The Dutch Olympian advanced to the main draw on her first-ever Beach Major Series appearance

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Keizer spikes in the match against Japan's Mizoe and Hashimoto

Sanne Keizer resumed her career after four years with the goal of playing against the best in the world again. The Dutch Olympian will have an opportunity to do so this Wednesday, as her and partner Madelein Meppelink succeeded in the qualification tournament of the 2018 Fort Lauderdale Major and have their places guaranteed among the elite of beach volleyball in Florida this week.

Playing on her first-ever Beach Major Series event, the 33-year-old Keizer and new partner Meppelink had a relatively safe route to the main draw prevailing in two sets against both Japan’s Sayaka Mizoe/Suzuka Hashimoto (21-16, 21-12) and USA’s Kelley Larsen/Betsi Flint (21-19, 21-14).

“It’s awesome to win,” Keizer told us right after the second match. “It was our first tournament outside and it’s great that we won both matches in straight sets. We played very well and had patience to come back whenever we needed. I really wanted to measure up with the top of the world. I’m so excited to play among the best again, it has been a long time ago.”

Yeaaah we qualify for the first #FTLmajor ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ @beachmajorseries Hard work makes two wins over Japan and USA today💪 #teamevi #drinkobrigado #JetConsult #voorelkaar

43 Likes, 3 Comments - Sanne Keizer (@sannekeizer) on Instagram: "Yeaaah we qualify for the first #FTLmajor ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ @beachmajorseries Hard work makes two wins..."

In the #FTLMajor, Keizer also relived a situation she had not experienced in the last 14 years: playing in the qualification tournament. Despite of the success, she want to climb the rankings and earn automatic main draw slots for her team as soon as possible.

“You feel the pressure because you have to win or you go home, but I think I could control it really well,” she added. “It was good to see that I can still deal with pressure in such a high level. It’s a huge tournament, with all the best teams in the world, and it’s important that we get as many points as we can here.”

Keizer and Meppelink were drawn in the Pool D of the main draw, where they will face Czech Republic’s Marketa Slukova/Barbora Hermannova, Brazil’s Taiana Lima/Carol Horta and USA’s Summer Ross/Brooker Sweat.

Their first match will be on Wednesday at 9:50 (Eastern Standard Time) and you can watch it live on BeachStream. Click here to register and enjoy.