Marta Menegatti is looking forward to the first tournament of the FIVB World Tour with her new partner Rebecca Perry.
The first tournament is set to take place at the Fort Lauderdale Major, which is set to begin on February 7. The competition will be a test for the pair, as it is their first tournament together as a team. The main goal for the pair is to look forward to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
“The road is still very long but now I prefer to put all my energy on the present and short-term goals such as qualification to the World Championships in Vienna and the European Finals in Jurmala,” said Menegatti.
Menegatti was forced to find a new partner, after her previous partner Viktoria Orsi Toth failed a drug test. The pair had won the silver medal at the 2010 FIVB U21 World Championship and were seeing a ton of success on the FIVB World Tour. The news of the failed drug test came before the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, where Menegatti had to choose a new partner to compete with. US-born Perry, who is now an Italian citizen, was nominated as the choice, but has not played in the 12 required FIVB events during the Olympic qualification period, so instead she played with Laura Giombini, also playing at the World Tour Final in Toronto with Giombini.
The problem with Giombini as a partner was that both with defensive players. Now Menegatti is looking ahead to playing with Perry.
Perry is one of the number of indoor players that are shifting their play to the beach.
“She is really good in the role of blocker,” said Menegatti. “She has considerable physical skills, a good technique and great determination. I am very happy that she decided to fight by my side this season.”
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