New challenges and dreams for Barbara/Fernanda

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Fernanda (left) and Barbara (right) with coach Ricardo de Freitas on the Copacabana. Photocredit: Guilherme Torres.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year – it’s begun with a bang and here’s the latest bombshell!

The beach volleyball off-season is only two weeks old following the finale that was the Swatch Beach Volleyball FIVB World Tour Finals in Toronto but we already have yet another new team to talk about.

And what a team this promises to be…step forward onto the sand Brazilians Barbara Seixas and Fernanda Alves.

The pair, who were unveiled on the Copacabana on Tuesday, join forces having split from partners Agatha Bednarczuk and Josi Alves with the aim of qualifying for the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2020.

Barbara, who won silver at her home Olympics in Rio in August and silver at the smart Major Hamburg, beat her new partner back in the final of the 2015 World Championships in the Netherlands – and Fernanda will be hoping that the partnership will bring as many medals as Barbara enjoyed with Agatha.

Seixas, who has 23 international medals to her name since beginning her career in 2003, said: “It was not an easy decision.

“I played with Agatha for six years and we had great results and we always had good chemistry, inside and outside the court. But I talked to my staff and we agreed that it was time to look for a new challenge that could bring me motivation and a new way to view things. I can see all of that in Fernanda and we are extremely excited for a long term project.”

Fernanda – voted the best spiker of the 2015 FIVB World Championships – added: “As a rival, I always admired Barbara and her staff because of the way they worked.

“I was in the stands cheering for them a month ago and now it feels great to be part of the team. In just a few days I could notice the difference. I am sure it was a move that puts me in a better position to play in the Olympics, which has been my dream since I played indoor volleyball.”

Agatha, meanwhile will partner Carolina Salgado on the four national stops in Brazil for the remainder of this year before teaming up with rising star Duda Lisboa in 2017 for the international campaign.

With Swiss stars retiring and forming new teams and with Kerri Walsh Jennings and April Ross unsure of where their future lies, it's all happening in the women’s world of beach volleyball!

Stay tuned to our website and social media throughout the off-season to keep up-to-date with the latest before the 2017 campaign kicks of next year!