Bello Brothers and Russell/Rantala Triumph at Bournemouth Grand Slam Finals

The 2025 UKBT season came to a dramatic close on Bournemouth beach this past weekend, as the Grand Slam Finals delivered an unforgettable finale beside the iconic pier.

In the men’s competition, England internationals Javier and Joaquin Bello returned to once again prove their dominance on the British stage, producing a flawless run to claim another UKBT crown. The brothers powered through the pool stages without dropping a set, with their final test being against Harry Jones and Dalton Bunde, silver medalists at Weymouth and recent winners of the London Open. The pair put up a tough fight, but the Bellos’ experience and power proved decisive as they wrapped the game up with a straight-sets win to seal the British Championships title (21-12, 21-12). The victory marks Javier’s fourth and Joaquin’s fifth national title before the brothers head back into international action at the Elite 16 in Brazil.

The women’s final served up just as much excitement. Defending champions Maria Sviridova and Yulia Tokarenko looked strong throughout the pools and knockout stages, while Abby Russell and Anna Rantala fought back from an early defeat to Best/Palmer on Saturday, taking strong wins over top pairs in the knockouts overcoming Berštautaitė/Tussis and Kurek/Fiļa before gaining revenge on Best/Palmer in the semis to reach the final. Against the reigning champions, they showed incredible resilience, recovering from going a set down to fight back and claim the trophy in three sets (18-21, 21-17, 15-13). The victory denied Tokarenko and Sviridova back-to-back titles and saw Russell and Rantala earn their first British Championship together.

In the bronze medal matches, Scottish pair Lynne Beattie and Mhairi Wallace edged out Leah Best and Vicky Palmer in a thrilling three-set battle, coming from a set down to win 2-1 (20-22, 21-19, 15-9). On the men’s side, Jan-Joost van den Bogert and Haydn Lawson claimed third place with a 2-0 (21-17, 21-18) victory over Londoners Ivo Dobra and Endi Ymeraj, rounding out a high-quality weekend of competition.

The weekend highlighted the strength and depth of British beach volleyball, with established stars and new champions delivering a memorable showcase of the sport. What a way to end the major events for the year, bring on next season!