Welcome back Fernanda!

Antalya, Turkey, May 11, 2016 - For those wondering what happened to Brazil’s Fernanda Alves on the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour, she is back playing on the international circuit after missing the last eight months of competition due to right shoulder surgery.

A silver medal winner at the 2015 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships in the Netherlands with Taiana Lima, Fernanda is starting her season on the 2015-2016 World Tour here Wednesday with Joseman Alves in their first-ever FIVB event together.

Quick links
FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour Antalya Open
Men - Qualification results
Women - Qualification results
Men - Main draw results
Women - Main draw results

“It is good to be back playing,” said the 30-year-old Fernanda, who captured a FIVB World Tour gold medal with Lima in their second event together at The Hague Grand Slam. “I had shoulder surgery in November and Taiana started playing with Juliana (Felisberta). Joseman and I are not related, but we have a little beach volleyball history together.”

IN ANTALYA TODAY

Seeded 11th in the Antalya Open, Fernanda and Joseman opened play Wednesday morning with a 2-1 (11-21, 21-18, 16-14) setback in 50 minutes to 22nd-seeded Nina Betschart/Tanja Huberli of Switzerland. After playing an afternoon match against 27th-seeded qualifiers Jagoda Gruszczynska/Dorota Strag of Poland, Fernanda and Joseman play sixth-seeded Ana Gallay/Georgina Klug of Argentina.

“What a disappointment after having a commanding lead in the deciding setback (13-8),” said Fernanda. “We made a lot of mistakes and the Swiss girls took advantage of every one of our errors. Playing in our first event together this season was not the problem. We just lost our focus and the Swiss were a lot better at the end.”

With both being active in the Brazilian Air Force the past two years, Fernanda and the 37-year-old Joseman played together in the inaugural International Military Sports Council (CISM) in June 2014 in Warendorf, Germany. As expected, the two Brazilians performed well as Fernanda and Joseman placed second to Chantal Laboureur and Julia Sude of Germany.

MILITARY CHAMPIONSHIP

“It was a great event and we lost to the very experienced German pair in the finals,” said Fernanda, who started playing with Taiana on the FIVB World Tour in Switzerland where the pair placed ninth in their first event together after being eliminated by Brazilian rivals Agatha Bednarczuk and Barbara Seixas in two sets.

No one that follows the international beach volleyball circuit knew that the All-Brazilian match in Gstaad would be repeated twice again during a three-week period in 2015 with the second match resulting in Agatha and Barbara’s 2-0 (21-18, 22-20) in the 43-minute gold medal match at the 2015 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships in the Netherlands. Two weeks earlier at the St. Petersburg Grand Slam in the United States, Agatha and Barbara also won a two-set semifinal match.

Those victories, including the World Championship gold medal, helped secure a spot in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games for Agatha and Barbara. Along with Juliana and Maria Antonelli, Fernanda and Taiana eventually finished behind Talita Antunes and Larissa Franca for the host country berth in the Copacabana quadrennial.

NO. 4

With Agatha and Barbara the world champs and Talita and Larissa winning six events during the 2015 FIVB World Tour campaign, including three Grand Slams, two SWATCH Major and the Rio Open, Fernanda and Lima were No. 4 as the pair also missed out in two Rio qualifying events by losing country quota matches in Moscow and Norway and failing to qualify for the United States Grand Slam in Long Beach.

“Taiana and I had our chances, but losing those country quota matches in Moscow and Stavanger (Norway) really hurt us at the start of the qualifying process for Rio,” said Fernanda. “The disappointment of losing the gold medal at the World Championships was another setback and then the qualifying loss in Long Beach followed by disappointment in Poland and Rio to end the season.”

How ironic that the final setback for Fernanda/Taiana partnership was a 2-0 (21-14, 21-16) loss to Laboureur and Sude in the Rio Open last September to finish ninth as Talita and Larissa defeated Agatha and Barbara for the Copacabana gold medal. Fernanda and Lima won their Rio pool with one of the victories over Joseman and Vanilda Leo in two sets.

Fernanda moved to beach volleyball in 2012 and started playing on the FIVB World Tour in 2013 with Eliza Maia. Fernanda had previously represented Brazil at the international level in volleyball as her indoor career featured a gold medal at the 2005 FIVB World Grand Champions Cup.

COPACABANA DREAM

“I started playing volleyball when I was nine, playing with friends on the courts on Copacabana beach,” Fernanda said. “It would have been incredible if I could play the Olympics on Copacabana. It is a special place for me - a place with great memories. But losing the World Championships hurt and then I had shoulder issues that resulted in November surgery”

The Antalya Open is the fifth FIVB World Tour event for Joseman, who had competed in her previous four tournaments with Leao as the pair placed ninth together two weeks ago in Fortaleza, Brazil.