Theo Irigaray of France and Mattia Spoto of Italy thrilled a near-capacity crowd on Centre Court on Tuesday to become the first three-time champions of the KIA Summer Slam Beach Tennis Tour men’s doubles after a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Germany’s Manuel Ringlstetter and Gerard Rodriquez of Spain at the Central Beach in Plettenberg Bay.

Speaking after the match, a delighted Irigaray emphasised how important it had been for them to impose themselves from the start, saying “They’ve got a dangerous game, but we came in this game motivated. They’re both big servers. They like to get forward, put us under pressure, and rush us. It was important to come out firing, try to stay on top of the points early. I felt we did that really well in both sets. Spoto and I play well together.”

The win gives Irigaray and Spoto a hat-trick of KIA Summer Slam Beach Tennis Tour doubles titles after winning the Port Elizabeth and Cape St. Francis tournaments and sees the pair remain unbeaten as a partnership in the tour.
Irigaray and Spoto’s success in South Africa has played a key role inspiring more people to pick up a paddle and play beach tennis, something they are both keen to drive further.

Irigaray talked about their desire to act as an inspiration for others, saying “It’s a really exciting time for the sport and a really exciting time to be a part of it. When we get the opportunity to showcase it to a wider audience it means we hopefully can inspire young kids who have interest in the sport to pick up a pedal and play, that’s why it means so much to us”.

In the women’s event, Italian top seeds Flaminia Daina and Giulia Gasparri outlasted their compatriots Nicole Nobile and Ninny Valentini in a three-set thriller to secure the women’s doubles title.

In an all-Italian showdown between the world’s highest ranked teams, Gasparri (world number 1) and Daina (world number 4) overcame the second seeds, 5-7, 6-2, 7-6(3).

The two-hour 5-minute marathon was packed with power and precision, and in the end the top-seeded pair proved strong.

The new three-time KIA Summer Slam Beach Tennis Tour champions, along with some of the world’s best beach tennis players, will now take part in the prestigious ITF $35,000 event which gets underway this Thursday in Plettenberg Bay.

With the profile of the sport continuing to grow in South Africa, a record crowd is expected at the Central Beach from 19-21 December.

The KIA Summer Slam beach tennis tour remaining tournaments:
19 to 21 December – Plettenberg Bay (Central Beach) $35,000

Results:
Semi-final results:
Men
Manuel Ringlstetter, GER, and Gerard Rodríguez Querol (1), ESP, def. Nikita Burmakin, RUS, and Reigo Tonsberg (4), EST, 6-4 6-2
Theo Irigaray, FRA, and Mattia Spoto (2), ITA, def. Satoshi Goda, JPN, and Marco Mastrantoni (3), ITA, 6-2 6-1
Women
Flaminia Daina and Giulia Gasparri, ITA, def. Ekaterina Glazkova and Liudmila Nikoyan (3), RUS, 6-3 6-0
Nicole Nobile and Ninny Valentini (2), ITA, def. Julia Chubarova and Ekaterina Kamenetckaia (4), RUS, 6-2 7-5

Finals
Men
Theo Irigaray, FRA, and Mattia Spoto (2), ITA, def. Manuel Ringlstetter, GER, and Gerard Rodríguez Querol (1), ESP, 6-2 6-2

Women
Flaminia Daina and Giulia Gasparri (1), ITA, def. Nicole Nobile and Ninny Valentini (2), ITA, 5-7 6-2 7-6(3)

Location

Central Beach Plettenberg bay