The history of water polo as a team sport began in mid 19th-century England and Scotland, where water sports were a feature of county fairs and festivals.
Glencora McGhie is an Australian water polo centre back/driver. She attended the Curtin University of Technology and is a dental therapist. She competes for the Fremantle Marlins in the National Water Polo League, and was on sides that won the league championship in 2003, 2004, 2006 and 2007. She has been a member of the Australia women's national water polo team on the junior and senior level. She has won gold medals at the 2011 Canada Cup and at the 2007 FINA Junior World Championships. She won silver medals at the 2010 FINA World League Super Finals and at the 2010 FINA Women's Water Polo World Cup. She won a bronze medal at the 2009 FINA World League Super Finals. She was part of the Australian water polo team that won bronze at the 2012 Summer Olympics and competed in the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Zoe Arancini is an Australian water polo player who plays driver, counter-attacker, or outside shooter. She plays club water polo in the National Water Polo League for the Fremantle Marlins, where she has won the league championship in 2005, 2007 and 2008 and is coached by her mother. She has represented the country as a member of the Australia women's national water polo team on the junior and senior level, with over eighty appearances for national team between the two levels. She won a gold medal at the 2011 Canada Cup, silver medals at the 2010 FINA World League Super Finals and 2010 FINA World Cup, and bronze medals at the 2009 FINA World League Super Finals and 2011 FINA Junior World Championships. She represented Australia at the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics.
Ashleigh Southern is an Australian water polo player. She is a centre forward or outside shooter who has represented Australia on the junior and senior national teams. She won a gold medal at the 2009 Youth Olympic Festival, a silver medal at the 2010 FINA Women's Water Polo World Cup, a bronze medal at the 2011 FINE World League and a bronze medal at the 2011 FINA Junior World Championships. She plays club water polo for the Brisbane Barracudas, where she won a league championship in 2010. In 2014–15 season, she played for the Greek powerhouse Olympiacos where she won the LEN Euroleague, scoring 4 goals in the 10–9 win of Olympiacos against Sabadell in the final of the competition. She represented Australia at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics.
Bronwen Knox is an Australian water polo centre back/centre forward. She played for the National Water Polo League's Queensland Breakers before switching to the Victorian Tigers for the 2012 season. In 2013–14 season, she played for the Greek powerhouse Olympiacos in the European competitions, winning the LEN Trophy.
Margaret Ann Steffens is an American professional water polo player. She won the gold medal with the United States at the 2012, 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympics. At the 2020 Summer Olympics, Steffens set a new Olympic record for the most goals scored by an individual player in women's water polo at the Olympic Games.
The women's water polo tournament at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, was held from 16 to 23 September 2000, with six teams competing in the debut tournament. The games were held at the Ryde Aquatic Centre and the Sydney Olympic Aquatic Centre. It was the first time in history that women's water polo officially competed at the Summer Olympics.
Anna Espar Llaquet is a Spanish water polo player who won the gold medal at the 2013 World Championships in Barcelona. She also won the silver medal at the 2012 and 2020 Summer Olympics.
The men's water polo tournament at the 2017 World Aquatics Championships, organised by the FINA, was held in Budapest, Hungary from 17 to 29 July 2017.
The women's water polo tournament at the 2017 World Aquatics Championships, organised by the FINA, was held in Budapest, Hungary from 16 to 28 July 2017.
The 2019 FINA Women's Water Polo World League was the 16th edition of the annual women's international water polo tournament. It was played between November 2018 and June 2019 and open to all women's water polo national teams. After participating in a preliminary round, eight teams qualified to play in a final tournament, called the Super Final from 4–9 June 2019.
Madeline Musselman is an American water polo player. Maddie was named Woman's water polo MVP after her USA Team won gold in Tokyo at the 2020 Summer Olympics. She was one of the highest leading scorers with 18 goals. It is the fourth time in her career that she has been named the MVP of a major international tournament as she was named the MVP of the FINA World League Super Final in 2019 and again in 2021. She was also named the MVP of the FINA World Championships in 2017 where Team USA won gold; scored 16 goals in six games, including hat trick in 13–6 final-round win over Spain. Additionally, the four-time First-Team All-American, at UCLA, was also named the 2021 and 2022 Women's Total Player of the Year by (Total Waterpolo).
The men's water polo tournament at the 2019 World Aquatics Championships, organised by the FINA, was held in Gwangju, South Korea from 15 to 27 July. This was the eighteenth time that the men's water polo tournament has been played since the first edition in 1973.
The women's water polo tournament at the 2019 World Aquatics Championships was held from 14 to 26 July.
Hungary competed at the 2019 World Aquatics Championships in Gwangju, South Korea from 12 to 28 July.
South Korea competed at the 2019 World Aquatics Championships in Gwangju, South Korea from 12 to 28 July.
The 2020 FINA Women's Water Polo World League was the 17th edition of the annual women's international water polo tournament. It was played between October 2019 and June 2021 and opened to all women's water polo national teams. After participating in a preliminary round, eight teams qualified to play in a final tournament, called the Super Final, originally from 9–14 June 2020. The tournament was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In August 2020, it was announced that it would be played in from January to June 2021.
Jordan Raney is an American water polo player who is a member of the United States women's national water polo team. She was part of the gold medal-winning American team at the 2017 World Aquatics Championships in Budapest.
The men's water polo tournament at the 2022 World Aquatics Championships was held from 21 June to 3 July 2022 in Budapest, Hungary. This was the 19th time that the men's water polo tournament has been played since the first edition in 1973.
South Africa competed at the 2022 World Aquatics Championships in Budapest, Hungary from 18 June to 3 July.
Hungary 64–0 South Korea 
