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Afroditi Bitsakou: “It’s Just One Step”

At 15, she is already a U16 World Champion, a World Championship MVP and competing in senior water polo with ALIMOS NAC BETSSON. After scoring six goals against ANO Glyfadas, Afroditi Bitsakou speaks to YARE about opportunity, development and everything she still wants to learn.

Sometimes, one number on a match sheet makes you stop and look again.

In Afroditi Bitsakou’s case, that number is not only 6, the number of goals she scored against ANO Glyfadas.

It is also 2011.

The year she was born.

At 15, the ALIMOS NAC BETSSON player is not simply appearing on a senior roster. She is competing, scoring, gaining European experience and already moving through different levels of the Greek national team pathway.

In the summer of 2026 came one of the biggest moments of her journey so far.

Greece became U16 World Champions in Zagreb, and Bitsakou was named Most Valuable Player of the tournament by World Aquatics.

Yet when she talks about what she has already achieved, she repeatedly comes back to something else.

Learning.

Competing Against Senior Players at 15

The transition from age group water polo to the senior game is about much more than moving into another category.

The speed changes.

The physicality changes.

The decisions become faster.

Experience matters.

For Bitsakou, that process has already begun.

What does playing senior water polo at 15 mean to you?

“It means a lot to me. I feel very lucky to have this opportunity at such a young age.

It’s definitely a big challenge, but I really enjoy it.

I know I still have a lot to learn, so I’m trying to take something from every game and from every person around me and improve little by little.”

She does not speak about senior water polo as somewhere she has already arrived.

She sees it as another environment in which she can learn.

And that becomes even more significant when you look at what has already come before it.

World Champion. MVP. At 15.

At the 2026 U16 World Championship in Zagreb, Greece went all the way.

Bitsakou played a major role in that journey, including a five goal performance against Hungary in Greece’s 14 8 semifinal victory.

Then came the final.

Greece defeated Spain 11 7 to become World Champions.

At the end of the tournament, World Aquatics named Afroditi Bitsakou the Most Valuable Player of the U16 World Championship.

For a 15 year old athlete, it could easily feel like a moment that changes everything.

She sees it differently.

What changed for you after becoming U16 World Champion and MVP?

“It gave me a lot of confidence and motivation.

Winning the World Championship and being named MVP was a very special moment for me and something I will always remember.

But at the same time, I know it’s just one step.

I still have a lot to learn and a lot of work ahead of me, and that motivates me even more.”

“I know it’s just one step.”

That may be the sentence that best captures the entire conversation.

Six Goals, But the Team Comes First

A few weeks after the World Championship, the new season has Bitsakou back in senior water polo.

Against ANO Glyfadas, she scored 6 of ALIMOS NAC BETSSON’s 19 goals.

More than 31 percent of her team’s scoring in the game.

It would be easy to stop there.

Her answer, however, shifts the focus elsewhere.

Six goals today. What are you happiest about?

“Of course, I’m happy that I scored six goals, but I’m even happier that we won and that I could help the team.

We fought together and I think we showed what we can do as a team.

For me, that’s always more important than the number of goals I score.”

Six goals are the statistic.

Her answer tells us something more.

ALIMOS NAC BETSSON: Learning From Experience

Senior water polo gives Bitsakou something no age group competition can fully reproduce.

Daily exposure to older and more experienced players.

Different demands.

Different pressure.

Different responsibilities.

And now, European experience too.

With ALIMOS NAC BETSSON, she has already competed in the Champions League. During the 2025 26 qualifiers, she scored five goals against Lille, with three coming during a decisive 5 0 run for the Greek side in the second period.

What are you learning at ALIMOS NAC BETSSON?

“I’m learning something new every day.

Playing with more experienced players has helped me a lot, because I can learn from them both in and out of the pool.

I’m learning how to compete at a higher level, how to handle difficult moments in a game and, most importantly, how to trust my teammates and play as a team.”

This may be one of the most important parts of a young athlete’s development.

Not only the minutes played.

But everything that happens around them.

From U16 Water Polo to the Senior International Game

Bitsakou’s development is not limited to competitions in her own age group.

During 2026, she was selected for Greece at senior international level, while continuing her journey through the country’s youth national team pathway.

That means adapting to very different competitive environments within the same period.

From players her own age to established senior internationals.

From youth tournaments to senior water polo.

Every transition demands something different.

And every one provides another opportunity to learn.

“I Can Get Better in Every Part of My Game”

When you ask a 15 year old World Champion and MVP what she most wants to improve, you might expect a specific technical answer.

Shooting.

Defence.

Speed.

Decision making.

Bitsakou does not choose just one.

What part of your game do you want to improve most?

“There are definitely things I need to improve, and I think I can get better in every part of my game.

I’m gaining experience every day, so I just want to keep learning, work hard and become a better player with every game.”

The answer fits everything that came before it.

There is no sense of having arrived.

There is a sense of continuing.

Where Does She Want to Be in Five Years?

Five years from now, Afroditi Bitsakou will still only be 20.

When asked where she hopes to be by then, she does not talk about a specific trophy or individual award.

The direction, however, is clear.

Where do you dream of seeing yourself in five years?

“In five years, I hope to be playing at a high level with my club and the national team.

I would love to play in big games and experience everything that comes with playing at the highest level.”

YARE NEXT | We Don’t Predict the Future

Afroditi Bitsakou is 15.

She is already a U16 World Champion.

She has already been named a World Championship MVP.

She has already competed in the Champions League.

She has already stepped into senior international water polo with Greece.

And she continues to gain minutes, responsibility and experience with ALIMOS NAC BETSSON.

But YARE NEXT is not here to decide today what a young athlete will become tomorrow.

It does not need to.

It is here to follow the pathway.

The opportunities.

The first big games.

The moments when youth water polo begins to meet the senior game.

And later, to look back and see where those moments led.

In Afroditi Bitsakou’s case, that pathway is already becoming one worth following.

But perhaps she said it best herself:

“It’s just one step.”

YARE NEXT

WE DON’T PREDICT THE FUTURE. WE WATCH IT BEGIN.