Brazil arrived in Sarajevo as contenders and return to Hangzhou as defending champions, with the women’s sitting volleyball world title race becoming increasingly competitive in the four years between the two tournaments.
The United States have emerged as the most successful team of the current cycle, China have returned to challenge for major honours, Canada have maintained their place among the world’s leading teams and Italy have broken into the medal conversation. Those teams will meet again at the 2026 World ParaVolley Sitting Volleyball World Championships in Hangzhou, China, from 10 to 17 July.
Brazil’s victory in Sarajevo secured the country’s first World Championship title, completing a breakthrough tournament that included a semifinal victory over the United States and a five-set win against Canada in the gold-medal match. Canada finished with silver, their best result at the tournament, while the United States claimed bronze. China, one of the sport’s most successful teams, did not compete at the 2022 World Championships.
China announced their return in emphatic fashion by winning the World Cup in Cairo in 2023. Canada joined them on the podium with silver, while Brazil added another medal with bronze.
The United States built momentum the following year by winning the Women’s Super 6 tournament. China finished with silver and Brazil collected bronze, setting the stage for another meeting between the world’s leading teams at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
That rivalry continued in Paris, where the United States defeated China in the gold-medal match to secure Paralympic gold. China earned silver, while Canada completed the podium with bronze.
The United States strengthened their position at the top of the women’s game by capturing the 2025 World Cup title. Brazil returned to the final and secured silver, while Italy claimed bronze to record the first major global medal in the programme’s history.
Road to Hangzhou
The period between the 2022 World Championships in Sarajevo and the 2026 World Championships in Hangzhou has featured success for both the defending champions and their closest challengers. Here is a look at the major medal-winning results collected by the leading contenders during the current cycle.
Brazil
- 2022 – World Champions
- 2023 – World Cup bronze
- 2024 – Women’s Super 6 bronze
- 2025 – World Cup silver
USA
- 2022 – World Championship bronze
- 2024 – Women’s Super 6 champions
- 2024 – Paris 2024 Paralympic Games gold
- 2025 – World Cup champions
China
- 2023 – World Cup champions
- 2024 – Women’s Super 6 silver
- 2024 – Paris 2024 Paralympic Games silver
Canada
- 2022 – World Championship silver
- 2023 – World Cup silver
- 2024 – Paris 2024 Paralympic Games bronze
Italy
- 2025 – World Cup bronze