Three-time Olympic champion Kerri Walsh Jennings and Brooke Sweat play their biggest tournament since partnering -- the world beach volleyball championships in Hamburg, Germany, which start Friday.
NBC Sports and Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA coming for live daily coverage of the event. All coverage streams on NBCSports.com/live and the NBC Sports app for subscribers.
Walsh Jennings and Sweat are among nine men’s and women’s teams trying to become the first Americans to win a world title in a decade.
That group includes April Ross, who earned that 2009 title with Jennifer Kessy. Ross, an Olympic silver and bronze medalist, is now with Alix Klineman. They’re coached by Kessy and the top-ranked U.S. team in the world, seeded fifth in Hamburg.
Walsh Jennings and Sweat got in via wild card because four other U.S. pairs had more world ranking points. But Walsh Jennings and Sweat proved they belonged by winning an event in China last month, just seven months into their partnership.
The top U.S. men’s team continues to be 2008 Olympic champion Phil Dalhausser and his Rio partner, Nick Lucena. They’re seeded sixth in a field topped by Norwegians Anders Mol and Christian Sørum, who won eight of their last 11 international events together.
All teams are vying for Olympic qualifying points, too, ahead of next June’s cutoff to determine the Tokyo 2020 field. No more than two pairs per gender per country can make the Games.
MORE: The origins of beach volleyball’s A-Team
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| Date | Event | TV | Time (ET) |
| Fri., 6/28 | Day 1 – Pool Play | Olympic Channel | 8 a.m. |
| NBCSN | 12 p.m. | ||
| Olympic Channel | 2:30 p.m. | ||
| Sat., 6/29 | Day 2 – Pool Play | Olympic Channel | 8 a.m. |
| Olympic Channel | 12 p.m. | ||
| NBCSN | Midnight* | ||
| Sun., 6/30 | Day 3 – Pool Play | Olympic Channel | 8 a.m. |
| NBCSN | Midnight* | ||
| Mon., 7/1 | Day 4 – Pool Play | Olympic Channel | 8 a.m. |
| NBCSN | 12 p.m. | ||
| Olympic Channel | 2:30 p.m. | ||
| Tues., 7/2 | Day 5 – Pool Play | Olympic Channel | 8 a.m. |
| NBCSN | 12 p.m. | ||
| Olympic Channel | 2:30 p.m. | ||
| Wed., 7/3 | Day 6 – Women’s Playoffs | Olympic Channel | 8 a.m. |
| NBCSN | 12 p.m. | ||
| Day 6 – Men’s Pool Play | Olympic Channel | 2:30 p.m. | |
| Thurs., 7/4 | Day 7 – Playoffs | Olympic Channel | 8 a.m. |
| Fri., 7/5 | Day 8 – Playoffs | Olympic Channel | 6:30 a.m. |
| Day 8 – Women’s Semifinals | Olympic Channel | 5 p.m.* | |
| Day 8 – Women’s Semifinals | NBCSN | Midnight* | |
| Sat., 7/6 | Day 9 – Men’s Quarterfinals & Women’s Final | Olympic Channel | 5:45 a.m. |
| Day 9 – Men’s Semifinals | Olympic Channel | 11 a.m. | |
| Day 9 – Women’s Final | Olympic Channel | 7 p.m.* | |
| Day 9 – Women’s Final | NBCSN | 10 p.m.* | |
| Sun., 7/7 | Day 10 – Men’s Final | Olympic Channel | 10 a.m.* |
| Day 10 – Men’s Final | NBCSN | 1 p.m.* |
*Indicates Same Day Delay (SDD)