Monica De Gennaro was a great protagonist with the national team shirt during 2025, contributing to Italy’s triumph at the Women’s Volleyball World Cup and in the Nations League. The Italians defended the title in the prestigious international traveling competition and then ascended the world championship throne after having loomed large at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The team led by coach Julio Velasco reiterated that they are the strongest in circulation and part of the credit also goes to the formidable libero, who at the end of this season decided to leave the blue shirt and concentrate only on club activity for the end of his career.
Awarded as the best libero of the World Championships, the champion from Campania deserved further recognition at the end of the year, which is always very difficult for a libero to receive: Volleyball Worlda portal connected to the FIVB (the International Federation), has crowned Monica De Gennaro as the best volleyball player in the world for 2025. It was the social team of the magazine born some time ago from a partnership between FIVB and CVC Capital Partners that placed it at the top of the special ranking.
The almost 39-year-old (she will blow out the candles on January 8th) succeeds Paola Egonu in the roll of honor, who was awarded in 2024 after her five-ring apotheosis. The player from Conegliano broke up behind us the formidable Brazilian spiker Gabi and the setter Alessia Orro, who had been awarded MVP of the world championship. The Sardinian deserved third place, ahead of the acrobatic Turkish striker Melissa Vargas and the solid Brazilian center back Julia Kudiess.
There are six Italians in the top 10: in addition to De Gennaro and Orro, there is room for the opposite sides Ekaterina Antropova (sixth) and Paola Egonu (eighth), for the central Anna Danesi (the captain of the national team is ninth) and the spiker Myriam Sylla (tenth). The exclusion from the top-10 of an extraordinary opponent like the Swedish opposite Isabelle Haak stands out, with the Japanese spiker Mayu Ishikawa seventh.
RANKING OF BEST VOLLEYBALL WORLD PLAYER 2025
1. Monica De Gennaro (Italy)
2. Gabi (Brazil)
3. Alessia Orro (Italy)
4. Melissa Vargas (Türkiye)
5. Julia Kudiess (Brazil)
6. Ekaterina Antropova (Italy)
7. Mayu Ishikawa (Giappone)
8. Paola Egonu (Italy)
9. Anna Danesi (Italy)
10 Myriam Sylla (Italy)
