Hungary defeated Greece 10:9 in the most anticipated match of Day 1 of the Women’s Water Polo Championships in Singapore. This was the most exciting game of the opening round.
In most of the other matches, the favorites emerged victorious. Team USA, the reigning champion, kicked off the tournament with a 15:7 win over China. Australia, Spain, and the Netherlands all ran over their opponents.
Italy had a slow start but managed to come back and defeat New Zealand 14:9, making a strong comeback in the final ten minutes.
The surprise of the day was Great Britain’s 12:9 victory over France.
2025 World Women’s Water Polo Championships, Day 1
A
Group A
Italy – New Zealand 14:9 (1:2, 3:4, 5:2, 5:1)
Italy: Giustini 3, Ranalli 3, Cocchiere 3, Bianconi 2, Corodovani 1
New Zealand: Weston 2, Millicich 1, Spark 1, Houghton 1, Quin 1, McDowall 1,
Sofia Giustini was Italy’s key player today, with three goals, three blocks, one assist and one steal. Photo by Albert ten Hove/MTB-Photo
Throughout most of the match, Italy was behind. New Zealand opened the game with a 2:0 lead. In the second period, Italy managed to take a brief lead at 4:3, but New Zealand responded with a 3:0 run, ending the first half with a score of 6:4 in its favor. The “Kiwis” maintained their lead until the 22nd minute, when Ranalli converted a penalty shot, leveling the score at 8:8. Just 17 seconds before the end of the third period, Italy was awarded another penalty shot. Ranalli stepped up again, scoring to give Italy a 9:8 lead.
The “Setterossa demonstrated their dominance in a strong fourth quarter, proving their status as favorites in the match.
Singapore: Lee 1, Ong 1.
Australia: Williams 5, Fasala 4, Kearns 4, Mitchell 4, Halligan 3, Green 3, Jackovich 3, Andrews 2, Hearn 2, Lambert 2, Padley 1, Ballesty 1.
Australia showed no mercy to the home team. The Australians played at full speed until the end and finished the match with almost a perfect shot percentage. They didn’t score only from six attempts, finishing the game with a 34/40 shot conversion. Singapore scored two goals from 14 attempts.
B Group B
USA – China 15:7 (3:1, 4:3, 6:1, 2:2)
USA: Lineback 3, Ausmus 3, Stryker 2, Flynn 2, Neushul 2, Prentice 1, Pearson 1, Sekulic 1.
China: Wang 2, Shao 1, Yan 1, Nong 1, Zhang 1, Wang 1.
Under the guidance of successful Spanish coach Miki Oca, China has improved its play, but it hasn’t reached a level to be an equal opponent to the reigning world champion, the USA.
Jewel Roemer of USA and Xuan Wang of China Photo by Albert ten Hove/MTB-Photo
Despite arriving in Singapore with a significantly younger team, missing several key players from previous years, the USA showcased its strength. China managed to stay competitive with the Americans until the tenth minute, when the teams were tied at 4:4. However, the USA then scored three unanswered goals before the end of the first half. It opened the third period with another 3:0 run, establishing a 10:4 lead from which China could not recover.
The USA earned five penalty shots, primarily due to the efforts of Tara Prentice, and successfully converted four.
Goalkeeper Amanda Longan contributed greatly to the victory with 15 saves.
Argentina – Netherlands 6:25 (1:6, 2:6, 2:7, 1:6)
Argentina: Mastronardi 2, Sol Canda 2, Bacigalupo 1, Auliel 1.
Netherlands: Van de Kraats 3, Bosveld 3, Joustra 3, L. Rogge 3, B.Rogge 2, Sevenich 2, Van der Sloot 2, Keuning 2, Ten Broek 2, Van der Weijden 1 , Schaap 1, Gorter 1.
Argentina and the Netherlands aren’t in the same weight category and it was evident from the first whistle. Each player of the European team found the net in the opening match.
C
Group C
Greece – Hungary 9:10 (2:1, 3:3, 0:4, 4:2)
Greece: Tricha 6, Patra 2, Santa 1.
Hungary: Rybanska 3, Varro 2, Keszthelyi 2, Garda 2, Valyi 1,
The big game of Day 1 didn’t disappoint water polo fans, as there was a lot of excitement. Greece led 5:2. Hungary then scored six unanswered goals and turned around the 3-goal deficit to a 3-goal lead (8:5). In the middle of the fourth period, Greece leveled the score, but Hungary had the last laugh.
Greece dominated the first half, keeping Hungary goalless for a long stretch of the game. The Hungarians finally scored in the 7th minute, but Greece had already established a 2:0 lead by that point. Deep into the second quarter, Greece extended its lead to three goals with Tricha’s power-play goal. However, Hungary quickly fought back, scoring two goals in the final 88 seconds of the first half, bringing the score to 4:5.
Boglarika Neszmely contributed 12 saves to Hungary’s win Photo by Albert ten Hove/MTB-Photo
In the middle of the third period, Hungary took the lead for the first time. Rybanska equalized with a well-placed long-distance shot, and shortly thereafter, Valyi put them ahead at 6:5. But Hungary didn’t stop there; they added two more goals at the end of the quarter, creating a three-goal cushion before the final period, with the score at 8:5.
Greece went nearly 11 minutes without scoring until Patra ended their scoring drought with a penalty shot goal at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Just 36 seconds later, Greece was awarded another penalty after a challenge and a VAR review. This time, Tricha took responsibility and scored, bringing the score to 7:8 and putting Greece back in the game. With four and a half minutes remaining, Greece equalized when Foteini Tricha scored from a counterattack—her sixth goal of the match—making it 9-9. However, Greece was unable to take the lead. Rybanska converted an extra player opportunity for 10:9 with 71 seconds left in the match. Greece had the final possession and a chance to extend the game into a shootout, but Santa’s shot hit the crossbar.
Japan – Croatia 25:12 (7:3, 4:3, 11:5, 3:1)
Japan: Arima 7, Ura 4, Nishiyama 4, Kawaguchi 2, Kobayashi 2, Sekune 2, Shitara 1, Inoue1, Sunabe 1, Fukuda 1.
Croatia: Rozic 4, Skelin 3, J. Butic 2, Medic 1, Jankovic 1, Jazvin 1.
Japan was too strong for Croatia, which made its debut at the Women’s World Championships. The Japanese were the favorites, but the Croats believed that they could offer stronger resistance than in a World Cup match six months ago (when Japan won 26:18). However, today, Japan reached a double-digit margin before the final quarter.
Yumi Arima of Japan (Photo by Albert ten Hove/MTB-Photo)
The opening minutes offered a balanced battle. It was 2:2, two and a half minutes into the first quarter. But Japan took control shortly after and scored five goals in a row to jump to a 7:2 lead. Croatia came back in the match and reduced the gap to two midway through the second period (6:8). The Japanese, led by Yumi Aruma, who scored seven goals from nine attempts, responded with a 6:0 run to build a 14:6 lead (18th minute) and secured a win, which opened them the doors of the crossover round.
The teams had a similar percentage of shots, but Japan attempted to score 46 times, while Croatia had 28 shots. These facts illustrate how Japan’s style of play differs from European water polo.
D
Group D
France – Great Britain 9:12 (4:3, 0:3, 2:5, 3:1)
France: Vernoux 4, Andres 1, Heaurtaux 1, Hardy 2, Ouchache 1.
Great Britain: Turner 3, Brown 3, Cutler 2, Rogers 2, Falvez 1 Dickens 1.
Great Britain delivered the tournament’s first major surprise by defeating France’s Olympic team. Although France entered as the more experienced side, significant changes since Paris 2024 proved too much to overcome. The Brits, on the other hand, showed they have the quality to compete at a high level.
Great Britain Photo MTB Photo
France held a narrow 4:3 lead at the end of the first period, but Great Britain responded with a decisive 5:0 run to take an 8:4 advantage—an edge that ultimately proved unassailable. Hardy ended France’s 12-minute scoreless phase making it 5:8, but Great Britain replied with two goals to earn a 5-goal advantage for the frist time (10:5). The teams exchanged the goals in the 24th minute and Great Britain entered the final period with a comfortable 11:6 advantage.
South Africa – Spain 4:23 (1:9, 0:5, 2:4, 1:5)
South Africa: Motau 1, January 1, Williams 1, Eccles 1.
Spain: Gonzalez 5, E. Ruiz 3, A. Ruiz 2, Ortiz 2, Crespi 2, Camus 2, Penalver 2, Perez 1, Espar 1, Leiton 1, Rodriguez 1, Moreno 1.
Ariadna Ruiz of Spain (Photo by Albert ten Hove/MTB-Photo)
As expected, Olympic champion Spain blew South Africa away, with all field players getting on the scoresheet.
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