The Women's World Volleyball Championship starts today. The big stars of women's volleyball will shine on the court, but the coaching staffs – full of legends, Olympic champions, and continental tournament champions – deserve no less attention. Among them, however, there is onlyone woman head coach –Antonina Zetova, coach of Bulgaria. As the only female representative, she became a topic of discussion at the start of this year's VNL.

Antonina Zetova – the Bulgarian accent and the only woman among the coaches

Zetova is a well-known figure in European volleyball. In the past, she played as an attacker and left a bright mark in the Turkish and Italian club championships. With the Bulgarian national team, she won a bronze medal at the European Championship in 2001, and in 2010 she won silver in the European League. At the 2001 European Championship, she was chosen as theMVPof the tournament.

In 2025, Zetova took over the women's national team of Bulgaria and found herself in the spotlight in her first year, as she managed to gather some of the most experienced players who had refused to participate under other selectors. She brings valuable experience and leadership qualities that can inspire the new generation of volleyball players, whom she also coached, leading the U18 selection to the European title last year.

The fact that Zetova is theonly woman at the helm of a national teamat the World Cup is particularly symbolic – in a tournament with such a rich history and the presence of legendary male coaches, she becomes the face of change and proof that women can take leading roles in the coaching elite.

🌍 Among the names of coaches in this year's World Championship, the following stand out:

• Julio Velasco (Italy)

• Zé Roberto (Brazil)

• Giovanni Guidetti (Canada)

• Zoran Terzic (Serbia)

• Daniele Santarelli (Turkey)

• Stefano Lavarini (Poland)
  
  picture:volleyballworld.com