Defending champions Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson secured two wins on Thursday at the Montreal Elite stop on the FIVB Beach Pro Tour circuit. The Toronto pair defeated Brazil’s Carolina Horta and Ana Patricia Ramos with a score of 21-12, 21-12 in the first match and then clinched a 21-13, 21-16 victory against the Lithuanian duo of Monika Paulikiene and Aine Raupelyte.
Having won in 2023 and 2025, Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson are aiming for a third consecutive title. In 2024, when there was no tournament in Montreal, the duo reached the beach volleyball gold-medal game at the Paris Olympics but fell to Ramos and Eduarda (Duda) Lisboa.
On Thursday, the Toronto team sought revenge by outscoring the Brazilians 26-18 in attack points and 8-1 in serves. Lea Monkhouse of Mississauga, Ont., and local favorite Marie-Alex Belanger of Saint-Alphonse-Rodriguez, Que., suffered a 21-15, 21-15 loss to Tina Graudina and Anastasija Samoilova of Latvia.
In men’s matches, Samuel Schachter of Richmond Hill, Ont., and Jonathan Pickett of Wiarton, Ont., split their two games, while Cameron Chadwick of Barrie, Ont., and Steven Abrams of Georgetown, Ont., lost both of their matches.
The competition will continue until Sunday at Parc Jean-Drapeau.