About Raïsa Zonnemijn Schoon

Analytical, Discipline, Introverted and Groundbreaking

I started playing beach volleyball when I was 7 years old. In the beginning I combined that with indoor volleyball, tennis and swimming. But in the end I chose to play (beach) volleyball myself. Together with my cousin Carmen and a group of young girls/boys I was playing on the sand every day under the guidance of my mother.

Together with Britt den Haan I formed a couple in 2009 and we traveled all over the Netherlands together to play all tournaments through wind and weather, with the highlights being Dutch Champion under 14, 16 and 18.

In 2014 I started with Emi van Driel. Together we made the first broadcasts abroad, resulting in a silver medal at the European Championship under 18 and 20 and a silver medal at the World Championship under 19. We also made our debut together in the senior circuit, culminating in a gold medal at the 1* in Gothenburg, Sweden. The switch to Beach Team Netherlands was made in 2019, where I started playing together with Katja Stam. Due to COVID, we couldn't play much internationally, but because we were able to train together with top team Keizer/Meppeling, it was an educational year.

In 2020 we were allowed to participate in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OKT) where we won a ticket for the Olympic Games in Tokyo. There we finished in 17th place. After 2021, we made the step from underdogs to favorites. At the beginning of 2022, several medals were won at the highest level and we were ranked number 1 in the world. The goal was set for 2024, the Olympic Games in Paris, and that was achieved. Playing in front of 14000 people under the Eiffel Tower was a dream come true.

Currently the process continues to LA 2028, if you want to hear more about that, follow my #EnjoyMyRide via my socials.