| Gender: | women |
| Australia | |
| Fina Code: | AUS |
| Nickname: | Stingers |
| Association: | Water Polo Australia |
| Confederation: | OSA |
| Coach: | Rebecca Rippon |
| Asst Coach: | Eddie Denis Taryn Woods |
| Captain: | Zoe Arancini |
| Fina Ranking: | 7 |
| Fina Ranking Date: | 9 August 2021 |
| Fina Highest: | 2 |
| Fina Highest Year: | 2010 |
| Fina Lowest: | 7 |
| Fina Lowest Year: | 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021 |
| Olympics Apps: | 7 |
| Olympics First: | 2000 |
| Olympics Best: | (2000) |
| World Champ Apps: | 17 |
| World Champ First: | 1986 |
| World Champ Best: | (1986) |
| World Cup Apps: | 17 |
| World Cup First: | 1979 |
| World Cup Best: | (1984, 1995, 2006) |
| World League Apps: | 16 |
| World League First: | 2004 |
| World League Best: | (2007, 2010, 2012, 2015) |
| Regional Cup Name: | Commonwealth Championship |
| Regional Cup Apps: | 2 |
| Regional Cup First: | 2002 |
| Regional Cup Best: | (2002, 2006) |
| Medaltemplates-Expand: | yes |
| Last Updated: | 1 May 2020 |
The Australia national women's water polo team represents Australia in women's international water polo competitions and is controlled by Water Polo Australia. It was one of the most successful women's water polo teams in the world. It is currently organised into the Asia/Oceania regional group.
The Australia women's water polo team played their first international in 1975. Since that time they have gone from strength to strength. The team have often had to struggle with lack of funding, but despite that continued to perform credibly on the international stage.
Following 6th place at the 1994 World Aquatics Championships in Rome, Italy, they won the women's Water polo World Cup at home in Sydney, Australia, in 1995. In 1996, the women won the silver medal in the Olympic Year Tournament behind the Netherlands, then finished with bronze in the following year's World Cup in Nancy, France. Australia continued their successful mid-1990s run by winning the bronze medal at the 1998 World Aquatics Championships in Perth, and remarkably over the rest of 1998 and 1999 were unbeatable, winning the four international tournaments they contested in the Netherlands, Italy, the United States and Hungary.
After an incredible 14 month winning streak, they only managed the silver at the 1999 world cup in Winnipeg, Canada.
Another success came in 1997 when it was announced that women's Water polo would be included in the Olympic Games for the first time at their home Olympics in 2000 Summer Olympics.
Having had an excellent build up to the Sydney 2000, the team went into the first Olympic tournament at home. They lost one match to the powerful Dutch side in that historic campaign, on the way to winning their inaugural women's Olympic gold medal in front of an ecstatic home crowd.
In an incredible Olympic final, the evenly matched US and Australia sides were tied 3–3 with 1.3 seconds remaining on the clock, when Yvette Higgins blasted in a nine-metre shot from a free throw. The ball crossed the goal-line 0.2s from the final hooter to give Australia a 4–3 win, and the gold medal.
The Australia gold team medalists were: Naomi Castle, Jo Fox, Bridgette Gusterson (C), Simone Hankin, Kate Hooper, Yvette Higgins, Bronwyn Mayer, Gail Miller, Melissa Mills, Debbie Watson, Liz Weekes, Danielle Woodhouse, and Taryn Woods.
The team was brought back down to earth with an Olympic hangover in 2001, only managing 5th in the World Championships of that year. This dip in form was short lived, however, as they won the inaugural Commonwealth Water Polo Championships title in Manchester, England in 2002, beating world No 3 Canada 6–5 in the final.
Australia then suffered another lean patch, finishing 7th at the 2003 World Aquatics Championships in Barcelona, Spain, 4th at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, and 6th at the 2005 World Aquatics Championships in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
The team returned to successful ways by taking the bronze at the 2005 FINA Water Polo World League event in Kirishi, Russia, and at the 2007 Water polo world championship in Melbourne, Australia by taking the silver medal, after losing a hard fought final 5–6 to the US team.
At the 2008 Summer Olympics, the team took the bronze medal after beating Hungary for 3rd place in a penalty shootout.
| Year | Games | Position | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Gold medal (won 6–3 v Russia, lost 4–5 v Netherlands, won 7–6 v USA, won 9–4 v Canada, won 7–6 v Russia, won 4–3 v USA (gold medal match)) | ||
| 2004 | 4th (won 6–5 v Italy, lost 4–9 v Kazakhstan, tie 7–7 v Greece, lost 2–6 v Greece, lost 5–6 v USA (bronze medal match)). | ||
| 2008 | Bronze medal (won 8–6 v Greece, tie 7–7 v Hungary, won 10–9 v Netherlands, won 12–11 v China, lost 9–8 v USA, won 8–8 with penalty shootout 4–3 v Hungary (bronze medal match)). | ||
| 2012 | Bronze medal (won 10–8 v Italy, won 16–3 v Great Britain, won 11–8 v Russia, won 16–16 with penalty shootout 4–2 v China, lost 9–11 v USA, won 13–11 after overtime v Hungary (bronze medal match)). | ||
| 2016 | 6th (won 14–4 Russia, lost 7–8 Italy, won 11–3 v Brazil, lost 8–8 Hungary on penalty shootout, won 11–4 Brazil, lost 10–12 Spain (5th–6th playoff) | ||
| 2024 | Silver medal (won 7-4 China, won 15-14 Netherlands on penalty shootout, won 10-7 Canada, won 14-12 Hungary on penalty shootout, won 9-6 Greece, won 14-13 United on penalty shootout (semi-final), lost 9-11 Spain (final) |
See main article: Australia women's Olympic water polo team records and statistics.
Roster for the 2024 Summer Olympics.
Australia's women have won two titles at the FINA Junior Water Polo World Championships.[2]