She was Germany's volleyball player of the year five times, played 162 international matches with the national team and played for club teams in Italy, Russia and China.

And yet Louisa Lippman feels like a "rookie" at the European Championship in Munich.

Beach volleyball is not volleyball - and that's why "everything seems new", as the 27-year-old recognized: the sandy surface, the less taut ball and even the airy sportswear.

Achim Dreis

sports editor.

  • Follow I follow

Louisa Lippmann is playing in an international beach volleyball tournament for the first time after her long indoor career – and she also had to get used to appearing in a bikini in front of thousands of people.

It's a good thing that it was so hot on the first three days in Munich, which made it easier to adapt to the open-air pool look.

And so Lippmann was "totally happy" to finally be an outdoor athlete: "Atmosphere, weather - everything fits together".

In the second phase of her career, she is now much more challenged than before.

In indoor volleyball, the 1.90 meter tall Lippmann never had to fend off a ball in the field, as a diagonal attacker she was only responsible for hitting it and collecting points.

Excavating and giving up were not part of their repertoire.

And even the attack variants are not the same.

"The techniques are different," Lippmann recognized: "I have to handle the ball differently."

It's a good thing that the 27-year-old can play alongside such a serene player as Kira Walkenhorst, which Lippmann sees as a "great honor".

The 2016 Olympic champion, now 31 years old, actually announced her retirement from competitive sports at the beginning of 2019.

But after a period of rest, her body recovered from the exertion and Walkenhorst found pleasure in beach volleyball again.

However, the Walkenhorst/Lippmann combination is only an interim solution.

They can only take part in the Munich European Championship thanks to a wildcard.

Actually, the transferee Lippmann wants to form a duet with Laura Ludwig - the other Olympic champion from 2016 - and finally qualify for the Olympics in Paris 2024, which she never managed to do with the national indoor team.

But after the birth of her second child, Laura Ludwig is just taking a baby break before she gets back into the action.

That's how the two block players came together - an "unorthodox team composition", as Lippmann admits with a laugh, which is rarely if ever seen on the international tour. It's all the more astonishing how well Lippmann found his way around in the sand at Walkenhorst's side. What The joy she enjoyed playing was evident from her beaming smile during the game.The interim team even won 2-1 (21:15, 17:21, 15:12) against Monika Paulikiene and Erika Kliokmanaite from Lithuania on Wednesday and managed to do it They made it into the intermediate round.They lost their first match against the Swiss titleholders Nina Brunner and Tanja Hüberli 0:2 (19:21, 9:21).

Five German women's teams still in the tournament

Just like Walkenhorst/Lippmann, Svenja Müller and Cinja Tillmann, who came third in the World Cup, have to play in the first knockout round on Thursday morning after one win and one defeat.

In contrast, the other three German women's duos even made it straight into the round of 16 with two wins.

Karla Borger and Julia Sude, last year's third-place finishers at the European Championships, also managed to win the group, as did Chantal Laboureur/Sarah Schulz and Sandra Ittlinger/Isabel Schneider.

The present looks far less radiant in the German men's teams.

Paul Henning and Sven Winter were eliminated after two defeats, as were Philipp Huster/Simon Pfretzschner.

At least Robin Sowa and Lukas Pfretzschner saved themselves in the first knockout round with a last-minute 2:1 win over the Austrians Martin Ermarcora/Moritz Pristauz.

Nils Ehlers/Clemens Wickler are also still in the tournament.

However, after the unexpected 2-1 draw against the Austrians Julian Hörl and Alexander Horst, they missed the direct leap into the round of 16.

The additional game in the intermediate round feels like detention for them - for Louisa Lippmann and Kira Walkenhorst, on the other hand, like a learning gift.