An Elite16 is the highest tournament category of the Beach Pro Tour. The teams that qualify, per gender, are the 11 teams with the highest number of points in the world rankings, one wildcard and four other teams that reach the main competition via the qualifying round.
A total of 16 teams per gender will play in two qualifying rounds for the last four places in the main competition. The field of participants for the qualifiers is also determined by the world rankings. The 16 teams that are ranked highest but have not yet qualified are eligible to play in the qualifiers – also from the entry list.
In the main competition, the 16 teams per gender are divided into four groups of four. The grouping is based on the ranking of the respective team. The four top-ranked teams are each seeded first in one of the four groups and the further subdivision then takes place according to the rankings of the other teams in the serpentine system.
In pool play, each team then plays against each other within a group. The group winner from the respective group matches automatically qualifies for the quarter-finals. The second and third-placed teams in each group then play each other in an intermediate round for the remaining quarterfinal places. The teams finishing fourth in their respective groups, and therefore last, are eliminated from the tournament early.
After the quarterfinals, the winning teams will play two semifinals for a place in the grand final, the Gold Medal Match. The teams that lost in the semifinals will then play in the "small final" for 3rd place and thus the bronze medal at the A1 Beach Pro Vienna.
