Nina Betschart

In 2011, along with Eiholzer, they became fifth in the U19 World Championships in Umag.[9] They reached the final at the U18 European Championships in Vilnius but lost to home favorite top-seeded Dumbauskaitė / Povilaityte in three sets (17–21, 22–20, 13–15) and settled for silver medal.[10] For the U21 World Championships in Halifax, Betschart teamed up with Joana Heidrich after replacing Heidrich's original teammate Anouk Vergé-Dépré who was unable to play in the World Championships due to health reasons, and they became the U21 World Champions after defeating Canada's top-seeded Altomare / Humana-Paredes in three sets.[11][12] They were the first Swiss pair to claim the World Junior Championship title and at 15 years and 10 months, Betschart became the youngest player to win a gold medal in the history of FIVB U21 World Championships.[1][13] After their international success, Betschart and Heidrich appeared on the cover of September 2011 issue of Swiss Volley magazine.[14]

The following year Betschart / Eiholzer were third at the U18 European Championships in Brno.[15] At the U19 World Championships in Larnaca and the U20 European Championships in Hartberg, they finished in fifth place.[15] Betschart was again the U21 World Champion at Halifax, this time with Anouk Vergé-Dépré, after beating the Brazilian pair Drussyla Costa / Rebecca Silva in straight sets in the final.[16][17] It was also a milestone in the career of Nina Betschart, she became the second woman after Brazil's Carolina Salgado to win gold in back-to-back years with different partners.[16] Betschart / Eiholzer team made their first senior level tournament podium at Coop Beachtoor event in Locarno by finishing in second place.[18] Alongside Heidrich, Betschart made her FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour debut in 2012 World Tour Finals in Bangsaen, Thailand after receiving a wild card by the FIVB. They finished the tournament in respectable ninth place.[19][20]

In 2013 Betschart / Eiholzer won three Coop Beachtoor (Swiss National Beach Volleyball Tour) tournaments in Locarno,[21] Geneva[22] and Rorschach,[23] respectively and finished fifth in the Swiss National Championships in Bern.[24][25] The duo competed in both U21 and U19 World Championships and finished both competitions in fifth place.[25] They won the U20 European Championships in Vilnius after defeating the second seed Baran / Gruszczynska of Poland in the final in straight sets.[26] They have been clearly the dominant force of the championship and did not lose a single set throughout the tournament.[27] This was the first international title that Betschart had won with her long-time partner, Eiholzer.[2] A week later, Betschart became U22 European Champion in Varna, alongside Anouk Vergé-Dépré. Similar to U20 European Championships, Betschart and her partner won all their matches in championship in straight sets and clinched the title without dropping a single set.[28][29] With the gold medals at U20 and U22 European Championships she became the second woman to win two European Junior Championship gold medals in the same year after Evgenia Ukolova who achieved the double at U20 and U23 European Championships back in 2008 (also with different partners).[30]

In 2014, Betschart / Eiholzer successfully defended their U20 European Championship title in Cesenatico, Italy and thereby they became the first pair to win the U20 European crown for two consecutive years.[31] They continued to compete well in Coop Beachtour, by winning the tournaments in Basel[32] and Olten[33] and reaching the final at Locarno.[34] They moved up one place in the Swiss National Championships and finished fourth after losing the bronze medal game against the "Swiss Tanjas", Tanja Goricanec and Tanja Hüberli.[24][35] Her first World Tour appearance with Eiholzer, came in 2014 Gstaad Grand Slam[36] but the duo failed to qualify for main draw after finishing the qualification in 22nd place (only top-14 qualified).[37] In U21 World Championships in Larnaca, they missed the podium after losing the bronze medal match against the American pair Sara Hughes / Kelly Claes in three sets and finished the championships in fourth place.[38][39]

In 2015 season the duo began to appear in World Tour in more regular basis, their best result was the ninth-place finish in Prague Open.[40] Their biggest international success came in the European Games in Baku. They won the gold medal after beating Austria's Schützenhofer / Plesiutschnig in the final in three sets (21–16, 14–21, 15–13).[41][42] They were 8-11 down in the third set tie-breaker and had trailed for most of the set, but in the end they scored three points in a row – including an ace by Betschart – and crowned the first ever European Games champions in beach volleyball.[43] After the match Betschart admitted that the victory was unlikely to come: "It is unbelievable. Didn't expect it. We were behind them all the time."[41] Following the success at the European Games, the duo made their debut in European Championships in senior level in Klagenfurt, Austria but they struggled throughout the group phase and eliminated after losing all three group matches.[44][45] They put the disappointment behind and made their first podium at continental level after finishing in third place at CEV Satellite tournament in Timișoara, Romania.[46] Then, they went on to win gold medal at the U22 European Championships in Macedo de Cavaleiros, Portugal.[47] They continued to their success at Coop Beachtour, with claiming two tournament wins in Geneva[22] and Rorschach.[23] At the 2015 Swiss National Championships, the duo again move up one place and won their first national championship medal with a third-place finish.[24][48] At the end of the season Betschart and Eiholzer decided to end their eight-year long partnership.[49]

Following the split with Eiholzer, Betschart has teamed up with Tanja Hüberli, who was left partnerless upon the retirement of Tanja Goricanec.[49] The pair has started to make their mark in World Tour with a fifth-place finish at Olsztyn Grand Slam. They pulled off an upset by defeating the reigning World Champions Ágatha / Bárbara of Brazil in the second round (21–19, 17–21, 18–16), before losing to the other Brazilian pair Duda / Elize Maia in the quarter finals.[50][51] They backed up that performance with another fifth-place finish at Poreč Major.[52][53] They reached their first World Tour podium at A1 Major Klagenfurt where they finished in third place after defeating Argentina's Ana Gallay / Georgina Klug in three sets (14–21, 21–14, 22–20).[54][55] At the home European Championships in Biel/Bienne they lost to eventual champions top-seeded Ludwig / Walkenhorst in the round of 16 and finished the championship in ninth place.[56][57] Alongside Hüberli, Betschart won her first continental level tournament at CEV Satellite Baden in Austria.[58] Since their success in the World Tour, they have started to compete in Coop Beachtour less frequently. Although they finished all tour events they competed in podium places; with her new partner, Betschart could not manage a tournament victory for the first time in four seasons. At the National Championships in Bern, she repeated last year's performance by finishing in bronze medal position.[24][59]

Betschart and Hüberli started the season in Swatch Major Series event in Fort Lauderdale in early February where they failed to qualify to the knock-out phase after losing all three group matches.[60] In their very next tournament, a Coop Beach Tour event in Zurich, they reached first podium of the season with a third-place finish. They returned to the World Tour at a 4-Star tournament in Rio de Janeiro with a ninth-place finish after losing to the eventual champions Ágatha / Duda of Brazil in the round of 16 (16–21, 21–18, 12–15).[61] After similar ninth-place results in World Tour at 3-star tournaments in Moscow[62] and The Hague,[63] the duo made their first international level podium in CEV Masters tournament in Baden. They edged out the Czech pair Kolocová / Kvapilová in very closely contested bronze medal match despite being forced to take a medical time-out when 10–12 down in the third set (21–18, 19–21, 16–14).[64] In the 5-star Major Series tournament in Porec, they won all of their matches until the semi final match against Sluková / Hermannová whom they lost in three sets.[65] They wasted couple of set points in the first set before losing it and despite dominating the second, they ran out of gas in the deciding set (20–22, 21–12, 10–15) and missed the chance to qualify for their first World Tour final.[66] In the bronze medal match, they beat Barbara / Fernanda of Brazil and clinced their second ever medal in World Tour.[67] After that performance they start to struggle in World Tour. They eliminated from Gstaad Major in second round and failed to meet the expectations of the home crowd.[68][69] They skipped the lower-star World Tour events and participated only at the 4-star tournament in Olsztyn, where they also eliminated in second round,[70] until the World Championships. At the World Championships in Vienna, they topped their group after winning all three group matches and beat the Austrian pair Schwaiger / Schützenhofer in the round of 32 before losing to Pavan / Humana-Paredes of Canada in the next round.[71][72] Two weeks later they entered to the European Championships in Jurmala as the 4th seeded team,[73] but suffered an unexpected defeat against Kolocová / Kvapilová in the round of 16 despite winning the first set and having a commanding 13–8 lead in the second (21–13, 18–21, 8–15).[74] After the disappointment at European Championships, Betschart and Hüberli competed in Swatch World Tour Finals in Hamburg after receiving a wild card from FIVB,[75] as one of the highest ranked teams not qualified for the event.[76] Although they lost both two pool matches,[77] they beat Kolocová / Kvapilová in the round of 12 and reached the quarter finals in their World Tour Finals debut.[78] At the end of the season, they competed at the National Championships where they finished in second-place after losing to Vergé-Dépré / Heidrich in the final in three sets (21–10, 17–21, 17–19).[24][79]

• 4 medals – (4 bronze)

No. Result Date Category Location Partner Opponents Score 1. Bronze 30 Jul 2016 Swatch Major Series Klagenfurt, Austria Tanja Hüberli Gallay / Klug 14–21 21–14 22–20 2. Bronze 1 Jul 2017 Swatch Major Series Poreč, Croatia Tanja Hüberli Barbara / Fernanda 21–19 21–14 3. Bronze 7 Jan 2018 FIVB 4-Star The Hague, Netherlands Tanja Hüberli Hermannová / Sluková 21–18 21–10 4. Bronze 12 Aug 2018 FIVB 4-Star Moscow, Russia Tanja Hüberli Laboureur / Sude 21–19 21–12 Source: [93][94]

Legend FIVB World Championships FIVB World Tour Finals 5-Star Tournaments / Major Series 4-Star Tournaments 3-Star Tournaments 2-Star Tournaments 1-Star Tournaments

• 6 medals – (2 gold, 1 silver, 3 bronze)

No. Result Date Category Location Partner Opponents Score 1. Gold 20 Jun 2015 European Games Baku, Azerbaijan Nicole Eiholzer Schützenhofer / Plesiutschnig 21–16 14–21 15–13 2. Bronze 16 Aug 2015 CEV Satellite Timișoara, Romania Nicole Eiholzer Motrich / Makroguzova Walkover 3. Gold 11 Jun 2016 CEV Satellite Baden, Austria Tanja Hüberli Sinnema / Braakman 21–16 21–16 4. Bronze 23 Jul 2016 CEV Satellite Vaduz, Liechtenstein Tanja Hüberli Arnholdt / Schumacher 21–9 21–17 5. Bronze 24 Jun 2017 CEV Masters Baden, Austria Tanja Hüberli Kolocová / Kvapilová 21–18 19–21 16–14 6. Silver 21 Jul 2018 European Championships The Hague, Netherlands Tanja Hüberli Keizer / Meppelink 16–21 24–26 Source: [93][94]

Legend CEV European Championships CEV Masters CEV Challenger & Satellite

• 21 medals – (10 gold, 6 silver, 5 bronze)

No. Result Date Category Location Partner Opponents Score 1. Silver 28 May 2012 Coop Beachtour A1    Locarno, Switzerland Nicole Eiholzer    Heidrich / Kayser 18–21 18–21 2. Gold 20 May 2013 Coop Beachtour A1    Locarno, Switzerland Nicole Eiholzer    Kayser / Grässli 22–20 22–20 3. Gold 7 Jul 2013 Coop Beachtour A1    Geneva, Switzerland Nicole Eiholzer    Goricanec / Hüberli 19–21 21–15 15–9 4. Gold 25 Aug 2013 Coop Beachtour A1    Rorschach, Switzerland Nicole Eiholzer Moreira / Bieli Jorge 21–16 21–19 5. Gold 6 May 2014 Coop Beachtour A1    Basel, Switzerland Nicole Eiholzer    Goricanec / Hüberli 22–20 21–17 6. Silver 9 Jun 2014 Coop Beachtour A1    Locarno, Switzerland Nicole Eiholzer Köhler / Schumacher 17–21 14–21 7. Gold 22 Jun 2014 Coop Beachtour A1    Olten, Switzerland Nicole Eiholzer    Kayser / Grässli 24–22 21–15 8. Bronze 24 Aug 2014 Coop Beachtour A1    Rorschach, Switzerland Sarah Leeman    Sciarini / Guerra-Schmocker 21–12 21–13 9. Bronze 7 Jun 2015 Coop Beachtour A1    Olten, Switzerland Nicole Eiholzer    Grässli / Sciarini 21–18 21–19 10. Gold 28 Jun 2015 Coop Beachtour A1    Geneva, Switzerland Nicole Eiholzer    Grässli / Sciarini 19–21 21–19 15–9 11. Gold 23 Aug 2015 Coop Beachtour A1    Rorschach, Switzerland Nicole Eiholzer Schumacher / Seyfferth 12–21 21–12 15–12 12. Bronze 4 Sep 2015 National Championships    Bern, Switzerland Nicole Eiholzer    Betz / Seghers 21–15 21–17 13. Silver 9 Apr 2016 Coop Beachtour A1    Zürich, Switzerland Tanja Hüberli    Heidrich / Zumkehr 14–21 15–21 14. Silver 29 May 2016 Coop Beachtour A1    Olten, Switzerland Tanja Hüberli    Grässli / Sciarini 21–19 19–21 10–15 15. Bronze 2 Sep 2016 National Championships    Bern, Switzerland Tanja Hüberli    Grässli / Sciarini 21–16 21–15 16. Bronze 9 Apr 2017 Coop Beachtour A1    Zürich, Switzerland Tanja Hüberli    Caluori / Steinemann 21–17 21–19 17. Silver 1 Sep 2017 National Championships    Bern, Switzerland Tanja Hüberli    Heidrich / Vergé-Dépré 21–10 17–21 17–19 18. Silver 8 Apr 2018 Coop Beachtour A1    Zürich, Switzerland Tanja Hüberli    Heidrich / Vergé-Dépré 10–21 15–21 19 Gold 3 Jun 2018 Coop Beachtour A1    Olten, Switzerland Tanja Hüberli Bieneck / Schneider 22–20 21–15 20. Gold 7 Sep 2018 National Championships    Bern, Switzerland Tanja Hüberli    Böbner / Vergé-Dépré 21–17 21–17 21. Gold 30 Aug 2019 National Championships    Bern, Switzerland Tanja Hüberli    Heidrich / Vergé-Dépré 21–16 12–21 15–9 Source: [93][94]

Legend Swiss National Championships Coop Beachtour A1

• 8 medals – (6 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze)

No. Result Date Category Location Partner Opponents Score 1. Silver 14 Aug 2011 U18 European Champs. Vilnius, Lithuania Nicole Eiholzer Dumbauskaitė / Povilaitytė 17–21 22–20 13–15 2. Gold 4 Sep 2011 U21 World Champs. Halifax, Canada Joana Heidrich Altomare / Humana-Paredes 21–16 14–21 15–11 3. Bronze 8 Jul 2012 U18 European Champs. Brno, Czech Republic Nicole Eiholzer Tresnakova / Filatova 21–13 23–21 4. Gold 2 Sep 2012 U21 World Champs. Halifax, Canada Anouk Vergé-Dépré Costa / Silva 21–16 21–17 5. Gold 11 Aug 2013 U20 European Champs. Vilnius, Lithuania Nicole Eiholzer Baran / Gruszczynska 21–9 21–18 6. Gold 18 Aug 2013 U22 European Champs. Varna, Bulgaria Anouk Vergé-Dépré Lobato / Soria 21–17 21–15 7. Gold 7 Sep 2014 U20 European Champs. Cesenatico, Italy Nicole Eiholzer Strauss / Strauss 21–16 21–13 8. Gold 30 Aug 2015 U22 European Champs. Macedo de Cavaleiros, Portugal Nicole Eiholzer Kociołek / Strag 18–21 27–25 15–12 Source: [93][94]

Legend FIVB U21 World Championships FIVB U19 World Championships CEV U22 European Championships CEV U20 European Championships CEV U18 European Championships