Pingtung City, Chinese Taipei, July 18, 2025 – The heat is on at the AVC Beach Tour Pingtung Open, as elite teams from Australia and Japan stole the spotlight on Day 2, with five teams apiece powering through to the much-anticipated quarterfinals at Qinzhou Beach, nestled in the breathtaking Dapeng Bay National Scenic Area, in the southern tip of Chinese Taipei.
In the women’s event, three Japanese pairs and two Australian duos punched their tickets to the quarterfinals. On the men’s side, Australia flexed their muscle with three teams advancing, while Japan secured two quarterfinal berths of their own, setting the stage for thrilling clashes on Saturday.
Australia’s top seeds, Georgia Johnson/Elizabeth Alchin, who bagged bronze at both the 2024 World Beach Pro Tour Coolangatta Futures and the 2nd Nuvali Open in the Philippines, were in blistering form. They dominated Pool A after an emphatic 2-0 (21-8, 21-18) triumph over Indonesia’s Kaize Josephine Selvina Anasthasya/Herdanti Bernadetta Shella.
The in-form Aussies maintained their momentum in the round of 16, brushing aside Vietnam’s Hanh Mai Hong/Chau Ngoc Lan in straight sets 2-0 (21-14, 21-13). They are now poised to battle Vanuatu’s sixth seeds, Majabelle Lawac/Sherysyn Toko, champions at last week’s Pacific Mini Games in Palau.
The Vanuatu’s formidable duo had to dig deep to outlast Indonesia’s Josephine/Bernadetta in a nail-biting tie-breaker 2-1 (21-17, 17-21, 15-6).
Second seeds and Nuvali Open champions Stefanie Fejes/Jasmine Fleming of Australia also showcased their class, dispatching Vietnam’s Dinh Thi My Nga/Nguyen Le Thi Tuong Vy 2-0 (21-18, 21-18) to top Pool B. They proved to be a force to be reckoned with in the round of 16 as they overcame Indonesia’s Ratnasari Desi/Sari Nur Atika in another straight-set affair 2-0 (21-18, 21-19).
Next up for the Australians will be a tantalizing showdown against Japan’s Sakura Ito/Mayu Sawame, silver medallists at this year’s BPT Nuvali Futures.
Japan’s third seeds Asami Shiba/Reika Murakami, who finished fourth at the Nuvali Open, cruised past Hong Kong, China’s Ng Ki Wing/Wilson Halimah Zampaligre with a one-sided 2-0 (21-10, 21-9) victory. They will now face Thailand’s Samitta Simarongnam/Somruedee Koedkaew, who stunned fellow Thais Charanrutwadee Patcharamainaruebhorn/Woranatchayakorn Phirachayakrailerd 2-1 (23-25, 21-12, 15-11) in an all-Thai thriller.
Meanwhile, Thailand’s fifth seeds and 2021 Asian champions Taravadee Naraphornrapat/Worapeerachayakorn Kongphopsarutawadee dashed the home crowd’s hopes by breezing past Chinese Taipei’s Liu Pi-Hsin/Wu Shu-Fen 2-0 (21-18, 21-15). They are set to lock horns with Japan’s fourth seeds Ren Matsumoto/Non Matsumoto, champions at the 2025 Samila Open in Songkhla and silver medallists at the BPT Songkhla Futures.
With all Thai men’s pairs bowing out, the men’s draw now leans heavily on the dominance of Australia and Japan.
Top seeds and reigning Asian champions D’Artagnan Potts/Jack Pearse of Australia continued their march with commanding wins, first dispatching Malaysia’s Kai Xu Looi/Wei Chun Ler 2-0 (21-15, 21-16) to top Pool A, then overpowering Vietnam’s Nguyen Hoang Long/Phu Tho Bao 2-0 (21-13, 21-19) in the round of 16.
They will next face Japan’s fifth seeds Kai Kurokawa/Ryulchi Adachi, who made short work of Malaysians Looi/Ler 2-0 (21-15, 21-14).
Second-seeded Australians Paul Burnett/Luke Ryan, champions at the Nuvali Open, swept aside Saudi Arabia’s Dhia Alkhawaher/Mahfouz Ali 2-0 (21-13, 21-13) and will now face compatriots Ben Hood/Joshua Howat in an all-Australian quarterfinal encounter.
Hood/Howat earlier ended the dream run of Chinese Taipei’s Hsieh Ya-Jen/Wu Shin-Shian, prevailing in a hard-fought tie-breaker 2-1 (21-6, 22-24, 15-7).
Japan’s seventh seeds Takumi Takahashi/Jumpei Ikeda moved through with a confident 2-0 (21-18, 21-15) victory over Qatar’s Sammoud Mahdi Badreddin/Zaki Mohamed Ihab. They will now battle another Qatari team, Binaziz Elmajid Saifeddine/Mahmoud Assam Ahmed, who pulled off a dramatic comeback to topple Thailand’s third seeds Netitorn Muneekul/Poravid Taovato 2-1 (16-21, 21-17, 15-13).
The Northern Mariana Islands’ Logan Jon Mister/Johnson Andew Scott kept their campaign alive with a spirited comeback win against Thailand’s Nobphadon Sukphuwong/Dunwinit Kaewsai 2-1 (18-21, 21-12, 16-14). They will square off against Hong Kong, China’s Lee Lit Fung/Lee Cheuk Hei, who advanced after Thailand’s Pithak Tipjan/Wacharawit Muadpha were forced to withdraw due to injury.
The much-anticipated women’s quarterfinals will kick off at 8:30am local time on Saturday, with the semifinals slated for 1:30pm. The men’s quarterfinals are set for 10:10am, followed by the semifinals at 3:30pm, as the battle for beach volleyball glory reaches fever pitch on the golden sands of Pingtung.
MATCH RESULTS
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WOMEN
POOLS
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WOMEN
MATCH SCHEDULE
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FINAL RANKINGS
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