Find out what happened in the beach volleyball in the last seven days

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Welcome to the Beach Shorts, our new Friday weekly column that will bring to you everything that happened in beach volleyball world in the last seven days. From breaking news to tournament previews and social media stuff, here is the place you’ll find everything you need about the sport.

So, make sure you check in here every week before you starting enjoying your weekend!

Thanks, Monika

Poland's Monika Brzostek announced this week she’s retiring from professional beach volleyball at the age of 28. A Rio 2016 Olympian, she gave birth to her first son, Julian, last July and considered returning to the sport in 2018, but ultimately decided to focus on taking care of her baby.

“It was hard to conciliate my duties of a professional athlete and a mom and I feel that I wouldn’t be able to dedicate as much time as I wanted to neither beach volleyball or Julian,” she said in an interview to Polish website Przegald Sportowy. 

Monika Brzostek (left) played her last tournament in Long Beach, in 2016. Photocredit: FIVB

World Tour one-star in Australia

As the top teams in the world prepare to the Fort Lauderdale Major, 50 duos compete in the World Tour one-star event in Shepparton, Australia, this weekend. The tournament in the Victoria Park kicked off on Thursday, with the qualification tournament, and will end on Sunday.

Italian veteran Marta Menegatti is the main star of the tournament as the two-time Olympian is teaming again with Laura Giombini, her partner in Rio 2016, after spending the 2017 season with Rebecca Perry.

Italian star Marta Menegatti highlights the list of competitors in Shepparton. Photocredit: FIVB

Social Media: Fort Lauderdale preparation at full power

Beach volleyball teams around the world are working hard to be on their best shapes when they land in Fort Lauderdale in the end of February to compete in the first Major event of the season.

Check out this amazing rally between USA’s Jake Gibb and Taylor Crabb and Canada’s Sam Pedlow and Sam Schachter in Hermosa Beach, California, where they are training, and understand what we are talking about!

In case you missed it

Here are the most important beach volleyball news of the week:

Fort Lauderdale Major’s entry list is revealed

Spanish Liliana Fernández ready to hit the sand after having her first baby

American Sean Rosenthal has a new partner…and he is a former NBA player

Alison Cerutti returns to the sands with a victory in the Brazilian Tour