# 2022 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup

The 2022 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup, the 19th edition of FIBA's premier international tournament for women's national basketball teams, was held in Sydney, Australia, between 22 September and 1 October 2022.
The United States were the three-time defending champion, and retained the title after a finals win over China in front of 15,895 attendants. Host Australia captured the bronze medal with a win against Canada.
The tournament broke the record for spectators, with 145,519 people attending in total.

## Hosts selection

Australia and Russia were the only two federations bidding for the tournament. The decision was made on 26 March 2020 during a video conference.

## Venues

The tournament was played at two venues inside the Sydney Olympic Park.
| Sydney | Sydney | Sydney |
| Sydney SuperDome | State Sports Centre | Sydney |
| Capacity: 21,032 | Capacity: 5,006 | Sydney |

## Qualification

Australia as the hosts automatically qualified for the tournament in March 2020. All other teams qualified through qualifying tournaments, after finishing as the top teams during their regional tournament. A total of 12 teams played in those tournaments for the remaining spots.
The shown FIBA ranking indicates the ranking before the tournament.
On 1 March 2022, Russia was disqualified after being suspended by FIBA due to the invasion of Ukraine, with Puerto Rico being awarded the first wildcard as their replacement on 18 May.
Nigeria were forced to withdraw in June 2022 due to the political situation in the country, and were replaced by Mali (the runners-up at the African Championship).
| Qualification | Hosts | Date(s) | Spot(s) | Qualifier(s) |
| Host nation | N/A | 26 March 2020 | 1 | Australia |
| 2020 Summer Olympics | Tokyo | 26 July – 8 August 2021 | 1 | United States |
| Qualifying Tournament | Belgrade | 10–13 February 2022 | 2 | Serbia South Korea |
| Qualifying Tournament | Belgrade | 10–13 February 2022 | 3 | China Nigeria France Mali |
| Qualifying Tournament | Osaka | 10–13 February 2022 | 3 | Canada Japan Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| Qualifying Tournament | Washington, D.C. | 10–13 February 2022 | 2 | Belgium Russia Puerto Rico |

### Qualified teams

| Team | Qualification | Qualification | Appearance | Appearance | Appearance | Best Performance | FIBA World Ranking | FIBA Zone Ranking |
| Team | Method | Date | Last | Total | Streak | Best Performance | FIBA World Ranking | FIBA Zone Ranking |
| Australia | Host nation | 26 March 2020 | 2018 | 16 | 15 | Champions (2006) | 3 | 1 |
| United States | Olympic champions | 8 August 2021 | 2018 | 18 | 16 | Champions (1953, 1957, 1979, 1986, 1990, 1998, 2002, 2010, 2014, 2018) | 1 | 1 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | Qualifying Tournament | 5 February 2022 | Debut | Debut | Debut | Debut | 26 | 17 |
| Canada | Qualifying Tournament | 5 February 2022 | 2018 | 12 | 5 | Third place (1979, 1986) | 4 | 2 |
| Japan | Qualifying Tournament | 5 February 2022 | 2018 | 9 | 4 | Runners-up (1975) | 8 | 3 |
| China | Qualifying Tournament | 11 February 2022 | 2018 | 11 | 11 | Runners-up (1994) | 7 | 2 |
| France | Qualifying Tournament | 11 February 2022 | 2018 | 11 | 6 | Third place (1953) | 6 | 3 |
| South Korea | Qualifying Tournament | 12 February 2022 | 2018 | 16 | 16 | Runners-up (1967, 1979) | 13 | 4 |
| Serbia | Qualifying Tournament | 12 February 2022 | 2014 | 3 | 1 | Eighth place (2014) | 10 | 5 |
| Nigeria | Qualifying Tournament | 13 February 2022 | 2018 | 3 | 2 | Eighth place (2018) | 14 | 1 |
| Belgium | Qualifying Tournament | 13 February 2022 | 2018 | 2 | 2 | Fourth place (2018) | 5 | 2 |
| Russia | Qualifying Tournament | 14 February 2022 | 2010 | 5 | 1 | Runners-up (1998, 2002, 2006) | 12 | 7 |
| Puerto Rico | Wildcards | 18 May 2022 | 2018 | 2 | 2 | 16th place (2018) | 17 | 4 |
| Mali | Wildcards | 2 June 2022 | 2010 | 2 | 1 | 15th place (2010) | 37 | 3 |

## Draw

The official draw ceremony took place on 3 March 2022 in Sydney.
Pot 1 :
| Pot 1 TeamPos  United States1  Australia3  Canada4  Belgium5  France6  China7 | Pot 2 TeamPos  Japan8  Serbia10  South Korea13  Nigeria14  Puerto Rico17  Bosnia and Herzegovina26 |
* ↑ Nigeria would later withdraw and was replaced by Mali
* ↑ Team not determined at time of draw

## Referees

The following 23 referees were selected for the tournament.
* Scott Beker (AUS)
* Christopher Reid (AUS)
* Andreia Silva (BRA)
* Maripier Malo (CAN)
* Yu Jung (TPE)
* Martin Vulić (CRO)
* Maj Forsberg (DEN)
* Sara El-Sharnouby (EGY)
* Daigo Urushima (JPN)
* Yana Nikogossyan (KAZ)
* Gatis Saliņš (LAT)
* Viola Györgyi (HUN)
* Ryan Jones (NZL)
* Julio Anaya (PAN)
* Wojciech Liszka (POL)
* Johnny Batista (PUR)
* Yasmina Alcaraz (ESP)
* Ariadna Chueca (ESP)
* Amir Taboubi (TUN)
* Özlem Yalman (TUR)
* Amy Bonner (USA)
* Blanca Burns (USA)
* Joyce Muchenu (ZIM)

## Squads

Each team consisted of twelve players.

## Preliminary round
### Group A

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | United States | 5 | 5 | 0 | 536 | 305 | +231 | 10 | Final round |
| 2 | China | 5 | 4 | 1 | 444 | 287 | +157 | 9 | Final round |
| 3 | Belgium | 5 | 3 | 2 | 364 | 349 | +15 | 8 | Final round |
| 4 | Puerto Rico | 5 | 2 | 3 | 341 | 400 | −59 | 7 | Final round |
| 5 | South Korea | 5 | 1 | 4 | 346 | 494 | −148 | 6 | |
| 6 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 5 | 0 | 5 | 289 | 485 | −196 | 5 | |
| 22 September 2022 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 58–82 | Puerto Rico |
| United States | 87–72 | Belgium |
| South Korea | 44–107 | China |
| 23 September 2022 |
| Puerto Rico | 42–106 | United States |
| Belgium | 84–61 | South Korea |
| China | 98–51 | Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| 24 September 2022 |
| United States | 77–63 | China |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 66–99 | South Korea |
| Puerto Rico | 65–68 | Belgium |
| 26 September 2022 |
| Belgium | 85–55 | Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| South Korea | 69–145 | United States |
| China | 95–60 | Puerto Rico |
| 27 September 2022 |
| Puerto Rico | 92–73 | South Korea |
| China | 81–55 | Belgium |
| United States | 121–59 | Bosnia and Herzegovina |

### Group B

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Australia (H) | 5 | 4 | 1 | 390 | 308 | +82 | 9 | Final round |
| 2 | Canada | 5 | 4 | 1 | 356 | 301 | +55 | 9 | Final round |
| 3 | Serbia | 5 | 3 | 2 | 332 | 330 | +2 | 8 | Final round |
| 4 | France | 5 | 3 | 2 | 318 | 296 | +22 | 8 | Final round |
| 5 | Japan | 5 | 1 | 4 | 316 | 333 | −17 | 6 | |
| 6 | Mali | 5 | 0 | 5 | 306 | 450 | −144 | 5 | |
* 1 2 Australia 75–72 Canada
* 1 2 Serbia 68–62 France
| 22 September 2022 |
| Canada | 67–60 | Serbia |
| Japan | 89–56 | Mali |
| Australia | 57–70 | France |
| 23 September 2022 |
| Serbia | 69–64 | Japan |
| France | 45–59 | Canada |
| Mali | 58–118 | Australia |
| 25 September 2022 |
| Mali | 59–74 | France |
| Australia | 69–54 | Serbia |
| Japan | 56–70 | Canada |
| 26 September 2022 |
| Serbia | 81–68 | Mali |
| France | 67–53 | Japan |
| Canada | 72–75 | Australia |
| 27 September 2022 |
| Mali | 65–88 | Canada |
| Serbia | 68–62 | France |
| Australia | 71–54 | Japan |

## Knockout stage

A draw was conducted to decide the pairings of the quarterfinals. The two best-ranked teams in each group were drawn against the two teams ranked third and fourth in the other group.
| Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | | Final | Final |
| 29 September | 29 September | | | |
| Belgium | 69 | | | |
| Belgium | 69 | 30 September | 30 September | | |
| Australia | 86 | 30 September | 30 September | |
| Australia | 86 | Australia | 59 | |
| 29 September | 29 September | | Australia | 59 | |
| 29 September | 29 September | China | 61 | |
| China | 85 | China | 61 | |
| China | 85 | | | | 1 October | 1 October |
| France | 71 | | | | 1 October | 1 October |
| France | 71 | | | | China | 61 |
| 29 September | 29 September | | | | | China | 61 |
| 29 September | 29 September | | | | United States | 83 |
| Puerto Rico | 60 | | | | United States | 83 |
| Puerto Rico | 60 | 30 September | 30 September | | | |
| Canada | 79 | 30 September | 30 September | | | |
| Canada | 79 | Canada | 43 | | | |
| 29 September | 29 September | | Canada | 43 | | | |
| 29 September | 29 September | United States | 83 | | Third place | Third place |
| United States | 88 | United States | 83 | | Third place | Third place |
| United States | 88 | | | | 1 October | 1 October |
| Serbia | 55 | | | | 1 October | 1 October |
| Serbia | 55 | | | | Australia | 95 |
| | | | | | Canada | 65 |

## Final standings

| Rank | Team | GP | W/L | FIBA World Rankings | FIBA World Rankings | FIBA World Rankings |
| Rank | Team | GP | W/L | Before | After | Change |
| | United States | 8 | 8–0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| | China | 8 | 6–2 | 7 | 2 | +5 |
| | Australia | 8 | 6–2 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| 4 | Canada | 8 | 5–3 | 4 | 5 | −1 |
| Eliminated in Quarterfinals |||||||
| 5 | Belgium | 6 | 3–3 | 5 | 7 | −2 |
| 6 | Serbia | 6 | 3–3 | 10 | 8 | +2 |
| 7 | France | 6 | 3–3 | 6 | 6 | 0 |
| 8 | Puerto Rico | 6 | 2–4 | 16 | 10 | +6 |
| Eliminated in Preliminary round fifth placed teams |||||||
| 9 | Japan | 5 | 1–4 | 8 | 9 | −1 |
| 10 | South Korea | 5 | 1–4 | 11 | 12 | −1 |
| Eliminated in Preliminary round sixth placed teams |||||||
| 11 | Mali | 5 | 0–5 | 35 | 26 | +9 |
| 12 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 5 | 0–5 | 24 | 14 | +10 |
* Qualified for the 2024 FIBA Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournaments

## Statistics and awards
### Statistical leaders
#### Players

| Name | PPG |
| Arella Guirantes | 18.2 |
| Kang Lee-seul | 17.2 |
| A'ja Wilson | 17.2 |
| Li Meng | 16.0 |
| Kelsey Plum | 15.8 |
| Gabby Williams | 15.8 |
| Name | RPG |
| Sika Koné | 11.8 |
| Kayla Alexander | 9.6 |
| Jonquel Jones | 8.8 |
| Emma Meesseman | 8.5 |
| Han Xu | 8.4 |
| Name | APG |
| Yvonne Anderson | 6.5 |
| Julie Allemand | 6.3 |
| Emma Meesseman | 6.3 |
| Chelsea Gray | 5.3 |
| Steph Talbot | 5.3 |
| Name | BPG |
| Diana Balayera | 1.8 |
| Han Xu | 1.8 |
| Emma Meesseman | 1.8 |
| Ezi Magbegor | 1.4 |
| Breanna Stewart | 1.4 |
| Name | SPG |
| Sarah Michel | 2.5 |
| Alyssa Thomas | 2.4 |
| A'ja Wilson | 2.2 |
| Julie Allemand | 1.8 |
| Yvonne Anderson | 1.8 |
| Name | EFFPG |
| A'ja Wilson | 24.5 |
| Alyssa Thomas | 20.0 |
| Breanna Stewart | 17.9 |
| Han Xu | 17.6 |
| Emma Meesseman | 17.0 |

#### Teams

| Name | PPG |
| United States | 98.8 |
| China | 81.4 |
| Australia | 78.8 |
| Belgium | 72.2 |
| South Korea | 69.2 |
| Name | RPG |
| United States | 46.9 |
| Australia | 45.3 |
| Canada | 42.5 |
| China | 41.9 |
| Mali | 40.0 |
| Name | APG |
| United States | 26.0 |
| China | 23.9 |
| Belgium | 22.0 |
| Australia | 21.1 |
| South Korea | 17.0 |
| Name | BPG |
| Australia | 5.4 |
| Canada | 5.3 |
| United States | 5.0 |
| Mali | 3.8 |
| France | 3.7 |
| Name | SPG |
| United States | 11.8 |
| France | 10.8 |
| Belgium | 10.2 |
| Canada | 8.0 |
| South Korea | 7.8 |
| Name | EFFPG |
| United States | 134.3 |
| China | 104.4 |
| Australia | 97.6 |
| Belgium | 86.8 |
| Canada | 72.1 |

### Awards

The awards were announced on 1 October 2022.
| Award | Player |
| All-Tournament First Team | A'ja Wilson |
| All-Tournament First Team | Breanna Stewart |
| All-Tournament First Team | Han Xu |
| All-Tournament First Team | Steph Talbot |
| All-Tournament First Team | Bridget Carleton |
| All-Tournament Second Team | Alyssa Thomas |
| All-Tournament Second Team | Li Yueru |
| All-Tournament Second Team | Arella Guirantes |
| All-Tournament Second Team | Gabby Williams |
| All-Tournament Second Team | Yvonne Anderson |
| Most Valuable Player | A'ja Wilson |
| Best Defensive Player | Alyssa Thomas |
| Best Coach | Zheng Wei |

## Marketing
### Logo and slogan

FIBA released the tournament slogan "Nothing Beats Like It" on 20 December 2021 as part of a promotional campaign.
The tournament logo was revealed on 10 May, 2021, in a ceremony to mark 500 days until the tournament. The logo was inspired from the Indigenous artwork My Story, created by 14-year-old Aboriginal basketballer and artist Amarlie "Marlii" Briscoe. The logo features a basketball incorporating the designs used in Briscoe's artwork, also encompassing the newly-designed trophy for the tournament. The logo was created by VMLY&R Branding alongside Indigenous Australian-led creative consultancy Campfire x and Briscoe herself.

### Mascot

The mascot, "Karla the kangaroo", was revealed on 22 September 2021, exactly one year before the tournament. The mascot's character is a teenage kangaroo from Alice Springs, wearing a blue uniform. The kangaroo was chosen to be the mascot due to its cultural importance to Australia. The mascot was designed by design agency Spike Creative.