Thamela and Victoria Take Elite16 Montreal Gold

Brazilian pair Thâmela Coradello and Victoria Lopes captured the season-ending Beach Pro Tour Elite16 title in Montreal, defeating American second seeds Kristen Cruz and Taryn Brasher in a third-set decider on Sunday. The victory marked their fourth career Elite gold as partners and their first podium finish above bronze in seven events this year.

Seven matches, four comebacks

The Brazilians arrived as the eighth seed but built their run on resilience. They fell behind in four of their seven matches in Montreal and rallied each time. That pattern held through the final, where they dropped the opening set 21-19 before steadying to take the next two 21-18, 15-12 against a Cruz-Brasher pair riding a five-match winning streak.

A semi-final of high tension

The most charged moment came one round earlier. Thâmela and Victoria had already lost in straight sets to home favourites Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson during pool play on Friday. In the semi-final they faced the same Canadian duo, two-time past Montreal champions chasing a three-peat, and overturned the script in a tight two-set-to-one contest.

"This final was very challenging, especially from a physical standpoint," Thâmela told reporters afterwards. "We played three sets in almost every match here, and it was an exhausting tournament for us."

The Montreal crown brings their career tally as a partnership to four golds, two silvers and four bronzes across 25 Beach Pro Tour events. Ranked second in the world, the pair have now won an Elite title in each of their three seasons together, a quiet record of consistency at the top of the women's game.

A turbulent season ended with a trophy that the Brazilian pair had chased all summer.