Alison and Bruno are ready to bounce back….and they want it now!

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Alison (left) and Bruno Schmidt are confident they can kick-off the season with a good result in the #FTLMajor

The Olympic champions were not quite themselves in 2017. In the season following what was arguably the most important year of their careers with the highlight of the gold medal they won at the Rio 2016 Games, Brazilians Alison Cerutti and Bruno Schmidt had a quiet performance in the last edition of the World Tour.

The duo competed in only seven tournaments in 2017 and collected only two medals – gold in the Rio four-star and bronze in the Poreč Major – the least since they joined forces back in 2014. 

They entered the season as the reigning world champions but were dethroned by fellow Brazilians Evandro Goncalves and Andre Loyola and didn’t even make it to the World Tour Finals for the first time.

But don’t worry. According to Bruno, that’s all going to change in 2018.

“We are excited and looking forward to have a winning season after the past one, which was kind of slow for us,” he told us. “We want to bounce back and we want to do it in 2018.”

The first opportunity for Alison and Bruno to show they are back at their best will be the Fort Lauderdale Major, from February 27 to March 4. The Brazilian duo will face huge competition in Florida, but they believe a good start would be much welcomed as they enter the new season looking to regain their best form.

“It is going to be a long season and we need to be ready for it,” Bruno added. “We plan on playing every important tournament starting from the Fort Lauderdade Major. We have big goals for our team and with the Olympic race starting soon, we need to find our best game.”

The bronze medal in Poreč was the Brazilians' best result in the 2017 Major Series

Part of Olympic champions’ confidence in a comeback is connected to Alison’s fitness. The Mammoth missed the final months of 2017 because of an overuse injury but returned to the sand on fire, pairing with Bruno to win the Fortaleza stop of the Brazilian Tour in January, when they didn’t drop a single set and defeated Evandro and Andre in the final.

Now the Mammoth feels ready to take the world over again.

“I feel great now, 100% ready for the season,” Alison said. “Being honest, I would say this break came in a good moment as I could get some rest, both physically and mentally. It was great to return winning and playing really well in Fortaleza.”

“We had tough matches, faced some of the best Brazilian teams and experienced several different situations throughout the tournament, which was awesome. It was a really good test for us.”

Alison and Bruno plan on being the same team they were before, but not exactly. The Mammoth will still be an intimidating presence at the end and Bruno will always pull his magic tricks in the back of the court, but expect to be surprised to see some new elements on their game in the #FTLMajor.

“When you get to a point where you have won every tournament you have played, being able to recreate yourself becomes very important and we try to do that every day”, Alison commented. “We have learned that from some great teams in the past and we take it very seriously. We won’t change the core of our game, but there are several areas where we want to bring something new in 2018 and we are preparing for that.”

Can’t wait to see you rocking again, guys!