The Turkey’s women’s volleyball team staged a spectacular comeback on Sunday to beat Brazil and win their second Volleyball Nations League (VNL) title. The Turkish national team, known as the “Sultanas of the Net” (Filenin Sultanları), were thus crowned champions of the 2026 edition held in Macau (China) after winning 3–1.
The final took place at the East Asian Games Dome in the Macau Special Administrative Region, China. In front of 4,000 fans, the Turkish side faced Brazil, the world runners-up, and ultimately secured victory with set scores of 23–25, 25–23, 26–24 and 25–21, thereby retaining the title they had previously won in 2023.
The Cuban-born, Turkish-naturalised volleyball player Melissa Vargas was once again the Turkish team’s key attacking force with 33 points, whilst Ana Cristina was Brazil’s top scorer with 25. Outside hitter Hande Baladın rounded off Turkey’s outstanding performance with a total of 19 points.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan telephoned Mehmet Akif Üstündağ, president of the Volleyball Federation of Türkiye (TVF), to congratulate him on the women’s national team’s victory in the world championship: “Congratulations on the Nations League title won by Turkey’s women’s volleyball team,” said Erdoğan during the call, according to the news website TRT Haber, which reports that many other Turkish officials also congratulated the women’s team on their great achievement. In major Turkish cities such as Istanbul, many Turkish fans also took to the streets to celebrate the title.
With this edition, Turkey has reached the Volleyball Nations League finals for the eighth consecutive time since 2018, lifting the trophy for the second time. In 2023, the women’s volleyball team were crowned champions after defeating China in the final, whilst in 2018 they won the silver medal after losing to the United States in the final. Following this victory, Türkiye has now taken its total number of medals in the competition to four and has cemented its place as one of the most successful teams in the tournament’s history, with two golds, one silver and one bronze.
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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