Stellar line-up confirmed for Reunion as Sand Series returns

The Plage Des Brisants will once again play host to one of the biggest stops on the ITF Beach Tennis World Tour for the Sand Series Réunion Classic from 25-27 March.

The 2022 Series will pick up where the 2021 Series left off, as the Réunion tournament (now in its 11th edition) returns to its usual March spot in the calendar.

Players from more than 15 countries and five continents, including eight of the world’s top 10 men and all of the top 10 women, have confirmed they are  ready to take to the court.

Tournament Director Renaud Bourjea is excited to welcome back the top beach tennis players in the world, saying: “After only five months, we are ready to again receive the world’s top players on the Plage Des Brisants in Reunion Island. The first Sand Series of the year will be even more beautiful… we are very excited.”

Antomi Ramos and Michele Cappelletti will be hoping to defend their title but will face stiff competition from Réunion favourite Nicolas Gianotti and Italy’s Mattia Spoto, as well as Andre Baran and Theo Irigaray. Baran and Irigaray are the in-form team this season having triumphed in Santos as well as at the recently concluded BT400 Balneario Rincao.

Having enjoyed the surge in popularity of the sport in Brazil with big crowds in the early season Brazil swing, Theo is excited to return to Réunion, where the crowds are equally passionate, adding: “I’m very excited to return to my island to play one of the biggest tournaments on the calendar in front of my family, my friends and my audience. Each year the tournament evolves, I am curious to see how it will be this year.”

Sofia Cimatti and Nicole Nobile enter the women’s draw as defending champions, having won a titantic tussle in last year’s final, almost letting a set and a break lead slip to eventually triumph, saving match points in the process against Maraike Biglmaier and Eva Fernandez Palos, who will be seeking revenge this year.

Nobile recently won back-to-back titles with Flaminia Daina in Matinhos as well as Balneario Rincao and so will be looking to continue her rich vein of form. Nicole is excited to be returning to Réunion, describing it as like her “second home"

"I know a lot of people there," she added. "I feel very good playing this tournament.” They will face a tough test from Sand Series Brasília champions Vitoria Marchezini and Marcela Vita, who picked up four titles last year, with the young Marchezini playing in Réunion for the first time.

The Sand Series consists of the premier tournaments in the ITF Beach Tennis World Tour. Designed to provide the top players with opportunities to gain more ranking points and more prize money, the Series will have up to eight stops in 2022.

In addition to the Réunion Classic, the Series will see the return of three more Classic tournaments in Saarlouis, Gran Canaria and Brasilia. Joining the Series destinations will be Barcelona and Viareggio, with further hosts to be confirmed later in the year.

Sand Series 2022:

Watch highlights from the 2021 edition of Sand Series Réunion here