DOHA, Qatar — Toronto's Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson split their matches Thursday at the World Beach Pro Tour finals.
Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson opened with a 2-1 (21-14, 16-21, 15-10) win over Tina Graudina and Anastasija Samoilova of Latvia before losing a close 2-1 (21-17, 15-21, 17-15) decision to the top-ranked Brazilian team of Ana Patricia Silva Ramos and Eduarda (Duda) Santos Lisboa.
The Brazilians defeated Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson for gold at this year's Pan Am Games in Santiago, Chile.
The fourth-ranked Canadians were 2-1 ahead of their group stage finale Friday against Germany's Svenja Muller and Cinja Tillmann.
Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson opened with a 2-0 win over reigning world champions Sarah Hughes and Kelly Cheng of the United States on Wednesday.
The finals features the top eight teams plus two wild-card entries per gender, with a total of US$800,000 in prize money on the table.
Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson competed for the first time since earning a Pan American Games silver medal Oct. 27 in Santiago, Chile, for Canada's first Pan Am medal in women's beach volleyball.
The top three teams in each pool advance to the final six. The semifinals and finals are Saturday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 7, 2023.
The Canadian Press
