Sarah Pavan of Kitchener, Ontario, and Melissa Humana-Paredes of Toronto, Ontario won the 2022 Pro Tour Elite 16 Women’s Beach Volleyball event in Jurmala, Latvia on Sunday. In the final, they defeated Barbara Seixas and Carolina Solberg Salgado of Brazil, 21-19, 20-22, 15-7.
According to Doug Harrison of CBC Sports, Pavan and Humana-Paredes recorded their first win on the beach volleyball tour since 2019, when they won the 2019 Vienna Open. There they beat Solberg Salgado and fellow Brazilian Maria Elisa Antonelli, 21-19, 21-16 in the final.
During the tournament in Latvia, Pavan and Humana-Paredes beat Antonelli and Fernanda Alves of Brazil 21-18, 21-16 in pool B play, Talita Da Rocha Antunes and Rebecca Cavalcanti Barbosa Silva of Brazil 21-17, 21-18 in the quarterfinals, and Ana Patricia Silva Ramos and Eduarda Santos Lisboa of Brazil 18-21, 21-19, 15-10 in the semifinals. It is fascinating that all four wins for Pavan and Humana-Paredes came against Brazilan teams.
In 2021, Pavan and Humana-Paredes reached three finals, but lost each contest. In the final of the Katara Beach Volleyball Cup in Doha, Qatar, Pavan and Humana-Paredes were beaten 22-20, 21-18 by April Ross and Alix Klineman of the United States. In the final of the Cancun Hub in Mexico, Pavan and Humana-Paredes were beaten 19-21, 24-22, 15-10 by Taiana Lima and Talita Antunes of Brazil. Then in the World Tour Finals in Cagliari, Italy, Pavan and Humana-Paredes were beaten 21-13, 23-21 by Julia Sude and Karla Borger of Germany.
This was the third and final Elite 16 event for the women on the 2022 Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour. In March, Katja Stam and Raisa Schoon of the Netherlands were victorious in Rosarito, Mexico. Then in Ostrava, Czech Republic in May, the German duo of Svenja Muller and Cinja Tillmann won the tournament.
