Who will become Miami Beach royalty?

International beach volleyball is back in the USA! For the first time since 2018 the best of the world are flying in to take on America’s finest. This Thursday Vodafone Queen & King of the Court Miami Beach 2023 will commence, the quest for the crowns of South Beach is on. We’re presenting you with Olympic champions, former Queens and Kings ánd the most spectacular beach volleyball you have ever seen! Get your tickets now! Or make sure you’re signed up for King of the Court TV, because this ride will be off the rails!

Vodafone Queen & King of the Court kicks off the 2023 Crown Series. 22 teams per gender will decide amongst themselves who will be Kings and Queens. Twelve teams are already placed in the Main Draw, ten pairs will battle on Thursday for the three remaining spots. All of the action will be livestreamed on watch.kingofthecourt.com, sign up now! On Thursday there will be a one-camera stream. From Friday we’ll present full tv-coverage.

Bow before the Queens
Before even starting on Thursday we know we’re in the presence of beach volleyball royalty. Although Kerri Walsh Jennings has never played a Queen of the Court event, she is inducted in the Volleyball Hall of Fame, a three-time Olympic beach volleyball champion, most decorated player ever, who has won 56 international tournaments. She’ll return to the beach for the first time since June of 2021, on the side of Zana Muno. They’ll have to take on Brandie and Melissa from Canada, Poland’s Gruszczyńska/Wachowicz and a former Queen in Wies Bekhuis who’s playing with Switzerland’s Shana Zobrist.

There is one player on the women’s side with more international titles, Larissa Maestrini from Brazil, who won 62. She’ll be hunting the crown with her life-partner Lili. They will contest USA’s Sarah Schermerhorn and Corinne Quiggle, Canadian twins Megan and Nicole McNamara and Germany’s Svenja Müller and Cinja Tillmann in Group B.

2021 Queen Isabel Schneider will get the Main Draw underway on Friday with partner Julia Sude, the Germans will battle USA’s Jessica Gaffney/Kelly Reeves, Czech’s Barbora Hermannová/Marie-Sára Štochlová and Spain’s González/Guidarelli.

But first, on Thursday qualification will be played. Check out the full line-up and pool distribution here.

The Return of the King
We have been making waves about the Return of King Taylor Crabb. He won the 2018 test-events in Hawaii and Huntington Beach alongside former partner Jake Gibb. He can’t wait to defend his American crowns. Together with the other Taylor (Sander) he headlines Group C where 2021 Kings Ahmed and Cherif, cousins Marco and Esteban Grimalt and Canada’s Sam Schachter/Dan Dearing present fierce opposition.

2008 Olymic champion Phil Dalhausser has teamed-up with Doha silver medalist Troy Field, they’ll make an almost unbeatable couple. But Hamburg 2022 King Clemens Wickler will have something to say about it with his partner Nils Ehlers. Italy’s Daniele Lupo and Enrico Rossi and the Argentinian/Dutch combo of Julian Azaad and Matthew Immers (also Doha silver medalist) are also forces to be reckoned with, this will be a match for the ages.

The new team of Chaim Schalk and Tri Bourne will open on Friday afternoon taking on some of the best teams King of the Court has ever seen. Kusti Nõlvak and Mart Tiisaar have medaled at several events, Lion King Aleksandrs Samoilovs and Janis Smedins were contenders from the very beginning of the format. Czech’s Ondrej Perušič and David Schweiner complete the pool.

All this will commence on Friday after Thursday’s qualification matches. Check out when your favorite will take to court here.