Alanya, Turkey, July 13, 2017.  The iconic Kleopatra Beach, considered the birthplace of Turkish Beach Volleyball, is in the spotlight again, as international competition returns to Alanya’s western sandy strip this week, after having moved to the eastern side for many years. Right at the foot of the hill, which protrudes into the Mediterranean Sea and boasts the magnificent Alanya Castle on top, two courts are ready to welcome some of Europe’s best women’s players for the CEV Alanya Masters, as well as some of the continent’s young hopefuls, who will take part in a CEV Youth Continental Cup event.

23 women’s pairs from 15 different countries have signed up to play at the Alanya Masters, and those 11 teams that will have to go through Thursday’s qualifications will not be stopped by the sweltering heat with temperatures rising to the high 30s during the day. They are already good to go as the first qualification round is set to kick off at 11:30 local time.

The Alanya Masters starts just days after the women’s CEV Satellite Laholm took place last week and in fact four of the teams that ranked among the top five in Laholm are making the long trip from Sweden all the way to the southern shores of Turkey. But the line-up for the Masters tournament is so strong that even the silver medallists from Laholm, Germany’s Katarina Schillerwein and Cinja Tillmann, did not make the main draw cut and, though as the top-seeded team, will have to play a qualification match on Thursday afternoon.

“Last week we had a very good tournament in Laholm and we want to continue our strong play here, in Alanya,” Schillerwein said on the eve of the competition. “We are very excited to play at this Masters tournament. We will see how we will manage with this heat, because it is very hot indeed! This one game will be tough, but we are going to give everything, because we want to qualify for the main draw.”

Laholm Satellite’s fourth-placed Martina Bonnerova and Sarka Nakladalova from the Czech Republic and fifth-placed Lézana Placette and Aline Chamereau from France will also play in the qualifications in Alanya on Thursday. So will Switzerland’s Kim Huber and Latvia's Marta Ozolina, who each won gold on the CEV Snow Volleyball European Tour at the stops in Disentis and Malbun, respectively, earlier this year.

The 16-team double-elimination main draw will last from Friday through Sunday. Finland’s Taru Lahti-Liukkonen and Anniina Parkkinen will be the top-seeded team in the main draw. Parkkinen finished fifth at the previous Masters in Baden together with Riikka Lehtonen, after playing at some FIVB World Tour events, including the five-star tournament in Fort Lauderdale in February.

Second-seeded Valentyna Davidova and Ievgeniia Shchypkova from Ukraine also enjoyed a fifth-place finish in Baden after ending up ninth at the four-star Rio de Janeiro tournament in May. Just before coming to Alanya, they took part in the five-star World Tour events in Porec and Gstaad, finishing 17th on both occasions.

The third-seeded team features two-time Olympian Elsa Baquerizo McMillan from Spain. After her fifth place in Baden and appearances at World Tour and AVP events with various partners earlier this year, this time she will be teaming up with Paula Soria Gutiérrez.

Another two-time Olympian, Marta Menegatti, will be gracing the Turkish Riviera with her presence at Kleopatra Beach this weekend. One of Italy’s Beach Volleyball stars is returning to Alanya, where in 2010 she and Viktoria Orsi Toth made headlines with a silver medal from the U21 World Championship. At this week’s Masters, Menegatti will be playing with Rebecca Perry.

Parallel to the Masters tournament, on Saturday and Sunday Alanya will also play host to the battles in Pool C of the 2017-2018 CEV Youth Beach Volleyball Continental Cup, featuring the double-gender youth national teams of Albania, Belarus, Italy, Romania and Turkey. In each gender, the eventual winners and the runners-up will be qualifying for next year’s CEV Youth Continental Cup Final.

Engage with the 2017 CEV Beach Volleyball European Championship - Alanya Masters on social media by using the competition’s official hashtag #EuroBeachVolley.

Click here for more information on the Alanya Masters.

Engage with the 2017-2018 CEV Youth Beach Volleyball Continental Cup on social media by using the competition’s official hashtag #CEVContinentalCup.

Click here for more information on the Youth Continental Cup.