Sand Series Sets New Heights On The ITF Beach Tennis World Tour
The ITF Beach Tennis Sand Series launched in 2021 and saw the world’s top 10 men and women compete at four iconic beach tennis locations across the globe, in Saarlouis, Gran Canaria, Brasilia and Réunion.
With more ranking points and prize money available than in any previous edition of these tournaments, stakes were high - as proven by six different winners emerging from the first six finals.
Saarlouis saw Nikita Burmakin and Tommaso Giovannini triumph in a match tie-break despite dropping the first set 6-0 against Theo Irigaray and Marco Garavini, while the women’s event provided a similarly close encounter.
Sofia Cimatti and Nicole Nobile also dropped the first set against Giulia Gasparri and Ninny Valentini before coming through in a match tie-break.
“Saarlouis is always a dream to play,” reflected Cimatti after winning her first title with Nobile.
Burmakin and Giovannini, who followed their Saarlouis title with victory at the ITF World Championships, weren’t able to continue their winning ways off the north-west coast of Africa as they fell to Antomi Ramos Viera and Michele Cappelletti in the Sand Series Gran Canaria final.
Gran Canaria native Ramos won the title in front of a home crowd on his 28th birthday – a triumph that prevented Burmakin from returning to the No. 1 ranking. Meanwhile, Venezuela’s Patty Diaz and Brazil’s Rafaella Miiller were able to put their World Championship disappointment behind them with a thrilling victory over Joana Cortez and Flaminia Daina, coming back from a set and a break down to triumph 4-6 6-4 [10-8].
“We won because we put heart, pure heart, pure head, pure energy,” said former world No. 1 Miiller. “We were together and we stood firm.”
The comebacks continued in Brasilia, with Vitoria Marchezini and Marcela Vita overcoming top seeds Gasparri and Valentini (despite being a set and 5-2 down) 1-6 7-5 [10-8].
“We came in full of confidence and have put in a lot of hard work and dedication to reach this achievement,” said Vita after the final. The fightback was even greater on the men’s side, with France’s Nicolas Gianotti and Italy’s Mattia Spoto – who had not previously won a match together – coming back from 8-2 down in the match tie break to win 1-6 6-3 [12-10] to spring a huge upset over Burmakin and Giovannini in the final.
The final Sand Series event of the year saw repeat winners Cimatti and Nobile edge out first-time partners Maraike Biglmaier and Eva Fernandez Palos to win 6-2 4-6 15-13, saving multiple championship points in the match tie-break. The contest was later described by tournament director Renaud Bourjea as the “greatest final in Reunion’s history”.
The final match of the 2021 Sand Series saw a repeat of the Gran Canaria final, with Ramos and Cappelletti again defeating Burmakin and Giovannini 7-6(1) 6-4, and with it Cappelletti regaining the world No. 1 ranking.