Brazil holds silver lining for Aussies

Taliqua Clancy and Mariafe Artacho del Solar have clinched their fifth straight Beach Pro Tour Elite16 podium in Uberlândia, Brazil.

After winning two of their three pool matches, the Olympic silver medallists earned a quarter final berth against Latvia’s Tina Graudina and Anastasija Samoilova which they won in straight sets.

This set up a semi final against local favourites and world number one pairing, Ana Patrícia Silva Ramos and Eduarda “Duda” Santos Lisboa.

The Australians won the first set 21-16, however the second set went down to the wire before the reigning World Champions were overcome 25-23.

In the gold medal match, Clancy and Artacho del Solar took on ninth seeds Kristen Nuss and Taryn Kloth. It was the second Beach Pro Tour gold medal match meeting between the two teams which also faced off in the Challenge Final in Kuşadası, Türkiye last May.

The Australian pair won the first set 21-16 however the Americans squared the ledger in the second (24-22), setting up a tense finale.

The decider was in the balance all the way, however Nuss and Kloth managed to just outlast their opponents to win 15-13.

After the match, Nuss paid tribute to the Australians who went within a whisker of the title.

​​“They’re an incredible team. We respect them a lot and it’s always fun when we get to play them,” she said.

Clancy and Artacho del Solar remain second on the World Rankings ahead of the next Elite16 event in Ostrava, Czechia from May 31 to June 4.