VNL 2025 kicks off in Beijing on Wednesday

Beijing will be the stage for the first serve of the Volleyball Nations League 2025 as the Chinese capital is set to welcome national teams from Asia and Europe in the opening week of the seventh edition of the event.

Besides the host country, will be in action at the National Indoor Stadium between Wednesday and Sunday in Pool 3 the teams of Belgium, France, Poland, Thailand and Türkiye.

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The first day of matches in Beijing is going to have a full schedule, with European rivals France and Türkiye playing the first match of the VNL 2025 at 11:30 local time (3:30 GMT), Thailand and Poland meeting at 15:00 (7:00 GMT) and the home team playing Belgium at 19:30 (11:30 GMT).

The next three days will have doubleheaders, with the first match at 15:00 (7:00 GMT) and the second at 19:30 (11:30 GMT). On Thursday, Belgium and Thailand go first, followed by Poland and China in what should be one of the most exciting matches of the week in Beijing. Friday will start with the all-European duel involving the French and the Belgians, with Türkiye and Thailand meeting later. On Saturday, Turkish and Polish meet in the first timeslot, with Chinese and French dueling later.

VNL 2025 – Match Schedule

The last day of matches in Beijing, Sunday will again have three matches, with Belgium and Poland dueling first, at 11:30 (3:30 GMT), France and Thailand battling at 15:00 (7:00 GMT) and China and Türkiye completing the schedule at 19:30 (11:30 GMT) in a rematch of the VNL 2023 gold medal match.

China have a new coach

The first week of the VNL will mark the debut of new head coach Zhao Yong with the Chinese national team. He called up five players who represented the country at last year’s Paris Olympics - opposite Gong Xiangyu, outside hitters Li Yingying and Wu Mengjie, middle blocker Wang Yuanyuan and libero Wang Mengjie – and should use them this week at home.

"It's a big honor to take part in a VNL stop here in Beijing," Gong said. "We have a new team this season, and we're looking forward to learning from each other and having a great experience together here."

Entering the third year of work with head coach Daniele Santarelli, Türkiye want to fight for the title of the VNL, as they did in 2023. Captain Eda Erdem was given some time off during the VNL, but the rest of the core remains the same as the last few years. In the first week, the Italian coach will count on setter Elif Şahin, outside hitters Derya Cebecioğlu, Hande Baladın and Meliha Diken and libero Simge Aköz to lead the team.

"Winnign the VNL back in 2023 was a huge accomplishment for us," Aköz reflected. "Every summer, our goal is to do it again and I believe we can make it happen. We have some young players who are very talented and full of energy and we'll fight together."

Poland, which won bronze in the last two editions of the VNL, will start their campaign with a strong squad in China. Head coach Stefano Lavarini selected opposite Magdalena Stysiak, middle blocker Agnieszka Korneluk and outside hitter Martyna Łukasic among the 14 players that will make the trip to Asia.

"Winning the bronze medal in the last two seasons was big for us, but we don't want to stop there," Korneluk remarked. "We want to keep improving and to get to the podium again this year. It's going to be difficult, but we're ready to give our 100% in every match and see what we can do."

Thailand will have setter Pornpun Guedpard, opposite Pimpichaya Kokram, outside hitters Ajcharaporn Kongyot and Chatchu-On Moksri and libero Piyanut Pannoy as their standouts in China, while Belgium will rely on star outside hitter Britt Herbots and France should have middle blocker Amandha Sylves and libero Juliette Gelin available for selection in Beijing.

"We're really excited to compete in the VNL this year," Pornpun explained. "Our team has changed a lot from the last years and many young players are now part of the squad. I'm sure they're going to have a great experience facing the best teams in the world in the VNL and we're excited to show our best."

Presenting a new format in 2025, the VNL will feature 18 national teams. In each of the three weeks of the Preliminary Phase, they will be split into three pools of six and will play four matches each. At the end of the Preliminary Phase, the seven best-ranked teams and hosts Poland will secure a spot in the Finals, which are going to be held in Łódź from July 23-27.

In the first week, Rio de Janeiro and Ottawa will be the other cities hosting pools. While Brazil, Czechia, Germany, Italy, Korea and the United States will compete in the Brazilian city, Canada, Bulgaria, the Dominican Republic, Japan, the Netherlands and Serbia will be in action in the Canadian town.

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