The search for a partner is on

Our beach volleyball players need a new “Tinder”

Christoph Dressler (right) really showed off at the last tournaments.

(Bild: CEV)

After the Olympics is before the Olympics. This is especially true for the local beach volleyball players, for whom new partner opportunities often arise after the Games. Who plays with whom, who can't play with the other? That's what we have to find out now. And a Styrian trio is right in the middle of it.

"We need someone to develop a dating service for us beach volleyball players. Unfortunately, there isn't one yet," laughs Philipp Waller. In the style of dating apps like Tinder: beach volleyball player, male, 28, looking. "Preferably a block player, right side, over two meters tall. Age or whether right- or left-handed doesn't matter," winks the man from Mühldorf.

Phil Waller will play the next two tournaments with a different partner each time.

(Bild: Florian Schroetter)

But the fun has a serious background. Partner Martin Ermacora has ended his career. As a result, Waller is currently without a partner. Which is not a bad thing. Because immediately after the Olympic Games, many federations regularly reshuffle their teams. "I don't even know what will happen yet." 

Which partner comes into question
There are at least a few possibilities in Austria. However, there is still a big question mark over whether the red-white-red legend Alex Horst will continue or retire. Then the association will also know whether Julian Hörl is available as a block player. There are also Christoph Dressler, Robin Seidl, Mathias Seiser and Timo Hammarberg. A comeback with Seidl is probably unthinkable. Waller already had a good tournament with Dressler in Latvia this year. "That was a lot of fun." He will start with Jakob Reiter at the national championships in Wolfurt this weekend and with Hammarberg at the European Championships next week.

Waller (right) already formed a team with Dressler at the Nations Cup in Latvia.

(Bild: CEV)

Christoph Dressler from Gosdorf started in Vorarlberg with regular partner Maximilian Trummer. Last week, however, he gained a lot of confidence on the World Tour by winning the tournament in Brussels with Liam Berger. It remains to be seen with whom he will go into his big goal of the 2028 Olympics. "We have a lot of great players with great potential: Waller, Berger, Pristauz," says the 31-year-old. 

This year, he has already put in several good performances: two tournament victories in Brussels and Sveti Vlas, plus silver at the Nations Cup in Latvia. "Thanks to the latest results, I want to work even more closely with the association. You need it and its support if you want to go to the Olympics." Who would be his preferred partner for the future? "Everything is still open. In cooperation with the national team coaches, we will find out which constellations harmonize particularly well."

Whether Moritz Pristauz (left) will continue to play with Robin Seidl remains to be seen.

(Bild: Rainer Mirau)

Moritz Pristauz from Graz had no chance of winning the title. After suffering a knee and abdominal muscle injury at the Nations Cup, he still has to take a break. "My rehabilitation training is going quite well. Apart from Sunday, I'm training every day. But only with bodyweight and a lot with the physio," says the 28-year-old. "I'm really looking forward to the sand, my fingernails are already itching."

Talks between player and coach
Whether Pristauz will continue to play with Robin Seidl has not yet been decided. "It's not unusual for things to change after the Olympics. The first step will be to talk to the coaches responsible." Who that will be is also still open. According to insiders, however, both the association and Martin Olejnak are not uninterested in continuing to work together. Talks with the coaches and players are to take place after the European Championships next week.

Mo, Oda and Emilie will soon be a foursome.

(Bild: Moritz Pristauz)

So where Mo Pristauz's sporting journey will take him is still open. But where his private life will take him has already been decided. And the news couldn't be better! "Oda and I are having another baby at the beginning of December. Our joy is huge. Emilie is also thrilled to be a big sister soon," beams Mo. "It was planned, we made a conscious decision to do it. We're having a lot of fun with Emilie." What could he already reveal? "It's going to be another girl." Congratulations!