BEACH VOLLEYBALL Preview: First-time event in Malaysia sees the return of Olympic champ Ludwig

Germany's Olympic champs Laura Ludwig (l) and Kira Walkenhorst

The fourth of five FIVB World Tour three-star tournaments is in Port Dickson (MAS) – about an hour outside of Kuala Lumpur – with some good teams, but none of the current super teams in the sport:

Men:
1. Andre Loyola Stein/George Wanderley (BRA)
2. Alison Cerutti/Alvaro Filho (BRA)
3. Philipp Arne Bergmann/Yannick Harms (GER)
4. John Hyden/Ryan Doherty (USA)
5. Enrico Rossi/Adrian Carambula (ITA)

Women:
1. Barbora Hermannova/Marketa Slukova (CZE)
2. Karl Borger/Julia Sude (GER)
3. Victoria Bieneck/Isabel Schneider (GER)
4. Laura Ludwig/Margareta Kozuch (GER)
5. Brooke Sweat/Kerri Walsh Jennings (USA)

There’s a lot of interest in the return of Germany’s Ludwig, half of the 2016 Olympic and 2017 World Championships gold medalist duo, who skipped the 2018 season for maternity. Her partner, Kira Walkenhorst, has been troubled by injuries, so Ludwig will play with Margareta Kozuch in Malaysia.

This is a new tournament for 2019. The Main Drew competition begins on 1 May, with the quarterfinals on the third and semis and finals on Saturday (4th).

Prize money for this tournament is $75,000 per gender, with $10,000-8,000-5,000–4,000 for the top four places and money down to the round of 32 teams. Look for results here.