The women's tournament of water polo at the 2020 Summer Olympics at Tokyo, Japan was played from 24 July to 7 August 2021 at the Tokyo Tatsumi International Swimming Center. It was the sixth appearance of the women's tournament, which had been held consecutively since 2000 and also was the first time on history that the tournament had 10 teams competing.

On 24 March 2020, the Olympics were postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Because of the pandemic, the games were played behind closed doors.

The United States won their third consecutive and overall gold medal after a finals win over Spain, while Hungary captured the bronze medal, beating defending bronze medalists Russia.

The medals for the competition were presented by Samira Asghari, Afghanistan; IOC Member, and the medalists' bouquets were presented by Dale Neuburger, United States; FINA Treasurer.

Qualification

Schedule The competition began on 24 July, and matches were held every other day. At each match time, two matches were played simultaneously (two during the preliminary round, two quarterfinals during that round, one main semifinal and one classification semifinal during the semifinal round, and the two classification games on the final day) except for the bronze and gold medal matches.

Sat 24 Sun 25 Mon 26 Tue 27 Wed 28 Thu 29 Fri 30 Sat 31 Sun 1 Mon 2 Tue 3 Wed 4 Thu 5 Fri 6 Sat 7G G G G G ¼ ½ B F

Competition format The ten teams were seeded into two groups for a preliminary round and each group was played in a round-robin. The top four teams in each group advanced to the knockout round while the fifth placed teams and those ranked 9th and 10th based on win–loss record then goal average were eliminated. The knockout round began with quarterfinals, with the winners advanced to the semifinals, while the quarterfinal losers play in the fifth to eighth place classification semifinals. The two semifinal winners play in the gold medal match, while the two semifinal losers play in the bronze medal match.

Draw The draw took place on 21 February 2021 in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

Seeding The ten teams in the women's tournament were drawn into two groups of five teams. The teams were seeded into five pots.

Pot 1Pot 2Pot 3Pot 4Pot 5 (hosts)

Final draw The hosts Japan and the reigning Olympic champion the United States were both drawn into Group B.

Group A Group B 1 ROC 2 3 4 5

Referees The following 28 referees were selected for the tournament.

24 referees:

Germán Moller Nicola Johnson Marie-Claude Deslières Zhang Liang Nenad Periš Sébastien Dervieux Frank Ohme Georgios Stavridis György Kun Alessandro Severo Asumi Tsuzaki Viktor Salnichenko Stanko Ivanovski Michiel Zwart John Waldow Adrian Alexandrescu Arkadiy Voevodin Vojin Putniković Jeremy Cheng Dion Willis Xevi Buch Ursula Wengenroth Michael Goldenberg Daniel Daners

4 video assistant referees:

Mladen Rak Alexandr Margolin Alexandr Shershnev Jaume Teixido

Group stage The schedule was announced on 9 March 2021.

All times are local (UTC+9).

Group A

Group B

Knockout stage Bracket

5th place bracket

Quarterfinals

5–8th place semifinals

Semifinals

Seventh place game

Fifth place game

Bronze medal game

Gold medal game

Final ranking

Rank Team45678910

Medalists GoldSilverBronze Ashleigh Johnson (GK)Maddie MusselmanMelissa SeidemannRachel FattalPaige HauschildMaggie Steffens (C)Stephania Haralabidis (LH)Jamie NeushulAria FischerKaleigh GilchristMakenzie FischerAlys WilliamsAmanda Longan (GK)Head coach: Adam Krikorian Laura Ester (GK)Marta BachAnni EsparBeatriz OrtizElena RuizIrene GonzálezClara EsparPili Peña (C, LH)Judith Forca (LH)Roser TarragóMaica GarcíaPaula LeitónElena Sánchez (GK)Head coach: Miki Oca Edina Gangl (GK)Dorottya SzilágyiVanda VályiGréta GurisattiGabriella SzűcsRebecca ParkesAnna IllésRita Keszthelyi (C)Dóra Leimeter (LH)Anikó GyöngyössyNataša RybanskáKrisztina GardaAlda Magyari (GK)Head coach: Attila Bíró

Team statistics Goals for Rank Team Goalsfor Matchesplayed Goals forper match Shots % Finish 1 109 7 15.571 234 46.6% 1st 2 106 7 15.143 211 50.2% 6th 3 95 7 13.571 250 38.0% 2nd 4 82 7 11.714 211 38.9% 4th 5 79 7 11.286 228 34.6% 7th 6 78 7 11.143 210 37.1% 5th 7 77 7 11.000 204 37.7% 3rd 7 44 4 11.000 128 34.4% 9th 9 71 7 10.143 196 36.2% 8th 10 7 4 1.750 68 10.3% 10th Total 748 32 11.688 1940 38.6% Source: Official Results Book (page 224)

Goals against Rank Team Goalsagainst Matchesplayed Goals againstper match Shots % Finish 1 47 7 6.714 208 22.6% 1st 2 59 7 8.429 177 33.3% 5th 3 64 7 9.143 183 35.0% 2nd 4 71 7 10.143 217 32.7% 3rd 5 72 7 10.286 198 36.4% 7th 6 75 7 10.714 207 36.2% 6th 7 90 7 12.857 220 40.9% 8th 8 95 7 13.571 231 41.1% 4th 9 78 4 19.500 128 60.9% 9th 10 97 4 24.250 171 56.7% 10th Total 748 32 11.688 1940 38.6% Source: Official Results Book (pages 239, 243, 247, 251, 255, 258, 262, 266, 269, 273)

Goal difference Rank Team Goalsfor Goalsagainst Goaldiff. Matchesplayed Goals diff.per match Finish 1 109 47 62 7 8.857 1st 2 106 75 31 7 4.429 6th 2 95 64 31 7 4.429 2nd 4 78 59 19 7 2.714 5th 5 79 72 7 7 1.000 7th 6 77 71 6 7 0.857 3rd 7 82 95 −13 7 −1.857 4th 8 71 90 −19 7 −2.714 8th 9 44 78 −34 4 −8.500 9th 10 7 97 −90 4 −22.500 10th Total 748 748 0 32 0.000 Source: Official Results Book (pages 239, 243, 247, 251, 255, 258, 262, 266, 269, 273)

Saves Rank Team Saves Matchesplayed Savesper match Shots % Finish 1 84 7 12.000 131 64.1% 1st 2 44 4 11.000 141 31.2% 10th 3 64 7 9.143 139 46.0% 6th 4 60 7 8.571 150 40.0% 8th 5 59 7 8.429 154 38.3% 4th 6 58 7 8.286 117 49.6% 5th 7 54 7 7.714 125 43.2% 3rd 8 52 7 7.429 124 41.9% 7th 9 27 4 6.750 105 25.7% 9th 10 46 7 6.571 110 41.8% 2nd Total 548 32 8.563 1296 42.3% Source: Official Results Book (pages 239, 243, 247, 251, 255, 258, 262, 266, 269, 273)

Blocks Rank Team Blocks Matchesplayed Blocksper match Finish 1 34 7 4.857 2nd 2 33 7 4.714 3rd 3 31 7 4.429 7th 4 30 7 4.286 1st 5 28 7 4.000 6th 6 27 7 3.857 5th 7 25 7 3.571 8th 7 25 7 3.571 4th 9 6 4 1.500 10th 10 0 4 0.000 9th Total 239 32 3.734 Source: Official Results Book (page 224)

Rebounds Rank Team Rebounds Matchesplayed Reboundsper match Finish 1 52 7 7.429 1st 2 47 7 6.714 3rd 3 43 7 6.143 2nd 4 41 7 5.857 5th 5 39 7 5.571 4th 6 32 7 4.571 6th 7 18 4 4.500 10th 8 30 7 4.286 7th 9 24 7 3.429 8th 10 9 4 2.250 9th Total 335 32 5.234 Source: Official Results Book (page 224)

Steals Rank Team Steals Matchesplayed Stealsper match Finish 1 63 7 9.000 5th 2 31 4 7.750 9th 3 51 7 7.286 6th 3 51 7 7.286 2nd 5 50 7 7.143 7th 6 48 7 6.857 1st 7 42 7 6.000 4th 8 39 7 5.571 3rd 9 30 7 4.286 8th 10 13 4 3.250 10th Total 418 32 6.531 Source: Official Results Book (page 224)

Sprints won Rank Team Sprints won Matchesplayed Sprints wonper match Sprintscontested % Finish 1 27 7 3.857 28 96.4% 3rd 2 19 7 2.714 28 67.9% 6th 3 18 7 2.571 28 64.3% 1st 4 16 7 2.286 28 57.1% 2nd 5 12 7 1.714 28 42.9% 7th 5 12 7 1.714 28 42.9% 4th 7 11 7 1.571 28 39.3% 5th 8 7 7 1.000 28 25.0% 8th 8 4 4 1.000 16 25.0% 10th 10 2 4 0.500 16 12.5% 9th Total 128 32 2.000 256 50.0% Source: Official Results Book (page 224)

Turnovers Rank Team Turnovers Matchesplayed Turnoversper match Finish 1 31 7 4.429 2nd 2 34 7 4.857 7th 2 34 7 4.857 8th 2 34 7 4.857 1st 5 22 4 5.500 9th 6 39 7 5.571 4th 7 40 7 5.714 5th 7 40 7 5.714 6th 9 41 7 5.857 3rd 10 34 4 8.500 10th Total 349 32 5.453 Source: Official Results Book (page 224)

Exclusions with substitution Rank Team Exclusionswithsubstitution Matchesplayed Exclusionsw/substper match Finish 1 1 4 0.250 9th 2 2 7 0.286 7th 3 3 7 0.429 1st 4 4 7 0.571 6th 4 4 7 0.571 2nd 6 5 7 0.714 5th 7 3 4 0.750 10th 8 6 7 0.857 3rd 9 9 7 1.286 4th 10 12 7 1.714 8th Total 49 32 0.766 Source: Official Results Book (page 224)

Player statistics

Multiple medalists

Three-time Olympic medalist(s): 2 players : Melissa Seidemann, Maggie Steffens

Leading goalscorers Rank Player Team Goals Matchesplayed Goalsper match Shots % 1 Simone van de Kraats 28 7 4.000 44 63.6% 2 Maddie Musselman 18 7 2.571 49 36.7% Beatriz Ortiz 7 2.571 46 39.1% Maggie Steffens 7 2.571 32 56.3% 5 Maud Megens 17 7 2.429 37 45.9% 6 Zhang Jing 16 7 2.286 26 61.5% 7 Kyra Christmas 15 7 2.143 29 51.7% Anni Espar 7 2.143 34 44.1% Ekaterina Prokofyeva 7 2.143 35 42.9% 10 Makenzie Fischer 14 7 2.000 33 42.4% Judith Forca 7 2.000 37 37.8% Source: Official Results Book (page 234)

Saves leaders Rank Goalkeeper Team Saves Matchesplayed Savesper match Shots % 1 Ashleigh Johnson 80 7 11.429 124 64.5% 2 Alda Magyari 51 7 7.286 116 44.0% 3 Shen Yineng 47 6 7.833 112 42.0% 4 Laura Ester 45 7 6.429 108 41.7% 5 Meghan Maartens 44 4 11.000 141 31.2% 6 Anna Karnaukh 42 5 8.400 98 42.9% 7 Claire Wright 37 5 7.400 92 40.2% 8 Joanne Koenders 33 3 11.000 48 68.8% 9 Debby Willemsz 31 5 6.200 90 34.4% 10 Lea Yanitsas 30 3 10.000 60 50.0% Source: Official Results Book (page 236)

Leading blockers Rank Player Team Blocks Matchesplayed Blocksper match 1 Rita Keszthelyi 10 7 1.429 2 Beatriz Ortiz 9 7 1.286 Zhang Jing 7 1.286 4 Ekaterina Prokofyeva 8 7 1.143 5 Rachel Fattal 7 7 1.000 Shae La Roche 7 1.000 7 Bronte Halligan 6 7 0.857 Maggie Steffens 7 0.857 9 Aria Fischer 5 7 0.714 Keesja Gofers 7 0.714 Paula Leitón 7 0.714 Rebecca Parkes 7 0.714 Dorottya Szilágyi 7 0.714 Roser Tarragó 7 0.714 Source: Official Results Book (pages 239, 243, 247, 251, 255, 258, 262, 266, 269, 273)

Leading rebounders Rank Player Team Rebounds Matchesplayed Reboundsper match 1 Anni Espar 12 7 1.714 2 Rachel Fattal 10 7 1.429 3 Maddie Musselman 9 7 1.286 4 Makenzie Fischer 8 7 1.143 Keesja Gofers 7 1.143 Ekaterina Prokofyeva 7 1.143 Maggie Steffens 7 1.143 8 Evgeniya Soboleva 7 7 1.000 Dorottya Szilágyi 7 1.000 Rowena Webster 7 1.000 Zhang Jing 7 1.000 Source: Official Results Book (pages 239, 243, 247, 251, 255, 258, 262, 266, 269, 273)

Steals leaders Rank Player Team Steals Matchesplayed Stealsper match 1 Simone van de Kraats 13 7 1.857 2 Anni Espar 11 7 1.571 Bronte Halligan 7 1.571 4 Hannah Buckling 10 7 1.429 Ekaterina Prokofyeva 7 1.429 6 Zoe Arancini 8 7 1.143 Ashleigh Johnson (GK) 7 1.143 Bronwen Knox 7 1.143 Sabrina van der Sloot 7 1.143 Dorottya Szilágyi 7 1.143 Source: Official Results Book (pages 239, 243, 247, 251, 255, 258, 262, 266, 269, 273)

Leading sprinters Rank Sprinter Team Sprintswon Matchesplayed Sprints wonper match Sprintscontested % 1 Vanda Vályi 27 7 3.857 28 96.4% 2 Rachel Fattal 18 7 2.571 26 69.2% 3 Anni Espar 13 7 1.857 23 56.5% 4 Maria Bersneva 11 7 1.571 21 52.4% 5 Sabrina van der Sloot 10 7 1.429 13 76.9% 6 Kyra Christmas 9 7 1.286 18 50.0% 7 Simone van de Kraats 8 7 1.143 13 61.5% 8 Amy Ridge 6 7 0.857 8 75.0% 9 Keesja Gofers 4 7 0.571 17 23.5% Amica Hallenndorff 4 1.000 11 36.4% Wang Xinyan 7 0.571 11 36.4% Source: Official Results Book (page 233)

Turnovers leaders Rank Player Team Turnovers Matchesplayed Turnoversper match 1 Elyse Lemay-Lavoie 15 7 2.143 Rebecca Parkes 7 2.143 3 Paula Leitón 12 7 1.714 Anna Timofeeva 7 1.714 5 Maica García 11 7 1.571 6 Chen Xiao 10 7 1.429 Aria Fischer 7 1.429 Anikó Gyöngyössy 6 1.667 Xiong Dunhan 7 1.429 10 Anastasia Simanovich 8 7 1.143 Source: Official Results Book (pages 239, 243, 247, 251, 255, 258, 262, 266, 269, 273)

Exclusions leaders Rank Player Team Exclusionswithsubstitution Matchesplayed Exclusionsw/substper match 1 Mei Xiaohan 5 7 0.714 2 Hannah Buckling 3 7 0.429 Veronika Vakhitova 7 0.429 Wang Xinyan 7 0.429 5 Evgeniya Ivanova 2 7 0.286 Georgie Moir 4 0.500 Beatriz Ortiz 7 0.286 Vivian Sevenich 7 0.286 Vanda Vályi 7 0.286 Source: Official Results Book (pages 239, 243, 247, 251, 255, 258, 262, 266, 269, 273)

Awards The women's all-star team was announced on 7 August 2021.

Position Player Goalkeeper Ashleigh JohnsonField players Rebecca Parkes (Centre forward) Anni Espar Maddie Musselman Beatriz Ortiz Ekaterina Prokofyeva Simone van de KraatsMVP Maddie Musselman

References

Sources Overall