The tournament started off with the Country Quota Playoffs. The second stage of the tournament featured Qualification matches, while the successful teams advanced to the 32-team Main Draw. Next up, the quarter-finals and final four rounds took centre stage. The pairing of Chen Xue and Zhang Xi staged a consistent performance and paved their way to the final four. They clashed with top rival Talita Antunes and Maria Antonelli in the final showdown of the tournament. The home duo had a lot of support from local fans, but Chinese pair sparked on the scene and marched away with gold-medal victory.
Italy’s Cicolari–Menegatti finished third at the Brasilia Open Women’s Beach Volleyball Tournament.
The SWATCH FIVB World Tour made its second stop in Sanya, China. Talita-Antonelli, who lost the Brasilia Open title put up valiant effort and managed to secure the gold in China. Chinese Xue-Zhang lost the semi-final match and ended up with bronze. However, two Brazilian duos advanced to the final match and competed for gold. Talita-Antonelli overpowered compatriots Juliana Felisberta Silva and Larissa Franca in the final encounter and tallied a gold medal win.
Third tournament of the 2012 SWATCH FIVB World Tour was again hosted by China. The Shanghai Grand Slam started off on April 30 and concluded on May 5.
The dynamic Chinese pair Xue-Zhang delighted the home fans with wonderful feats throughout the tournament. Eventually, they got their hands on the first Grand Slam title of the season. They defeated their conventional rivals Brazil’s Talita-Antonelli. Likewise, Juliana-Larissa secured the bronze.
In the next run, the Beijing Grand Slam got the green light and provided an excellent opportunity for Brazilian Juliana-Larissa to take the No1 spot in the competition. They defeated Italy’s Cicolari–Menegatti. Third spot was secured by Dutch Keizer–van Iersel.
Moscow hosted the fifth tournament of the 2012 SWATCH FIVB World Tour. Xue-Zhang took away the gold, while American Walsh-Treanor and Brazil’s Juliana-Larissa finished second and third, respectively.
Moscow Grand Slam
was followed by Rome Grand Slam from June 12-17. Switzerland’s Kuhn–Zumkehr came on top and seized the title trophy by edging out German Sara Gollar and Lara Ludwig. American Jennifer Kessy and April Ross finished third in the tournament.
