Last events held in Japan while Australia launches new season
With the change of the annual seasons, the geography of national beach volleyball tour action also changes. Japan held the last two national tour events for 2023 in the northern hemisphere, while Australia opened the new beach season in the southern hemisphere, with the first stop on its 2023-2024 domestic circuit (pictured in the main photo; credits: volleyball.org.au).
Australia
A week before hosting the closing 2023 Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Futures tournament, Geelong welcomed the opening event of the 2023-2024 Australian national tour. Georgia Johnson and Jasmine Fleming won the women’s competition. In the final, they mastered a 2-0 (21-14, 21-10) straight-setter against Jana Milutinovic and Stefanie Fejes. Caitlin Bettenay and Phoebe Bell completed the podium after a 2-0 (21-11, 21-17) sweep of the bronze medal match against Kayla Mears and Tara Phillips.
Martin Kaufer and Ky Landers celebrated their first-ever men’s title after a 2-1 (21-16, 15-21, 15-5) victory over Ben Hood and D’Artagnan Potts in the gold medal showdown. The bronze went to Joshua Howat and Harley Sinclair, who defeated Jack Gregory and Patrick Tang 2-0 (22-20, 22-20) for the third place.
Japan
The last stop on the 2023 Japanese national tour was held earlier this month in Suma. Top-seeded Yusuke Ishijima (Gottsu) and Takumi Takahashi won the men’s gold after a 2-0 (21-14, 21-15) victory over Kensuke Shoji and Jumpei Ikeda in the final. The third-place match was also a straight-set affair. The mixed Japanese-American duo of Koichi Nishimura and Troy Field grabbed the bronze after a 2-0 (21-7, 21-19) win over Yuya Ageba and Hiroki Dylan Kurokawa.
The women’s competition in Suma was also won by the top-seeded team. Asami Shiba and Saki Maruyama came back from a set down against Saya Noguchi and Yurika Sakaguchi to celebrate a 2-1 (17-21, 21-9, 15-10) victory in the final. The bronze went to Ren Matsumoto and Non Matsumoto, who mastered a 2-0 (21-14, 21-14) sweep of the third-place match against Sakurako Fujii and Sakura Ito.
A week earlier, the penultimate event on the Japanese tour took place in Matsuyama. Suzuka Hashimoto and Reika Murakami won the women’s title. In the gold medal match, they achieved a 2-0 (21-11, 21-17) victory over Miyu Sakamoto and Mayu Sawame. The third-place match offered a tight three-set battle, in which Megumi Murakami and Riko…
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