French win their first medal
Bassereau and Aye, on the other hand, got to celebrate their first medal as partners on Sunday in Baden. The French joined forces near the end of the 2024 season and hadn’t made it past the quarterfinals in their first ten Beach Pro Tour events.
In order to make it to the podium in Austria, they took down American Olympians Chase Budinger and Miles Evans, winning the tournament’s bronze medal match in the tie-breaker (16-21, 21-17, 15-10).
“After losing the first set, we knew we had to change something or we’d go back home with nothing,” Bassereau said. “After having lost the semifinal in the tie-breaker, I think it took us a little while to recover both physically and mentally. Once we got back to hitting and jumping at our usual level, we’ve been able to bother them a little bit more.”