Sand Series heads to Gran Canaria for Spanish Swing
The Playa de Las Canteras will once again play host to the best of beach tennis as the Sand Series returns to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. The tournament, which takes place on 12-14 May, has increased its prize money from US$35,000 to $50,000 and has attracted a stellar lineup featuring the men’s and women’s top 10.
On this year’s edition, tournament director Octavio Santana said: “We are excited to receive players from more than 20 nationalities and five continents, where we will see the men and women compete at the best level”.
After capturing the opening Sand Series of the year at the Réunion Classic, world No. 1 pair Antomi Ramos and Michele Cappelletti will look to recapture the title they won in 2021 – on Ramos’ birthday and in his hometown - after losing out in last year’s final to Nicolas Gianotti and Mattia Spoto.
That loss denied the Italian-Spanish duo a clean sweep in last year’s Sand Series after capturing the other four. Gianotti and Spoto tore the field apart last year, taking the title for the loss of just 11 games as part of a men’s tour-leading 20 match win-streak in 2022. Though still looking for their first Sand Series crown of the year, the pair have claimed two titles this year at BT200 Ras Al Khaimah 1 and the BT400 Pure Beach.
Nikita Burmakin and Andre Baran will be hungry for some Spanish success and fancy their chances after achieving the rare feat of beating both these No. 1 and No. 2-seeded teams on the way to their first title of the year in Abu Dhabi, and following up by clinching the inaugural Sand Series Ribeirão Preto last week. Burmakin finished as Gran Canaria runner-up in 2021 whilst Baran has been a semi-finalist in the past two editions as the pair look to capitalise on their strong form so far this year.
Giulia Gasparri and Ninny Valentini will look to defend their title and make it three for three in the Sand Series this year after capturing the opening two titles in Réunion and Ribeirao Preto. The pair have picked up four titles already this year as they look to eclipse their 10-title haul from 2022. They had a tougher road to the title than their male counterparts, pushed all the way in the quarter-final by Sophia Chow and Patricia Diaz, dropping the opening set before edging out a 10-7 match tie-break. This too formed part of a women’s tour-leading 23 match win streak in 2022.
The Sand Series Gran Canaria Classic will feature live scoring from the first round as well as live streaming from the quarter-finals onwards. More information is available on the tournament page.