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The Trendyol 2026 European Women's Volleyball Championship will bring together 24 national teams across four host countries, with defending champion Türkiye opening its campaign against Latvia in Istanbul on Friday before the tournament returns to the city for the semifinals and medal matches.
Türkiye, Czechia, Azerbaijan and Sweden will share hosting duties for the 34th edition of the championship, while Istanbul will take on the central role by staging Türkiye's entire group campaign and the final on Sept. 6.
Türkiye will get its title defense underway against Latvia at Istanbul's Sinan Erdem Sports Hall at 7 p.m. local time on Aug. 21.
The national team, coached by Daniele Santarelli, will then take on Slovenia on Aug. 23, Hungary on Aug. 24, Germany on Aug. 26, and Poland on Aug. 28 as it looks to move through Group A.
Six teams make up each of the four groups, with the top four from every section advancing to the round of 16.
Türkiye's squad includes setters Cansu Ozbay and Elif Sahin, opposite Melissa Vargas, outside hitters Derya Cebecioglu, Hande Baladin, Ilkin Aydin, Saliha Sahin and Yaprak Erkek, as well as middle blockers Deniz Uyanik, Eda Erdem Dundar, Sinead Jack-Kisal and Zehra Gunes. Eylul Akarcesme Yatgin and Gizem Orge complete the squad as liberos, the defensive specialists who primarily handle receiving and back-row play.
The championship's 24 teams have been divided between Istanbul, Brno, Baku, and Gothenburg.
Group A in Istanbul features Türkiye, Latvia, Poland, Germany, Slovenia, and Hungary, while Czechia will host Austria, Serbia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, and Greece in Group B in Brno.
Azerbaijan will line up alongside Portugal, the Netherlands, Belgium, Romania and Spain in Group C in Baku, while Sweden, Montenegro, Italy, France, Slovakia and Croatia will compete in Group D in Gothenburg.
Group-stage matches are scheduled to run from Aug. 20 through Aug. 28.
The knockout phase will begin with the round of 16 from Aug. 30 to Sept. 1, followed by the quarterfinals on Sept. 2-3. Those matches will be split between Istanbul and Brno.
From there, the tournament will come together in Istanbul, where both semifinals will be played on Sept. 5.
The third-place match and the championship final will then take place in Istanbul on Sept. 6, when the 2026 European women's volleyball champion will be decided.
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