Roberta eyes growth in her first season in the Japanese League

The start of the 2026-2027 Japanese Daido Life SV.League season earlier this month marked the beginning of a new chapter in the career of Roberta Ratzke.

After spending the first portion of her career in her native Brazil and the last five years in Europe, the 36-year-old setter headed to Japan, determined to experience something new and continue learning on and off the court.

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A six-time Brazilian Superliga champion and a one-time Polish League winner, Roberta joined Denso Airybees, a team that is still looking for its first Japanese League title. There, she will continue to play alongside one of her closest Brazilian national team teammates, opposite Rosamaria Montibeller, who's currently sidelined due to an injury and has been with Denso since 2023-2024.

"Being a setter, I honestly didn't expect to receive an offer to play in Japan," Roberta told Volleyball World. "I'm incredibly grateful to have the chance of experiencing this in such an incredible country, both personally and professionally. And having Rosa here made me say yes immediately, as she's going to her fourth season here and has only great things to say about the country and the league."

Roberta arrived in Japan by the end of September and had a promising start with her new team, helping Denso beat Saitama Ageo Medics twice on the road in the first leg of the regular season.

After five years in Europe, the setter is adjusting to the city of Koriyama and her new team, which is coached by another Brazilian, Henrique Modenesi.

"These first weeks have been very different from anything I've experienced," Roberta said. "I live in a small town, so everything is close, and the weather is nice, but Google Translate has been my best friend so far. The two main coaches are Brazilians, and that makes things easier, and the girls on the team were amazing at welcoming me, so it's just a matter of time until I can get into a rhythm and improve my connection with everybody."

The Brazilian setter also knows what to expect on the court and can't wait to make the most of playing in another of the most competitive and fastest-growing national leagues in the world.

"In Türkiye, every game was a challenge, and I believe it's going to be the same here," she reflected. "And with back-to-back matches every weekend, it's going to be very demanding, especially because there's no such thing as a quick sweep in this league. Every team and every league I've played at taught me something, and I'm sure it's going to be the same here."

Japanese volleyball is known worldwide for the technical quality of its players and the high pace of the game, which also includes a complex and creative offensive strategy. These are some of the things Roberta wants to incorporate into her game in her first season in the country.

"I love playing defense, so I guess I came to the right place," she joked. "I also think my blocking will improve because, considering how fast the game is here, I'll need to learn to get to my position early. And I also hope to add more plays to my repertoire, as this is one of the main traits of Japanese volleyball. I'm sure I can adapt; I just need some time to understand what each player needs."

Roberta comes to Denso fresh from another successful national team season with Brazil, which saw the team win bronze in the VNL 2026 and earn a spot at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics after earning their 24th South American title in Rio de Janeiro, with her making it to the tournament's Dream Team.

"I'm very happy with another year with the national team and proud of how we managed to get stronger," she said. "We had some significant losses during the VNL, but our level never dropped. The younger players stepped up and showed they're ready. Winning the Olympic spot was special, as it allows us to start preparing for LA 2028 right now, and having done it in Brazil made it even better."

In 2027, besides helping Denso fight for the Japanese title, Roberta will also be in action with Brazil in the VNL and the FIVB Volleyball Women's World Cup in the United States and Canada, where the team coached by José 'Zé Roberto' Guimarães will try to win both tournaments for the first time.

Despite having the LA 2028 Games, which will be her third, on the horizon, Roberta, who won silver in Tokyo 2020 and bronze in Paris 2024, ensures Brazil will be ready to fight for gold again next year.

"Our priority is the Olympics, but we have other important tournaments until then, which will help us in our journey," she remarked. "We are chasing the VNL and the World Cup titles, and we feel that we're closer than ever. Other teams have been stronger, but we're always there, battling them, and it will be another year of a lot of work for us."

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