Champions to defend Réunion titles with increased prize money on offer
Defending champions – Michele Cappelletti, Antomi Ramos, Patty Diaz and Rafaella Miiller – return to Réunion this month to defend their titles as the 2023 Sand Series gets underway on the Indian Ocean island.
The Sand Series Réunion Classic, which takes place from 17-19 March, has increased its prize money from US$35,000 to US$50,000 this season and judging by the tournament’s the entry list, this is an enticing addition.
In Réunion, 27 of the world's top 30 players will be on show and aiming to secure silverware at the year’s first major tournament. With new partnerships on show as well as returning favourites, there will be some exciting match-ups on the Saint-Gilles-Les-Bains sand.
On the men’s side, defending champions Cappelletti (7x Réunion champion) and Ramos (3x Réunion champion) will bid to defend a title which set them on their way to a historic season last term.
Who can forget the eight titles they won as a pair? This included four of five Sand Series and the World Championship, which sets a high bar for other teams, while Cappelletti and Ramos will surely be confident of continuing such impeccable form.
The duo they beat in the final 12 months ago, France’s Nicolas Gianotti and Mattia Spoto of Italy, will be looking to go one step further this time around and secure a first Réunion title. They did, of course, top the Sand Series podium in Gran Canaria during 2022 so have pedigree.
They are not the only contenders, however, with 2019 champion Nikita Burmakin continuing his successful partnership with Brazil’s Andre Baran as the pair bid to secure a maiden Sand Series title as a pair.
Also looking for their first Sand Series title will be Italy’s Doriano Beccaccioli and Theo Irigaray of France, who came together as a team in the latter half of 2022 and won one title (BT200 Praia da Vitoría) and reached a further three finals.
In the women’s draw, Diaz and Miiller were emotional first-time Réunion winners in 2022, defeating Giulia Gasparri (3x Réunion champion) and Ninny Valentini 12-10 in a final match tie-break.
The current world No. 1s, however, used their defeat to fuel a highly successful campaign in which they won a whopping 11 titles, including two Sand Series and the World Championship.
Looking at teams aiming to stop a repeat of the 2022 final, immediately leaping off the page are world Nos. 3 and 4, Italians Nicole Nobile and Sofia Cimatti. Cimatti has won three Réunion titles, including the 2021 title with Nobile.
The pair have won four Sand Series titles together and will be looking to add to that list. Also in the hunt will be Cimatti’s 2018 title-winning partner, Flaminia Daina of Italy, who is continuing her successful partnership with Brazilian Sophia Chow in 2023.
One new partnership to keep an eye on is Brazil’s Vitoria Marchezini and Eva Fernandez Palos of Spain. The two youngest players in the world’s top 20 line-up as a new team in 2023 and, after reaching the quarter-finals in their first tournament together in Guarujá in February, they will be hoping to impress in Réunion.
The Main Draw starts on Thursday 16 March, with live scoring to follow from the first round. Live streaming will be available from the quarter-finals onwards with more information available on the tournament page.