Nina Betschart

Nina Betschart (born 14 October 1995) is a Swiss professional beach volleyball player who plays as a right side defender with her partner Tanja Hüberli.

She is a two-time European Champion, winning the title in 2021 and 2023, and the silver medallist at the 2018 and 2022 European Championships.

From 2008 to 2013 they won the Swiss Junior Championships in every category they competed: U15 (2008, 2009), U18 (2010) and U21 (2011, 2012, 2013).

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).

In 2011, along with Eiholzer, they became fifth in the U19 World Championships in Umag.

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.

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.

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.

After their international success, Betschart and Heidrich appeared on the cover of September 2011 issue of Swiss Volley magazine.

The following year Betschart / Eiholzer were third at the U18 European Championships in Brno.

At the U19 World Championships in Larnaca and the U20 European Championships in Hartberg, they finished in fifth place.

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.

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.

Betschart / Eiholzer team made their first senior level tournament podium at Coop Beachtoor event in Locarno by finishing in second place.

Alongside Heidrich, Betschart made her FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour debut at the last stage of the 2012 World Tour in Bangsaen, Thailand after receiving a wild card by the FIVB.

They finished the tournament in respectable ninth place.

In 2013 Betschart / Eiholzer won three Coop Beachtoor (Swiss National Beach Volleyball Tour) tournaments in Locarno, Geneva and Rorschach, respectively and finished fifth in the Swiss National Championships in Bern.

The duo competed in both U21 and U19 World Championships and finished both competitions in fifth place.

They won the U20 European Championships in Vilnius after defeating the second seed Baran / Gruszczynska of Poland in the final in straight sets.

They have been clearly the dominant force of the championship and did not lose a single set throughout the tournament.

This was the first international title that Betschart had won with her long-time partner, Eiholzer.

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.

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.

They continued to compete well in Coop Beachtour, by winning the tournaments in Basel and Olten and reaching the final at Locarno.

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.

Her first World Tour appearance with Eiholzer, came in 2014 Gstaad Grand Slam but the duo failed to qualify for main draw after finishing the qualification in 22nd place (only top-14 qualified).

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.

With her former partner Nicole Eiholzer, she won the gold medal at the first ever European Games in 2015.

Alongside Hüberli, Betschart has won combined total of 1 gold, 3 silver and 6 bronze medals on FIVB World Tour and its successor Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour.

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.

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).

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.

Betschart / Hüberli team represented Switzerland at the 2020 Summer Olympics where they finished in ninth place and played a pivotal role at their country's triumph in the women's event of the inaugural CEV Beach Volleyball Nations Cup in 2022.

They achieved a career-high World ranking of No. 2 in November 2021.

A five-time Swiss National Champion, Betschart has also enjoyed a lot of success in junior level, being twice an U21 World Champion and a four-time gold medallist in European Underage Championships, twice in U20 and twice in U22 level.

Betschart was born in Steinhausen, Switzerland.

She began her career in indoor volleyball at VBC Steinhausen with her friend Nicole Eiholzer.

Later, Betschart and Eiholzer formed a beach volleyball duo under the supervision of the coach Kurt Brunner, the first and only coach of the pair.