Less than 24 hours after FIVB announced on July 8, 2026, that it was reinstating Russian national teams in international volleyball, Russia already appears in the updated world ranking list on the official Volleyball World website. There was no need to wait for the next weekly or monthly update – the change is visible now, in real-time.
For men(updated July 9, 2026, 04:40 UTC) Russia is in 3rd place with 352.10 points – behind Poland (377.54) and Italy (367.53), but ahead of the USA (336.49). The national team returns to the same position it held at the time its ranking points were frozen in 2022.
For women(updated July 9, 2026, 04:21 UTC) Russia is in 9th place with 277.59 points – immediately behind the Netherlands (293.14) and ahead of Germany (267.83).

Why this is not a gradual ascent, but an immediate reinstatement

Typically, a national team that has been absent from international competitions for a long time must gradually accumulate ranking points by participating in official tournaments and matches. In Russia's case, this is not happening.
FIVB reinstated the Russian national teams' ranking points that they held at the time they were frozen in 2022. Thus, Russia returns directly among the leading teams, without first having to accumulate new points by participating in international matches. This is why the change is instantaneous and becomes visible just hours after the federation's official decision.

The effect is felt throughout the entire ranking list

Since Russia has been reinstated directly to 3rd place for men and 9th for women, all national teams below these positions are automatically moved back by one place.
For men, Bulgaria drops from 8th to 9th place, retaining its 274.11 points.
For women, Germany loses one position and is now 10th.
The Ukrainian national teams also move back one position each – to 13th place for men and 19th for women.
This shows that the effect is not theoretical, but immediate – it is enough to open the official ranking list to see the impact on all teams behind Russia.

How to check for yourself

The data is public and can be checked in real-time on the official Volleyball World website:

Men: https://en.volleyballworld.com/volleyball/world-ranking/men

Women: https://en.volleyballworld.com/volleyball/world-ranking/women

The times of the last update – 04:21 and 04:40 UTC on July 9 – indicate that the ranking list was updated just hours after FIVB's official announcement. This confirms that the decision takes effect immediately and no subsequent ranking update cycle is awaited.