Bello brothers return to home sands for London Open

Team England’s Javier and Joaquin Bello will take to sands of London this weekend for their first UKBT event of the season, as the final Open event of 2023 kicks off at SideOut’s Leyton Beach.

The Bello brothers rejoin the tour after an impressive run of of international performances, including a remarkable 5th place finish at the CEV European Championship in Vienna; an appearance in London will allow them to qualify for the Bournemouth Grand Slam finals that take place in early September, where they will be looking to add another national title to their collection.

They will join a 24 team draw where pairings will be looking to cash in on the higher ranking points on offer in the build up to finals; Amongst the top seeds will be the 2023 Weymouth Grand Slam champion JJ Van Den Bogert, who partners up with Haydn Lawson for their first event as a team this year. The team will be looking to build some momentum going into Bournemouth, as will the re-formed pairing of Harry Jones and Weymouth silver-medalist Matthew Hunter, following the finger injury sustained by Niko Gleed earlier in July.

Andrea Maggio and Pierre-Tang Taye will also be looking to climb back up the rankings in London, whilst Aldo Rendon-Piero make his first big appearance on the UKBT this year, partnering up with Sebastian Bukowski.

Meanwhile, the women’s draw proves to be equally exciting, with both established pairings and some new partnerships getting ready to fight for the medals. Scotland’s Katie Barbour and Rachel Morrison come into the draw with strong momentum following on from their victory at the SCA zonal event in Perth earlier this month.

They will face tough opposition in the likes of Maria Sviridova, as the 2023 Weymouth Champion pairs up with Victoria Palmer to form a formidable pair. Jessica Grimson will also form a new partnership alongside Hungarian international Eszter Nagy, who makes her UKBT debut in 2023.

The London Open will run from 26-27th August at Leyton Beach, will free admission for all spectators across the course of the weekend.