Hard work, commitment, persistence. These features characterize only the best. Today, we’re going to take a look at the best women’s volleyball players in 2020.
This is my personal list according to their performance throughout the years, what they won with their clubs and national teams, and their individual awards.
Scroll down to get to know more about them and learn surprising facts about each player.
Who are the best volleyball women’s players?
| 1. Paola Egonu |
| 2. Tijana Bošković |
| 3. Zhu Ting |
| 4. Kim Yeon-koung |
| 5. Gabriela Braga Guimarães |
| 6. Simge Aköz |
| 7. Brayelin Martínez |
| 8. Ebrar Karakurt |
| 9. Andrea Drews |
| 10. Louisa Lippmann |
1. Paola Egonu
Nationality: Italy
DOB: 18 December 1998
Position: Opposite
Height: 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)
You can’t ignore her. Paola Egonu is in my opinion the best women’s volleyball player in the world in 2020. Some people might say that she’s young, and she doesn’t have lots of successes. It’s true. She can’t compare to more experienced players, but her present form is stunning and at the moment, no one is playing better than she is. Egonu was born in 1998 and for a couple of years, she proves that she’s the best in the world. She’s 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) and she spikes at an amazing 3.44 m (135 in). Paola Egonu plays as the opposite. She plays in the Italian national team, but she has Nigerian roots. Even though she’s only 22 she has already won the Italian Cup 3 times, the Italian Supercup twice, the Volleyball Women’s Club World Championship, and the Women’s Champions League where she was chosen to be the Most Valuable Player. I think in the next years, Paola Egonu is going to become decisively the best women’s volleyball in the world.
2. Tijana Bošković
Nationality: Serbia
DOB: 8 March 1997
Position: Opposite spiker
Height: 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)
Tijana Bošković is one of the most talented players. She’s barely 23 and almost all volleyball fans recognize her and many think she’s the best at the moment. She may be the best. When you look at her game, you have to sometimes feel that this player is from a different planet. Fortunately, she’s from the Earth, from Serbia to be exact. Her talent is so huge, that when she was 20, she was chosen as the best Serbian women’s volleyball player. Besides, she has gotten individual awards like MVP and the best opposite of the European Championship, the Best Spiker of the Turkish League, and 16 different awards! That’s not everything. With her clubs or the national team, she has won 12 trophies, including the European Championship twice and World Championship. Tijana Bošković seems to be destined for success. Every club would pay huge money to have such a fantastic player. But now she plays Turkish Eczacıbaşı VitrA.
3. Zhu Ting
Nationality: China
DOB: 29 November 1994
Position: Outside hitter
Height: 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in)
This Chinese player is considered one of the best in the world. Not without a reason. When she attacks, she does it so smoothly and easily, it’s enjoyable to watch. Zhu Ting was born in 1994, and she spent by far most of her career in Chinese clubs. For 3 years she has performed in Vakıfbank Istanbul and it was a really fruitful time for her. She has become the Best Outside Spiker and MVP of the Club World Championship in 2017. It would take a long time to enumerate all of her individual awards. Overall, there were 35 of them! She helped to win the national team of China a gold medal at the World Cup in 2019 and the Olympic Games in 2016. Her height is definitely a strength for her, because she is 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) and it’s close to be on the list of the tallest volleyball women’s players. The full list is in this post.
4. Kim Yeon-koung
Nationality: South Korea
DOB: 26 February 1988
Position: Outside hitter
Height: 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)
Kim Yeon-koung is the captain of the South Korean National Team. She’s one of the most titled women’s volleyball players in the world. It’s impressive because she won only one gold medal with her National Team. Since 2005 she has won 41 individual awards across all competitions. I admire her talent because winning awards like the best scorer, the best spiker, or the MVP of the Turkish League is a great achievement. With her clubs, she was also very successful winning the Champions League, the CEV Cup, and a couple of domestic cups. She holds the Olympics records for the highest score of 207 points in eight games. She is currently regarded as not only one of the best, but also one of the richest volleyball players in the world. You can find more surprising facts about volleyball in this article.
5. Gabriela Braga Guimarães
Nationality: Brazil
DOB: 19 May 1994
Position: Outside hitter
Height: 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
She’s also known as Gabi and I admire her talent, because she’s performing such great, and she’s only 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) making her one of the shortest in this ranking. She is one of the most important Brazilian players who contribute to the biggest successes of this team like the triumph in the World Grand Prix 3 times or the South America Championship twice. She also has 6 Brazilian Superliga victories with Rexona-Ades, Unilever Vôlei, and Itambé Minas. But Gabi is known more for her individual appearances. In total, she was the best at all tournaments 13 times, including Nations League – “Best Outside Spiker”. Her first European club is VakıfBank Istanbul, where she is playing now. Did you see who is the best volleyball men’s player? Take a look here.
6. Simge Aköz
Nationality: Turkey
DOB: 23 April 1991
Position: Libero
Height: 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
It’s hard to put a libero in the ranking of the best volleyball women’s players. Liberos don’t score points, and they are in charge of defensive only. But Simge Aköz distinguishes herself even when she is saving balls. She seems to be always in the right positions, she’s fast and has lots of athletic abilities. Her performance is getting better with the years. In 2019 she was the best libero in the European Championship and in the Volleyball Women’s Club World Championship. With Turkey, she didn’t win any gold medal, but they’re on the podium very often. Simge Aköz is a short libero, but it’s her huge advantage. The difference between her and the tallest men’s volleyball is 56 cm! You can get to know who he is in this post.
7. Brayelin Martínez
Nationality: Dominican Republic
DOB: 11 September 1996
Position: Outside hitter
Height: 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in)
Martínez belongs to the list of the tallest women in volleyball. She’s stunning 201 cm (6 ft 7 in) and her height helps her a lot. She spikes at 330 cm (130 in) and blocks at 320 cm (130 in). That’s quite impressive. She has lots of victories with her under-age teams, but she’s still waiting to win some important championship with her professional clubs. She’s already played in Pomi Casalmaggiore, Aydın Büyükşehir Belediye Spor Kulübü and now she’s playing in Praia Clube. Since 2011 she’s collecting individual awards and now she has 17 of them and the most important one is Pan-American Cup “Most Valuable Player”. Brayelin Martínez is a Bachelor of Business Administration student in Universidad APEC.
8. Ebrar Karakurt
Nationality: Turkey
DOB: 17 January 2000
Position: Opposite
Height: 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)
Ebrar Karakurt is barely 20, but some experts already consider her to the best volleyball women’s player in the world. She’s priceless for the Turkish National Team, and she experienced many important achievements, the most current of which is the silver medal at the 2019 Women’s European Championship organized in Ankara. She was the Best Outside Spikers of the Nations League in 2018. Her spike compared to her height isn’t that impressive 307 cm (121 in), but she makes it up with precision and power. Right now Ebrar Karakurt is playing for VakıfBank S.K.
9. Andrea Drews
Nationality: USA
DOB: 25 December 1993
Position: Opposite
Height: 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Drews is one of the most recognizable American volleyball players. She plays the opposite in the national team and Japanese club JT Marvelous. Andrea was elected as the Most Valuable Player of the 2019 FIVB Women’s Volleyball Nations League in Nanjing, China, where the USA won the gold medal and the Best Opposite of the 2019 FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Cup as part of the silver medal squad. When asked about her mindset on playing, she said, “My faith has been the biggest game-changer/factor in my career, but more importantly, my life.”
10. Louisa Lippmann
Nationality: Germany
DOB: 23 September 1994
Position: Opposite/outside hitter
Height: 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Louisa Lippmann is an important player for the German National Team. She has over 100 appearances. She didn’t win any championship with Germany, and she’s definitely better off with her clubs. She won 4 German Championship with Dresdner SC and Schweriner SC. She also won 1 German Cup and Supercup. She’s one of the biggest stars of the German League. Lippmann was the best opposite striker in the Qualifications in the Olympics Game in Tokyo. Ahead of the 2018–19 season, she signed with Italian club Il Bisonte Firenze.
You can’t miss these players
There are a couple of other skillful women’s volleyball players who aren’t in the top 10, but they deserved to be featured. For some experts, these players should be in this ranking.
Celeste Plak– the Netherlands opposite playing as an opposite spiker. She’s the top scorer of her national team and a very strong point of her club Aydın Büyükşehir Belediye Spor Kulübü.
Malwina Smarzek– Polish opposite spiker that you just can’t ignore. A very talented lady who’s playing for Zanetti Bargamo.
Thaisa Menezes– Also known as Thaisa. She comes from Brazil and has lots of team achievements like the Club World Championship and the South American Club Championship.
Ana Carolina Silva– Another Brazilian player. Her position is a middle blocker. Ana is one of the most efficient players of the national team and Praia Clube.
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