An important week in the inaugural season of the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour is just behind us after teams from hosts Brazil and USA claimed gold in Itapema, the venue for the second Challenge-level tournament of the new international beach volleyball circuit.

A lot happened over four days of competition in the South American country, from Brazilians Andre and George winning back-to-back titles in Itapema and Americans Sara Hughes and Kelley Kolinske lifting their first trophy as partners, to Dutch pair Raisa Schoon and Katja Stam completing their spectacular journey to the top spot of the FIVB World Rankings.

And everything that happened in Itapema will have effects on the weeks ahead and on and the next Challenge event scheduled to take place in Doha, Qatar, from May 5-8. Here are some of the questions that have been raised as the top international teams in the world prepare for their next outings.

Will Schoon and Stam remain at the top?

It may have come as a surprise that the young Dutch pair found their way to the top of the World Rankings so quickly, but with one gold and two silver medals in three events in 2022, it’s hard to argue against the fact that they are the hottest women’s team in the world right now, and are exactly where they deserve to be.

What’s up for debate is how long can they can stay at the top. Stam said they wanted to dominate the sport for a long time and with a 760-point advantage over the next active team in the rankings, composed of Brazilians Barbara Seixas and Carol Salgado, it’s unlikely the Dutch will lose their spot in Doha. The rankings are very fluid, however, and in a few weeks, could look very different.

How low will Mol and Sorum drop in the rankings?

Remaining on the ranking subject, but switching genders, it is worth thinking about reigning Olympic champions Anders Mol and Christian Sorum's position in the table. The Beach Volley Vikings are obviously one of the best teams in the world, but their position in the rankings is set to change dramatically over the next few weeks.

Mol and Sorum are currently second at 4,400 points and have Itapema finalists Andre/George and Perusic/Schweiner knocking on their door at 4,360, but the Norwegians’ problems go well beyond those two teams. The Vikings are set to drop 1,600 points from their two FIVB World Tour victories in Cancun last year shortly and as they’re not entered to compete in Doha, their next opportunity to add points won’t come until two weeks later, at the Kuşadası Challenge, meaning several rivals could move ahead of them.

Who will be the next country to take gold?

Considering just the Elite16 and Challenge events, five countries have topped the podium at the first three tournaments on the Beach Pro Tour in 2022 – Brazil (twice), the Netherlands, Poland, Qatar and the United States. Who will be next?

Looking at the Doha entry lists, possible candidates among the women include Australia, who will have Tokyo Olympic silver medallists Taliqua Clancy and Mariafe Artacho back in action, and Switzerland with its top teams of Nina Brunner/Tanja Huberli and Joana Heidrich/Anouk Verge-Depre. Among the men, the Czech Republic showed they are able to claim a place on the podium with Perusic and Schweiner getting just one set away from gold in Itapema, and Italy has a strong tradition in the sport and two interesting new teams in Daniele Lupo/Alex Ranghieri and Paolo Nicolai/Samuele Cottafava.

Will the Dutchmen return to competition in good form?

Dutch fans have no reason to complain about the performances of their country’s teams in Itapema. The Netherlands won medals in both genders and saw one of their tandems climb to the top of the World Rankings. But it’s impossible not to wonder what else they could have achieved in Brazil had their top two men’s teams competed in the tournament.

Alexander Brouwer/Robert Meeuwsen, the silver medallists in Rosarito, and Stefan Boermans/Yorick de Groot, who won a World Tour event in Gstaad last year, were both entered in the Itapema Challenge, but had to withdraw a few days before the start of the tournament for medical reasons. They have some time until Doha and if they’re cleared to play, their country will have two teams among the favourites to take gold in Qatar.

Who will be the next dark horses?

Both Challenge events held so far had surprising teams making long runs and returning home with medals. Not many people expected Chileans Noe Aravena and Vicente Droguett to take silver in Tlaxcala or Dutch pair Luini and Penninga to claim silver in Itapema. The women’s bronze medals in both events were won by Brazilian teams that were seeded 11th and not included among the favourites.

Dark horses are hard to predict due to their very nature, but looking at the Doha entry lists, Swiss pair Marco Krattiger/Florian Breer and Austrians Martin Ermacora/Moritz Pristauz, on the men’s side, and Japanese team Miki Ishii/Sayaka Mizoe and Germans Sandra Ittlinger/Isabel Schneider, among the women, stand out as good candidates for the role.

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