Russia's Evgenia Ukolova and Ekaterina Birlova have recently been reunited, after Birlova took some time off to give birth to a baby girl. The Russians are ranked 36th and face a tough opponent in 11th seeded Germany's Laura Ludwig and Kira Walkenhorst, who finished fourth at the Grand Slam in Stavanger a few weeks ago.
• Laura Ludwig / Kira Walkenhorst (GER), 2nd Place Pool K, Apeldoorn
• Laura Ludwig and Kira Walkenhorst have been playing together since 2013. They are playing in their 20th FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour tournament together.
• Laura has played in 23 FIVB World Tour final fours with one gold, 10 silver, seven bronze medals and five 4th place finishes.
• Kira has played in 7 FIVB World Tour final fours with one gold, two silver, two bronze medals and two 4th place finishes.
• Laura and Kira have played in 1 Final Four in 2015 (4th Stavanger Major Series).
• Laura finished 9th in the Olympic Games in 2008 (Beijing), and 5th in 2012 (London), both with Sara Niedrig (Goller).
• Laura and Kira are currently ranked 14th in FIVB World Tour points in 2015 with 1,920 points and 11th in winnings with $62,000.
• Laura (113) ranks 26th in all-time FIVB World Tour individual tournaments.
• Laura ($570,450) ranks 19th and Kira ($140,500) ranks 118th in all-time FIVB World Tour individual earnings.
• Laura and Kira won bronze medals at the 2013 CEV Beach Volleyball European Championship Final in 2013 (Klagenfurt, Austria) and in 2014 (Cagliari, Italy).
• Laura won gold medals at the European Championship in 2008 (Hamburg, Germany) and 2010 (Berlin, Germany), silver medals in 2007 (Valencia, Spain) and 2009 (Sochi, Russia) and the bronze medal in 2011 (Kristiansand, Norway), all with Sara Niedrig.
• Laura won the gold medal at the U18 World Championships with Jana Kohler in 2003 (Pattaya, Thailand).
• Kira won the gold medal at the Chennai Challenger with Jana Kohler in 2010 (Chennai, India).
• Laura was named the FIVB World Tour Best Defensive Player in 2013, Best Offensive Player in 2011, Most Improved Player in 2007, and Most Inspirational in 2013.
• Kira was named the FIVB World Tour Most Improved Player in 2013 and Top Rookie in 2013.
• Ekaterina Birlova / Evgeniya Ukolova (RUS), 2nd Place Pool J, Amsterdam
• Ekaterina Birlova and Evgeniya Ukolova have been playing together since 2011. They are playing in their 34th FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour tournament together.
• Ekaterina has played in 5 FIVB World Tour final fours with two gold, one silver, one bronze medal and one 4th place finish.
• Evgeniya has played in 8 FIVB World Tour final fours with two gold, one silver, four bronze medals and one 4th place finish.
• Ekaterina’s and Evgeniya’s last Final Four was a Gold at Anapa in July, 2013.
• Ekaterina and Evgeniya finished 9th in the Olympic Games in 2012 (London).
• Ekaterina and Evgeniya are currently ranked 18th in FIVB World Tour points in 2015 with 1,780 points and 20th in winnings with $43,375.
• Evgeniya won the silver medal at the CEV Satellite Anapa with Ekaterina Syrtseva in 2011 (Anapa, Russia).
• Evgeniya won the bronze medal at the 2014 CEV Beach Volleyball European Baku Masters with Alexandra Moiseeva in 2014 (Baku, Azerbaijan).
• Ludwig/Walkenhorst lead the Head to Head 2-1
• Porec Major Series, 06/03/2015, Pool E , Birlova/Ukolova won 2-0 (21-16, 21-17) (0:35)
• FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships, 07/05/2013, Winner 2, Ludwig/Walkenhorst won 2-0 (21-19, 21-16) (0:38)
• The Hague Grand Slam, 06/13/2013, Pool E , Ludwig/Walkenhorst won 2-0 (21-9, 21-16) (0:30)