A total of 230 of Europe's leading players (106 juniors + 120 professionals) participated in the 2026 European Beach Tennis Championships in Crete, Greece.
The event was held at Lyttos Beach Hotel resort, where a world class Beach Tennis arena has been specially constructed for the event.
ℹ️ Draws and Results
Men's Doubles | Men's Consolation
Women's Doubles | Women's Consolation
Mixed Doubles | Mixed Consolation
Nations' Ranking
📺 Streaming | Photos
Lyttos Beach Channel (YouTube) | Photo Gallery
Italy sweeps gold medals at European Championships in Crete
European Beach Tennis Championships finals day saw an all-Italian battalion in full force, the squad’s dominance only threatened by a minor incursion by team Spain.
Italy filled five of the six finals spots going into Sunday’s matches. Spain’s Alvaro García & Antomi Ramos also battled their way into the men’s finals having saved four match points against - you guessed it - Italy in the semifinals, defeating Niccolo Gaspari (Ramos’ pro tour partner) and Edoardo Ponti.
For a while it looked as though tournament veteran Ramos would finally win his first men’s doubles gold as the Spanish pair snatched the first set tie break 8-6 over Filippo Boscolo Meneguolo & Gabriele Gini. The Italians were always ahead in the second set, which they claimed 6-3 and then rode the momentum through the deciding tie break, finally winning 10-5.
Asked about their expectations coming into the event, Boscolo Menguelo said that the path to victory had been fraught with hurdles. “The final was not easy for me, as I picked up an injury in the semis yesterday against France. Adding to that, I’ve lost in the first round of my last three or four tournaments, so the mental part was a challenge. But I always enjoy playing with Gabriele and it was amazing to win a first European Championship with him.”
Women's Doubles
In the day’s opening match, women’s top seeds Veronica Casadei & Giulia Trippa were taken out by second seeds Greta Giusti & Nicole Nobile in a match that truly went the distance: Casadei & Trippa claimed the first set on a tie break 7-4, and the teams were again inseparable in set two. A late surge from Giusti & Nobile enabled them to level up with a 7-5 tie break, and just as their compatriots did in the men’s final they built on their momentum, conceding just three points in the champions’ tie break.
Casadei and Nobile paired to win the event last year, but with different partners this time, only one of them was guaranteed a title defence. After the match Nobile remarked, “I think that I’ve played this tournament ten times and the first time that I won was last year! I was thinking more about my partner because I wanted to her to win this tournament, so I feel glad that I was able to help her.”
Giusti added, “I’m really happy to have been able to play in this tournament; it’s the first time that I have won with Nicole and it’s been great to play at this incredible resort. I’m very happy and hope to be back next year!”
Mixed Doubles
After a lengthy rain delay, two of the gold medallists returned to the court to fight for a second gold, the all-Italian mixed doubles final pitching Veronica Casadei & Gabriele Gini against Greta Giusti and Niccolo Gasparri. The combination of Gasparri’s experience – he also won the title in 2024 – and Giusti’s confidence after her earlier win carried them to a convincing victory. Breaking at the end of the first set to claim it 7-5, they reeled off eight games in a row to complete a 6-0 second set.
Gasparri commented, “I would like to thank Greta, it’s been a great tournament. We’ve played together in the past, but never at a European Championship, so this win is truly special. It’s my second time on the national team so I am very happy, and I hope to be back next year.”
Unsurprisingly, Italy was proclaimed the winner of the Nations’ Ranking, which celebrates the best-performing nation at the event.
Hosted by the Hellenic Tennis Federation, this year’s tournament was held at Lyttos Beach Resort. Rather than taking place directly on the beach, this year the tournament was held at a purpose-built venue alongside the resort’s tennis courts. Eight beach tennis courts, flanked by spectator stands, created a compact and lively setting for the competition. The location also proved particularly convenient for players, with the courts just a short walk from their rooms, as well as the physio, gym, pool and recovery facilities.
Perhaps the stand-out feature for most players had to do with their feet. The courts were laid with treated, washed and rounded silica (Quartz S40/45), imported from Portugal. The sand’s heat-resistant technology was a welcome addition in the warm conditions in Crete, while the bright white colour provided a crisp contrast with the yellow net edges and balls. The rounded grains also helped reduce skin abrasion, while the low proportion of fine particles meant less sand sticking to players’ skin during matches.
The result was both practical and aesthetically pleasing, features that did not go unnoticed by the players (check out the Tennis Europe Official Instagram for more).
Junior Championships Round-Up
The Junior competitions at the European Beach Tennis Championships have come to a close. In truly dramatic finish under the piercing Cretian sun, it was team Spain who stamped its mark on this tournament, winning four of the six gold medals on offer. In total, Spain will take home a whopping eight of the 18 total medals in the competition.
It was in the boys' 18&U doubles where Spaniards Iker Mateos Méndez & Jorge Méndez Martínez came back from the brink in an electrifying match. At 2-6 1-3 down, it seemed that Italians Alex Agirelli & Nicola de Siena would sail to victory. In typical dogged Spanish style, the boys fought back to take the second set and push the match into deciding tiebreaker.
It was a topsy-turvy tiebreak, with Spain saving two match points at 7-9 down before winning three successive points to go up 10-9. The heat and the nerves combined perhaps took their toll, as Mateos Mendez had medical issues to contend with. The match was hanging in the balance, and after a few minutes of rest and plenty of fluids, his stomach settled enough for Spain to win the one point they needed to seal the victory 11-9.
It was a double win for the Spanish in the 18 & Under category as top seeds Claudia Casas Pau & Eva Sanchez Santana took the girls’ title in more convincing fashion, defeating team Latvia in straight sets. Hoping for a three-peat, it was not to be for Spain, as Italy thwarted their hopes of a clean sweep in the 18 and under events. Alex Agirelli defended the mixed doubles title for Italy, teaming on this occasion with Camilla Naldi.
In the 14&U age groups, Spain again won two events, Liberto Amate Ballesteros & Nestor Santana Sanchez taking the boys’ doubles and Santana Sanchez teaming with Tiara Vallmitjana to claim the mixed doubles. France’s Chanelle Dupuy & Emma Rivat won the girls’ doubles after a 26-point deciding tie break and become the first French team to win the title.
ℹ️ Draws and Results - Juniors
Boys 14 & Under | Girls 14 & Under | Mixed 14 & Under
Boys 18 & Under | Boys 18 & Under Consolation
Girls 18 & Under | Girls 18 & Under Consolation | Mixed 18 & Under
Photo Gallery | Tennis Europe Instagram