The fact that Vietnamese women's volleyball players continuously play abroad is opening up many expectations about the expertise and position of women's volleyball on the regional and continental map.
The most prominent case is Tran Thi Thanh Thuy. After many times playing abroad in Thailand, Taiwan (China), Japan, Turkey and Indonesia, the striker born in 1997 decided to return to Japan from October last year in the Gunma Green Wings jersey. This makes many people worried because Thanh Thuy has just gone through a period of injury and needs to regain her form.
However, she quickly occupied a starting spot, becoming one of Gunma's main scoring players. In addition to her familiar main attacking role, Tran Thi Thanh Thuy was also arranged to play in the opposite hitter position in some matches, contributing to refreshing the club's attack.
At the top Japanese volleyball league, Thanh Thuy continuously made her mark, typically winning the title of best athlete at the All Stars event of the SV. League.
Gunma Green Wings Club is maintaining its ranking in the group on the rankings, in which the contribution of the Vietnamese hitter is highly appreciated.
Her influence is also shown through Vietnamese-Japanese cultural promotion activities in Gunma Prefecture, where a large Vietnamese community lives. The tournament organizers even adjusted the club's schedule so that Thanh Thuy could participate in community activities; jerseys with her signatures were included in the tournament auctions.
In parallel with Thanh Thuy, Bich Thuy is also playing in Japan for Okayama Seagulls. The middle blocker of the Vietnamese women's team soon won a main spot and maintained a stable playing time.
However, Okayama Seagulls club is facing difficulties in force and form, often in the bottom group of the table. Bich Thuy is the only foreign player of the team, while opponents own up to 3 foreign players, making the difference in squad depth even clearer.
However, maintaining a playing spot in a high-intensity tournament is still an important factor for Bich Thuy's personal development.
Another notable case is Ly Thi Luyen. The middle blocker born in 2000 will join Nakhon Ratchasima club of Thailand on loan in the second half of the 2025-2026 season. Previously, she played for Hobby Ace in Mongolia and contributed to helping the team improve their ranking significantly.
Ly Thi Luyen has a height of 1.95 m, was once an important factor of the Vietnamese team at the AVC Challenge Cup 2023, but her form in the last two seasons has shown signs of stagnation. Going abroad is considered a direction to maintain the peak competitive pace and regain competitive feeling.
Competing in professional tournaments helps players improve physical strength, tactics and adaptability to high intensity. This is an important factor when the national team is aiming for continental and world tournaments. In addition, the presence of Vietnamese players in strong tournaments also contributes to promoting the image of Vietnamese volleyball, opening up opportunities for cooperation and professional exchange.
From a long-term development perspective, the trend of going abroad shows that Vietnamese players are beginning to be recognized for their expertise in the international market. This can create motivation for the young generation, while promoting domestic clubs to improve training to meet higher standards.
However, going abroad also poses requirements for physical fitness management, schedule and cultural integration ability, because each competition environment has its own characteristics.
