Draw announced for ITF Sand Series Tour Finals
The draw for the ITF Sand Series Tour Finals has been announced at the Estadio Mane Garrincha in Brasilia, Brazil, host to the 2014 FIFA World Cup Final. The event, set to run from 3-7 December, will take place at the Ginásio Nilson Nelson and features the world’s top eight men’s and women’s doubles teams competing for a record-breaking $100,000 prize pot.
The event will follow a round-robin format, with teams divided into two groups of four, named after ITF Sand Series Classics tournaments to celebrate the origins of the competition. Each team will play three matches over three days, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the semi-finals. The semi finals and finals will follow a knockout format. Matches will be played as best-of-three tie-break sets, differing from the regular tour’s two-set format.
The Men’s and Women’s draws are as follows:
| Men’s Group A ‘Brasilia’ | Men's Group B ‘Saarlouis’ |
| Nicolas Gianotti and Mattia Spoto (1) | Michelle Cappelletti and André Baran (2) |
| Daniel Mola and Giovanni Cariani (3) | Antomi Ramos and Felipe Loch (4) |
| Mathieu Guegano and Hugo Russo (5) | Allan Oliveira and Leonardo Branco (6) |
| Carlos Vigon and Diego Bollettinari (8) | Luca Andreolini and Nikita Burmakin (7) |
| Women’s Group A ‘Reunion Island’ | Women’s Group B ‘Gran Canaria’ |
| Patricia Diaz and Rafaella Miiller (1) | Sophia Chow and Vitoria Marchezini (2) |
| Giulia Gasparri & Ninny Valentini (3) | Flaminia Diana and Nicole Nobile (4) |
| Sofia Cimatti & Greta Giusti (6) | Veronica Casadei and Ariadna Costa Graell (5) |
| Eva Palos & Raquel Iotte (7) | Graziele Silva and Marcela Vita (8) |
In the women’s draw, top seeds Patricia Diaz and Rafaella Miller will face a strong challenge from number three seeds, Giulia Gasparri and Ninny Valentini. Gasparri and Valentini have defeated Diaz and Miller in their last two encounters at the recent ITF Aruba Sand Series and BT400 Viamão, but Diaz and Miller claimed victory in the ITF Sand Series São Paulo final in October. These past results suggest a highly competitive battle for a spot in the final.
Sophia Chow, side lined by injury for months, returned in November to win the Aruba Sand Series with partner Vitoria Marchezini, a rising 19-year-old talent, without dropping a set. Another fierce showdown is expected between number four seeds, Flaminia Diana and Nicole Nobile, and number five seeds, Veronica Casadei and Ariadna Costa Graell, who’ve had several match tiebreaks this season.
In the men’s draw, newly crowned number one seeds, Nicolas Gianotti and Mattia Spoto will be tested by number three seeds, Daniel Mola and Giovanni Cariani. The two teams faced off in a thrilling match tie-break at the Saarlouis Sand Series in August, where Gianotti and Spoto narrowly won 5-7, 7-5, 12-10, setting the stage for another close contest.
Cappelletti and Baran, back as the number two seeds after a recent loss at the BT400 Macena Open, will compete in the Saarlouis group against number four seeds Antomi Ramos and Felipe Loch. Despite their narrow loss to Cappelletti and Baran in Aruba, Ramos and Loch have established themselves as a formidable pairing, making their rematch one to watch in the group stages.
The Brazilian Tennis Confederation (CBT) continues to solidify Brazil’s status as the global hub for beach tennis, hosting 13 of the 18 premier events on the ITF Beach Tennis Tour, including three ITF Sand Series tournaments, underscoring its position as a global leader in the sport.
Play will commence at 13:00 GMT today.
Live streams of today’s matches are available to watch here.