World Netball Rankings

Template:Short description The World Netball Rankings are a ranking system for national netball teams. They were originally known as the IFNA World Rankings and previously known as the INF World Rankings. They are published by World Netball. They were first introduced in February 2008 and have been developed and maintained by the cricket statistician, David Kendix.<ref name=scoop120208>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=wnrhubo>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=wnrhistory>Template:Cite web</ref> Australia and New Zealand have dominated the World Netball Rankings. Between 2008 and 2018 they were the only two teams to have ever held the number one and/or number two places. In July 2018, England became the first team to break their dominance when they were ranked number two.<ref name=wnrhistory/><ref name=bbc020718>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=en020718>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=skysports020718>Template:Cite web</ref> In July 2019, Jamaica were ranked number two for the first time.<ref name=wnrhistory/><ref name=skysports030719>Template:Cite web</ref>

History

Australia

Australia is regularly ranked number one in the World Netball Rankings. They have never dropped below number two.<ref name=wnrhistory/><ref name=na050324>Template:Cite web</ref>

New Zealand

New Zealand is regularly ranked number two in the World Netball Rankings. In January 2011, after winning the 2010 Commonwealth Games tournament, they replaced Australia at the top of the rankings for the first time. In 2013 they were again ranked number one.<ref name=wnrhistory/><ref name=nzherald240111>Template:Cite web</ref> After finishing fourth at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, New Zealand dropped, for the first time in their history, to third.<ref name=sf141218>Template:Cite web</ref> In July 2019, they dropped to fourth.<ref name=wnrhistory/><ref name=skysports030719/> However, after winning the 2019 Netball World Cup, they moved back up to second.<ref name=sf040919>Template:Cite web</ref>

England

Between 2008 and 2018, England was regularly ranked number three in the World Netball Rankings.<ref name=wnrhistory/> In May 2018, after winning gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, they initially remained at number three.<ref name=bbc160518>Template:Cite web</ref> However in July 2018, they moved up to number two. This saw England became the first team to be ranked in the top two apart from Australia and New Zealand.<ref name=bbc020718/><ref name=en020718/><ref name=skysports020718/> After finishing as runners up at the 2019 Netball Quad Series and defeating both Australia and New Zealand, England returned to the number two position.<ref name=en0119>Template:Cite web</ref> In October 2024, England were ranked number two for a third time after defeating Australia in Australia during their 2024 series and then winning the 2024 Taini Jamison Trophy Series.<ref name=en1024>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=rnz181024>Template:Cite web</ref>

Jamaica

Between 2008 and 2018, Jamaica was regularly ranked number four in the World Netball Rankings.<ref name=wnrhistory/> However, in July 2019, they were ranked number two for the first time.<ref name=skysports030719/> During the early 2020s they have regularly challenged England for the number three position.<ref name="sportsmax191224">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="sportsmax060325">Template:Cite web</ref>

Wales

Between 2008 and 2024, Wales averaged 9th in the World Netball Rankings.<ref name=wnrhistory/> In September 2017, they were listed 7th.<ref name="wn290917">Template:Cite web</ref> In March 2022, they qualified for the 2022 Commonwealth Games after being ranked 8th.<ref name="wn040322">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=skysports040322/> In March 2025 they were listed 6th for the first time.<ref name=wnrhistory/><ref name="wn060325">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="bbc060325">Template:Cite web</ref>

Qualification

Fast5 Netball World Series

The top six teams, based on the World Netball Rankings, are invited to play in the Fast5 Netball World Series.<ref name=101022fast5>Template:Cite web</ref>

Commonwealth Games

Teams qualified for the 2018 and 2022 Commonwealth Games, based on their World Netball Rankings.<ref name="2018todor66">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=skysports040322>Template:Cite news</ref>

Netball World Cup

The top six ranked teams qualified automatically for the 2019<ref name=bbc020718/><ref name=en020718/><ref name=skysports020718/> and 2023 Netball World Cups.<ref name=on150822>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=skysports150822>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=bbc150822>Template:Cite web</ref>

Calculation

All test matches played by a team in the last four years, including matches in the Netball World Cup and Netball at the Commonwealth Games, are considered in the calculation. The ranking of teams is determined by comparing teams' ratings, which is the average points earned per match in the last four years.<ref name=wnrfao>Template:Cite web</ref>

Points per match

Teams earn points for each match, with the specific amount determined based on the outcome of the match (win or loss) and the rating of their opponents.<ref name=wnrfao/>

• In matches between teams within 40 rating points of each other, winning a game earns a team 50 more points than their opponent's current rating, while losing a match earns a team 50 points less than their opponent's current rating.
• In matches between teams more than 40 rating points apart, an exception is applied where the rating of a team's opponent is treated as if it is exactly 40 points apart for the purpose of the calculation. That is, higher-rated team would have their opponent possess a rating of 40 points less than them, while the lower-rated team would have their opponent possess a rating of 40 above them.

A team's rating always increases following a victory and decreases after a loss. However, winning against a higher-ranked team increases a team's rating more and losing against a lower-ranked team decreases a team's rating more.

Weighting

In the calculation of a team's rating, the points earned for each game are weighted based on the time the match was played.<ref name=wnrfao/>

• Matches played in the two most recent years before the time of calculation are weighted at 100%.
• Matches played three to four years before the time of calculation are weighted at 50%.