One of the several new teams competing on the 2025 Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour, Brazilians Carol Salgado and Rebecca Cavalcanti triumphed at the first Elite event of the season, which came to an end on Sunday, in Quintana Roo, Mexico.

Flanked by USA’s Terese Cannon/Megan Kraft, who finished second, and Kristen Nuss/Taryn Brasher, who ranked third, the Brazilian Olympians stepped on the top of the podium at the Playa del Carmen to celebrate their first international victory as partners.

• Watch the Beach Pro Tour Quintana Roo Elite matches on demand on VBTV

In the gold medal match, their first as partners at the international level, Carol and Rebecca dominated Cannon and Kraft to secure a 2-0 (21-13, 21-17) victory and the title on Sunday in Mexico.

“Playing in Mexico is always great,” Rebecca said. “The fans bring an incredible energy to the matches and they often support us, Brazilians, which is great. It was my first final in an Elite event and to start a new team and a new cycle like this, it couldn’t be any better. There’s still a long way ahead of us, but we’re working hard to get where we want.”

Carol, a Paris 2024 Olympian, and Rebecca, who represented Brazil at the Tokyo 2020 Games, announced their union at the end of 2024, after Agatha Bednarczuk, who was playing with the defender, retired.

The two took gold in their very first event as partners, in the Brazilian domestic tour, but couldn’t keep the same form in their first international tournament, last week’s Beach Pro Tour Yucatán Challenge, where they finished ninth.

This week in Quintana Roo, the Brazilians fought the windy conditions to come out on top with six wins in seven matches, five of them in straight sets.

“This has been a very special week for us,” Carol reflected. “Playing with Rebecca has been amazing, I always wanted to play with her. She’s a great player and we have a lot of fun together. The wind was a big factor here and I’m proud of us because it was the same last week at the Yucatán Challenge and we struggled a lot there. We knew we had to find a way to play through it and kept our minds strong.”

Despite the defeat in the gold medal match, Cannon and Kraft also have a lot to take from the Quintana Roo event as they managed to continue in great form and extend their streak of podium appearance in Elite events on the Beach Pro Tour to five – they won four silver and one bronze medals in the period.

VW Beach Pro Tour Quintana Roo Elite: Results

Nuss and Brasher finish third

After taking three teams to the semifinals, the United States got to have two of them on the podium on Sunday. The top-seeded duo in the event, Nuss and Brasher claimed the last available spot with a 2-0 (21-16, 21-14) victory over compatriots Kelly Cheng and Molly Shaw on Sunday’s bronze medal match.

It was the 14^th medal won by the Paris Olympians since they started competing internationally in 2022. Nuss and Brasher now have eight gold, three silver and three bronze medals, with ten of those coming in Elite events.

After a one-week break, the Beach Pro Tour will return with another Elite event in Saquarema, Brazil, from April 9-13.

Quick links:
Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour
VBTV
Beach Volleyball World Facebook
Beach Volleyball World X
Beach Volleyball World Instagram
Beach Volleyball World YouTube
Subscribe to Volleyball World's Newsletter