Dutch beach duos reach Gstaad semifinals as Swiss hopes end on home sand
Stefan Boermans and Alexander Brouwer won their quarterfinal, while Katja Stam and Raïsa Schoon eliminated the last Swiss duo to reach the women's last four at the Elite16 event.
Dutch duos reach semifinals
Boermans and Brouwer defeated the French pair Téo Rotar and Arnaud Gauthier-Rat in three sets (25-23, 16-21, 15-9) to reach the men's semifinals. They will face Brazil's Evandro and Arthur Lanci. This is only their second tournament as a pair, after a quarterfinal exit in Ostrava.
On the women's side, Stam and Schoon overcame Swiss favorites Nina Brunner and Tanja Hüberli 21-18, 21-19. They will play Americans Megan Kraft and Kelly Cheng on Sunday for a spot in the final. Stam and Schoon have reached finals in Saquarema and Ostrava this season but are still seeking their first title.
Swiss hopes dashed
All three Swiss women's duos were eliminated on Saturday. Brunner and Hüberli, bronze medalists at the 2024 Olympics, had beaten Stam and Schoon in the group stage but could not repeat the feat in the quarterfinals. The Vergé-Dépré sisters lost a dramatic tiebreak to Betsi Flint and Kylie De Berg of the United States 21-19, 14-21, 20-22, missing two match points.
We were close and had hoped until the end.
Joana Mäder and Leona Kernen also fell to an American duo, Kraft and Cheng, in three sets. No Swiss men's teams remained in the tournament.
Sunday's schedule
The final day of the Elite16 event will feature women's semifinals at 10:00, followed by the third-place matches at 13:00 and 14:00, and the men's and women's finals at 15:00 and 16:00. All matches will be broadcast live on SRF.
- Mäder/Kernen lose to Kraft/Cheng 21-14, 17-21, 9-15.
- Vergé-Dépré sisters lose to Flint/De Berg 21-19, 14-21, 20-22.
- Boermans/Brouwer defeat Rotar/Gauthier-Rat 25-23, 16-21, 15-9.
- Stam/Schoon beat Brunner/Hüberli 21-18, 21-19.
- Women's semifinals: Stam/Schoon vs Kraft/Cheng.
- Third-place matches (men and women).
- Men's and women's finals.
