14 | Khadambi / Makokha | KEN |
Date | 24 – 30 July 2021 |
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Pos | Pair | NOC | GP | Wins | Losses | Points | Sets | Set Ratio | Points | Points Ratio | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Nadezhda Makroguzova / Svetlana Kholomina | ROC | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 6-1 | 6.000 | 135-101 | 1.337 | ||
2 | Mariafe Artacho / Taliqua Clancy | AUS | 3 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 5-2 | 2.500 | 126-119 | 1.059 | ||
3 | Lidianny Echevarría / Leila Martínez | CUB | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 2-4 | 0.500 | 98-116 | 0.845 | ||
4 | Marta Menegatti / Viktoria Orsi Toth | ITA | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0-6 | 0.000 | 104-127 | 0.819 |
Match | Date/Time | Pair | NOC | Result | Pair | NOC | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Match #1 | 24 Jul 12:00 | Artacho / Clancy | AUS | 21-15, 21-14 | Echevarría / Martínez | CUB | |
Match #2 | 25 Jul 15:00 | Makroguzova / Kholomina | ROC | 21-18, 21-15 | Menegatti / Orsi Toth | ITA | |
Match #3 | 28 Jul 16:00 | Makroguzova / Kholomina | ROC | 21-16, 21-11 | Echevarría / Martínez | CUB | |
Match #4 | 28 Jul 21:00 | Artacho / Clancy | AUS | 22-20, 21-19 | Menegatti / Orsi Toth | ITA | |
Match #5 | 30 Jul 15:00 | Makroguzova / Kholomina | ROC | 21-8, 15-21, 15-12 | Artacho / Clancy | AUS | |
Match #6 | 30 Jul 20:00 | Echevarría / Martínez | CUB | 21-16, 21-16 | Menegatti / Orsi Toth | ITA |
Date | 24 – 28 July 2021 |
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Pos | Pair | NOC | GP | Wins | Losses | Points | Sets | Set Ratio | Points | Points Ratio | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Tanja Hüberli / Nina Betschart | SUI | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 6-2 | 3.000 | 111-111 | 1.000 | ||
2 | Laura Ludwig / Margareta Kozuch | GER | 3 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 5-2 | 2.500 | 102-98 | 1.041 | ||
3 | Miki Ishii / Megumi Murakami | JPN | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 3-4 | 0.750 | 89-93 | 0.957 | ||
Barbora Hermannová / Markéta Nausch | CZE | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0-6 | 0.000 | 0-126 | 0.000 |
Match | Date/Time | Pair | NOC | Result | Pair | NOC | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Match #1 | 24 Jul 9:00 | Ishii / Murakami | JPN | 21-0, 21-0 | Hermannová / Nausch | CZE | |
Match #2 | 24 Jul 15:00 | Hüberli / Betschart | SUI | 23-25, 22-20, 16-14 | Ludwig / Kozuch | GER | |
Match #3 | 26 Jul 16:00 | Betschart / Hüberli | SUI | 21-0, 21-0 | Hermannová / Nausch | CZE | |
Match #4 | 26 Jul 20:00 | Kozuch / Ludwig | GER | 21-17, 22-20 | Ishii / Murakami | JPN | |
Match #5 | 27 Jul 10:00 | Betschart / Hüberli | SUI | 14-21, 21-19, 15-12 | Ishii / Murakami | JPN | |
Match #6 | 28 Jul 15:00 | Kozuch / Ludwig | GER | 21-0, 21-0 | Hermannová / Nausch | CZE |
Date | 31 July 2021 |
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Format | Contested by third-place finishers in groups who did not advance automatically Winners of each match advanced to round one. |
Match | Date/Time | Pair | NOC | Result | Pair | NOC | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Match #1 | 31 Jul 17:00 | Fernández / Baquerizo | ESP | 21-15, 21-10 | Ishii / Murakami | JPN | |
Match #2 | 31 Jul 20:00 | Echevarría / Martínez | CUB | 21-17, 21-17 | Stam / Schoon | NED |
Date | 1 – 2 August 2021 |
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Format | Winners of each match advanced to the quarter-finals. |
Match | Date/Time | Pair | NOC | Result | Pair | NOC | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Match #1 | 01 Aug 9:00 | Bansley / Wilkerson | CAN | 22-24, 21-18, 15-13 | Claes / Sponcil | USA | |
Match #2 | 01 Aug 10:00 | Ramos / Silva | BRA | 21-14, 23-21 | Wang / Xia | CHN | |
Match #3 | 01 Aug 14:00 | Graudiņa / Kravčenoka | LAT | 16-21, 21-17, 15-13 | Makroguzova / Kholomina | ROC | |
Match #4 | 01 Aug 17:00 | Ludwig / Kozuch | GER | 21-19, 19-21, 16-14 | Rippel / Lisboa | BRA | |
Match #5 | 01 Aug 18:00 | Vergé-Dépré / Heidrich | SUI | 21-12, 19-21, 23-21 | Hüberli / Betschart | SUI | |
Match #6 | 01 Aug 21:00 | Artacho / Clancy | AUS | 22-20, 21-13 | Xue / Wang | CHN | |
Match #7 | 02 Aug 9:00 | Ross / Klineman | USA | 21-17, 21-15 | Echevarría / Martínez | CUB | |
Match #8 | 02 Aug 10:00 | Pavan / Humana-Paredes | CAN | 21-13, 21-13 | Fernández / Baquerizo | ESP |
Date | 3 August 2021 |
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Format | Winners of each match advanced to the semi-finals. |
Match | Date/Time | Pair | NOC | Result | Pair | NOC | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Match #1 | 03 Aug 9:00 | Ross / Klineman | USA | 21-19, 21-19 | Ludwig / Kozuch | GER | |
Match #2 | 03 Aug 10:00 | Vergé-Dépré / Heidrich | SUI | 21-19, 18-21, 15-12 | Ramos / Silva | BRA | |
Match #3 | 03 Aug 21:00 | Graudiņa / Kravčenoka | LAT | 21-13, 18-21, 15-11 | Bansley / Wilkerson | CAN | |
Match #4 | 03 Aug 22:00 | Artacho / Clancy | AUS | 21-15, 19-21, 15-12 | Pavan / Humana-Paredes | CAN |
Date | 5 August 2021 |
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Format | Winners of each match advanced to the final match. |
Match | Date/Time | Pair | NOC | Result | Pair | NOC | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Match #1 | 05 Aug 9:00 | Ross / Klineman | USA | 21-12, 21-11 | Vergé-Dépré / Heidrich | SUI | |
Match #2 | 05 Aug 10:00 | Artacho / Clancy | AUS | 23-21, 21-13 | Graudiņa / Kravčenoka | LAT |
Date | 6 August 2021 — 10:00 |
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Match | Date/Time | Pair | NOC | Result | Pair | NOC | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Match 3/4 | 06 Aug | Vergé-Dépré / Heidrich | SUI | 21-19, 21-15 | Graudiņa / Kravčenoka | LAT | |
Match 1/2 | 06 Aug 11:30 | Ross / Klineman | USA | 21-15, 21-16 | Artacho / Clancy | AUS |