Canadian beach volleyball duo Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson finish 2nd in their Chicago Open debut

The Canadian beach volleyball duo of Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson finished second in their professional debut at the AVP Pro Tour’s Chicago Open on Sunday.

Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson were beaten 2-1 (21-18, 17-21, 15-10) by Americans Taryn Klot and Kristen Nuss in the final. It was the Canadian duo’s second loss to Klot and Nuss at the event, following a 2-0 (21-18, 21-15) result on Friday.

The former world champions said it was common in their sport to part ways after a few years.

« We have great respect for each other and are very proud of what we have achieved as a team over the past five years, » the two-time Commonwealth Games champions said in a mutual statement. « As with many long-term beach volleyball partnerships, we both decided it was time to separately explore new options in our athletic careers. »

Pavan also competed at the Chicago Open with Latvian Tina Graudina. The duo were eliminated by eventual winners Klot and Nuss with a 2-1 defeat after winning the first set (12-21, 21-18, 17-15).

Wilkerson and Humana-Paredes, both of Toronto, were last paired with their hometown York University. Wilkerson parted ways with Canadian beach volleyball partner Heather Bansley earlier this year and has since competed alongside Toronto’s Sophie Bukovec.

Pavan, of Kitchener, Ont., and Humana-Paredes won the world title in 2019. They won their second Commonwealth Games gold medal last month in Birmingham, England.

At the Tokyo Olympics, the two went undefeated in pool without dropping a set. They were knocked out in the quarter-finals with a 2-1 loss to Australians Mariafe Artacho del Solar and Taliqua Clancy.

Humana-Paredes, Wilkerson and Pavan have yet to officially announce any new potential permanent partnerships at this time.

WATCH | Pavan, Humana-Paredes eliminated at the 2022 world championship: