Olympic silver medallist Abby Andrews is on the next stage of her burgeoning career, playing for Olympiacos in Greece, amidst a raft of the world’s leading women’s water polo athletes. Hailing from Australia does not come without its upheavals for an athlete much in demand for her devastating left arm.
Abby Andrews is a leader and has proved that on the international stage, skippering her Australian youth team to fourth in the 2018 world championships and more recently captaining the senior team at the World Aquatics World Cup matches in Alexandroupolis, Greece. On the way, she stood on the podium in Paris, France last year with an Olympic silver medal around her neck.
The left-hander from Queensland is no stranger to the limelight and her travels prove that she is in demand as a strike force of incomparable ability. Her rocket-like left arm shots have seen her statistics soar as fast as her reputation as one of the world’s leading stars.
She was signed by the University of Michigan, United States of America, gaining the rookie-of-the-year award among a series of records in 2019, a year after she made her senior international debut against Italy. She competed in the World University Games in 2019 and joined the Olympic team in Tokyo as the third youngest representative in Australian women’s water polo history. She scored six goals, including a hat-trick against the Netherlands, when the Stingers finished fifth.
Since then, Andrews has been a permanent member of the national team and expanded her horizons with club stints in Italy, helping take SIS Roma to the European Top Eight in 2022 with leading goal-scoring honours.
Following the Paris Olympics, she signed with Olympiacos, which she regards as her “dream club”, recently, helping the team win the Greek Cup and being named most valuable player.
In the Division One World Cup series in January, she captained the Stingers against Israel.
Her club team is stacked with internationals — Eirini Ninou, Stefania Santa, Vasiliki Plevritou, Xristina Siouti, Maria Myriokefalitaki, Foteini Tricha, Sofia Tornarou, to name a few. “We are also very lucky to have Mia Rycraw from the French national team as our goalkeeper and being able to train and play with her has been invaluable.”
Coming from Australia, Andrews agrees that it is where she needs to be in terms of her development.
“As a professional player, we train every day, twice a day, as well as three gym sessions a week. The physical demands are very high; however, the addition of financial support and housing means that we are able to spend our down time relaxing and recovering to prepare best for the next session.
“I am very fortunate in Australia, even despite our league not being professional, as we still receive some funding. It often means as an amateur, however, that you may have to work alongside training to sufficiently cover your expenses and lifestyle. Training loads are similar, however, there are slightly fewer sessions per week.”
Are there other Stingers playing in overseas clubs and your thoughts on that:
“Yes, Charlize Andrews and Bronte Halligan are both playing in Italy. I think a lot of us realised that exposure to the European leagues has really helped develop new aspects of our games and provide us with additional skills to take back into the Australian national team.
“Additionally, performing for the added pressure of financial means, has helped us overcome doubts and learn a lot about ourselves and how we respond to pressure. The Australian league is becoming much stronger, and I look forward to eventually returning there, however, I do think there are many lessons, challenges and opportunities available playing professionally in Europe.”
On being overseas, away from home, and living the water polo lifestyle, Andrews said: “I have learnt a lot about myself in both of my international club experiences. I have experienced living with others as well as alone and quickly learnt how to handle and deal with the pressure associated with expectation to perform in a new country. I feel that being away from family really pushed me out of my comfort zone and exposed me to new challenges and opportunities.”
Andrews is predominantly a left-handed driver, although those drives often find herself in the all-important centre-forward position.
“My main position is as a left-hander and driver; however, I do occasionally post up as a centre forward, which I am enjoying as a new element to my game. I think traditionally, as most centre forwards are right-handed, I can use my left handedness and agility from driving to be a solid secondary post-up option, which has improved since I have been in Greece.”
Andrews also honed her language skills in Italy, while in Greece she is surrounded by fluent English-speaking players. “When I played in Italy it was quite different, and learning Italian was imperative for me there. It was challenging, but also quite rewarding, as I am still able to speak and understand Italian now.”
Looking back on the Paris Olympic experience, Andrews said winning silver was “priceless”.
“I was able to share my story to a much broader audience and help promote our sport on a much larger scale given the peak interest, particularly in Australia. It has also allowed me to participate and give back to many schools, conferences and other opportunities, which has helped me to develop many critical future life skills.
“It also has been so important for the future generations of water polo in Australia, as our result instilled a new demand and interest in our younger playing group to want to contribute to our legacy,” she said.
Looking to what is to come in 2025 and the imminent World Aquatics World Cup finals series, Andrews said: “Every competition is a vital stepping stone towards LA 2028 (Olympics). In saying this, these competitions are also very early in the cycle and can be used as great development opportunities as we try to integrate new players into the team and look forward to the new future challenges.”
Integrating seven new players to the Aussie Stingers following Paris 2024, has its challenges and Andrews sees that as a positive.
“While results are always great to strive for, these events are more for developing cohesion, trust, communication and for helping our new team to find its playing style for the cycle.”