Courtesy: World Aquatics
World Aquatics has revealed the inaugural edition of the Women’s Water Polo Rankings, as reigning Olympic champions Spain hold the honour of being the first team in the top spot.
Spain won its first-ever Olympic gold medal in women’s water polo at Paris 2024, following on from their bronze medal at the World Aquatics Championships – Doha 2024.
With Singapore 2025 rapidly approaching, Spain will be defending top spot as they aim for their first World Aquatics Championships gold in women’s water polo since 2013. The women’s water polo tournament in Singapore will be held from 11–24 July at the OCBC Aquatic Centre.
Spanish water polo star Bea Ortiz fulfilled a lifelong dream in 2024 by leading her country to Olympic gold. The victory was more than a decade in the making, as Spain had previously finished runners-up at London 2012 and Tokyo 2020.
She also scored eight goals and tallied nine assists at the World Aquatics Championships in Doha and was named MVP as Spain won silver at the European Water Polo Championships in Eindhoven.
Ortiz was rewarded by being named the 2024 World Aquatics Athlete of the Year in women’s water polo, and she welcomed the top ranking as it demonstrates the work that has gone into the success the Spanish team has achieved in recent years.
“After an incredible year which resulted in the highlight of my career at the Olympic Games, it is exciting to see our success recognised in these historic World Rankings,” Ortiz said. “Women’s water polo is developing rapidly around the world, and there are so many strong teams in competition, so to be ranked above all of them is a great honour. This will motivate us to try and maintain top spot, beginning at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore.”
The Netherlands are Spain’s closest challengers in the inaugural World Rankings after their Olympic bronze medal in Paris. They also enjoyed a home triumph at the European Championships last year and the World title in 2023.
Reigning world champions the United States sit in third place, having missed out on a medal for the first time at the Olympic Games in Paris.
World Aquatics Championships – Doha 2024 silver medallists Hungary are fourth, and Greece complete the top five after their triumph at the World Aquatics Women’s Water Polo World Cup in Chengdu, China in April of this year.
Australia, Italy, Canada, China and France make up the top 10.
In the first-ever Women’s U20 World Ranking list, Spain also take the top spot. They are followed by Hungary in second and Greece in third, with China and Croatia completing the top five.
Those rankings could be shaken up at the World Aquatics Women’s U20 Water Polo Championships in Salvador, Brazil from 10-16 August.
➤ Learn more about the ranking methodology in the “How it Works” section
➤ View the complete World Aquatics Women’s Water Polo Rankings
