In August 2019, national team's head coach Trefliov was replaced by Rostov-Don's Ambros Martin. Trefilov took the post as vice-president of the Handball Federation of Russia. Team Russia entered the 2019 World Championships as the main favourite. The squad, primarily including 20 players, was reduced to 18 players; injured Antonina Skorobogatchenko and alternate Olga Shcherbak were dismissed. The Russian team, being vastly superior to other teams, including to runners-up Spain, after winning eight matches in a row was eventually defeated by the Dutch in the semi-finals by a one-point difference, which happened after a last-minute shot in the second half, leaving a final result of 32–33 for Russia against the Netherlands. However, Russia went on to win the bronze match against Norway, 33–28; this was the first time since 2009 that the Russians won a medal at the Worlds.