Trần Thị Thanh Thúy

2013-2015

During the period when outside hitter Kim Đính was sidelined with an injury, Thúy was promoted from the youth team to the senior team to take part in the 2013 VTV Bình Điền Cup, while had not yet turned 16. Veteran player and former captain Nguyễn Thị Ngọc Hoa praised her, along with Lê Thanh Thúy, as two standout faces of the tournament who "would take the Vietnam women’s volleyball scene by storm."^[14]

In 2014, Thúy was officially moved up to the senior team. She became a player in helping the club win the runner-up position at the Volleyball Vietnam League, and also participated in the 2014 VTV Cup as a strategic substitute.^[15] By 2015, Thúy had grown to a height of 1.90 meters (6ft2).^[16] That year, she continued competing with VTV Bình Điền Long An, earned the title of Promising Young Player at the 2015 VTV Bình Điền Cup, and won the Hùng Vương Cup.^[17]

On the national team level, Thúy represented Vietnam at the 2015 Asian Women's Volleyball Championship, the 2015 SEA Games, and the 2015 VTV International Women's Volleyball Cup.^[18]

2016–2017

On January 4, 2016, Thúy signed with the Thai Bangkok Glass Volleyball Club that had won the AVC Women's Volleyball Champions League. She competed in the second leg of the season and helped the team successfully defend their title at the 2015–16 Women's Volleyball Thailand League.^[19][20] That same year, Thúy was offered a four-year scholarship to study at Oregon State University in the United States, but was unable to go due to her ongoing playing commitments.^[21] Later in 2016, she took part in the 2016 VTV International Women's Volleyball Cup where she earned the award for Best Outside Hitter.^[22] Toward the end of 2016, Thanh Thúy struggled with her performance in the second round of the Vietnam League and declined Bangkok Glass’s invitation to return for the 2016–17 Women's Volleyball Thailand League.^[23]

In 2017, Thúy represented both her club VTV Bình Điền Long An in the 2017 Vietnam League and the VTV9 Bình Điền Cup and the Vietnam national team at the 2017 VTV Cup, 2017 Asian Women's Volleyball Championship, Asian Women's U23 Volleyball Championship, and the 2017 SEA Games.^[24] She was named Best Outside Hitter at both the VTV Cup and the Asian Women's U23 Volleyball Championship, and capped off the year by helping VTV Bình Điền Long An win the Vietnam National Championship.^[25][26]

2017–2019: Competing in Taiwan and Vietnam

In the 2017–2018 season, Thúy joined the Taiwanese club Attack Line, becoming the first Vietnamese volleyball player to play for a club outside Southeast Asia.^[27] She established herself as the team’s leading outside hitter, scoring herself 147 points in 8 matches.^[28] In 2018, Thúy returned to VTV Bình Điền Long An to compete in the 2018 Vietnam League, helping the club successfully defend their national title.^[29] With the national team, she took part in the 2018 VTV International Women's Volleyball Cup,^[30] 2018 Asian Games,^[31] and the Asian Cup.^[32][33]

After the conclusion of the 2018 Vietnam League, Thúy went back to Taiwan to continue playing for Attack Line.^[34] In the 2018–2019 Top Volleyball League she appeared in another 8 matches and scored 158 points.^[35] At the 2019 Asian Women's U23 Volleyball Championship, she was named Best Outside Hitter and helped Vietnam secure a third-place finish.^[36] At the 2019 ASEAN Grand Prix (first leg), Thúy and her teammates lost all three matches and finishing fourth out of four teams.^[37]

2019–2024: Competing in Japan

In the 2019–2020 season, Thúy joined the Japanese women’s volleyball club Denso Airybees.^[38] During that season, she had "limited playing time".^[39] While Denso Airybees offered her a contract extension,^[40] Thúy decided to return to Vietnam and competed in the 2020 Vietnam League.^[41] In the first half of 2021, she helped VTV Bình Điền Long An win the Hoa Lư Cup,^[42] finishing second in Group B of the first round of the 2021 Vietnam League,^[43] and won the 2021 Hùng Vương Cup.^[44]

In June 2021, another Japanese club, the PFU BlueCats, reached an agreement with VTV Bình Điền Long An to sign Thúy. Thúy played for PFU Blue Cats for three seasons (2021–2024).^[45] She was mostly used as a middle blocker, which was not her preferred outside hitter position.^[46]

Between 2022 and 2023, Thúy had call-ups to the national team for tournaments. In 2022, she competed at the 2021 SEA Games,^[47] the 2022 Asian Women's Volleyball Cup, and the 2022 ASEAN Grand Prix.^[48][49] In 2023, Thúy represented Vietnam at the 2023 AVC Women's Challenge Cup,^[50] the 2022 Asian Games,^[51] the 2023 Asian Women's Club Volleyball Championship, the FIVB Women’s Club World Championship, and the FIVB Challenger Cup.^[52] At the Asian Challenge Cup and the Asian Club Championship, she earned two individual awards: Most Valuable Player (MVP) and Best Outside Hitter. Thúy helped Vietnam secure the championship title at the Asian Challenge Cup.^[53][54]

In 2024, while playing in Japan, Thúy underwent a knee injury. Wanting to return to competition quickly, she resumed training before fully recovering, which led to recurrences of the injury.^[55] By April 2024, Thúy's contract with PFU Blue Cats had expired, and she returned to Vietnam to take part in the 2024 VTV9 – Binh Dien International Women's Volleyball Cup.^[56][57] The following month, Thúy was named in the squad for the 2024 AVC Women's Challenge Cup, and did not play in any matches due to her lingering knee injury. After Vietnam won the tournament and qualified for the 2024 FIVB Women's Volleyball Challenger Cup, she returned to Ho Chi Minh City for treatment before rejoining the national team, where she was officially registered on the roster for the tournament.^[58]

2024–2025: Injuries affecting performance

In April 2024, the Turkish women’s volleyball club Kuzeyboru announced that they had signed Thúy.^[59] Due to the lingering effects of the knee injury Thúy underwent earlier in the year, it prevented her from reaching peak form, and she saw limited playing time with the team. Six months later in November 2024, Kuzeyboru officially announced the termination of Thúy's contract.^[60] Upon returning to Vietnam, Thúy stated that she had recovered from her injury and expressed her desire to continue her career abroad in another Asian league. In December 2024, the national team captain announced that she had reached an agreement to join Gresik Petrokimia Pupuk Indonesia, a club competing in the Indonesian National League, with plans to begin playing in January 2025.^[61] After about a month of competition in Indonesia, Gresik Petrokimia Pupuk announced the end of Thúy's contract.^[62]

Following that, Thúy rejoined VTV Bình Điền Long An, training and competing with the club in the early months of 2025 in tournaments such as the Hoa Lư Cup, the National Championship, the Hùng Vương Cup, and the 2025 AVC Women's Volleyball Champions League.^[63]

2025: Comeback after injury

Returning to compete for her home club, VTV Bình Điền Long An, Thúy continued to be the team’s main scorer. VTV Bình Điền Long An’s performance was 3rd place at the Hoa Lư Cup, 3rd place at the Hùng Vương Cup, and 2nd place in the first phase of the National Championship. In some matches, Thúy scored as many as 38 to 44 points.^[64][65] In April 2025, she and her club participated in the AVC Women's Volleyball Champions League in the Philippines. Thúy helped VTV Bình Điền Long A secure the runner-up position and a spot in the FIVB Women's Volleyball Club World Championship. She scored a total of 95 points, ranking third among the tournament’s top scorers, and led the rankings for best first-ball receivers. In most matches, coach Thái Quang Lai placed Thúy as an opposite hitter instead of her more usual position as an outside hitter. At the end of the tournament, Thúy was named Best Opposite Hitter and selected for the tournament’s All-Star Team. After the AVC Champions League, she rejoined the national team for upcoming international competitions. Alongside her younger teammate Nguyễn Thị Bích Tuyền, Thúy was one of the team's two main scorers, playing a role in helping Vietnam win its third consecutive title at the 2025 AVC Women's Volleyball Nations Cup after defeating the Philippines in the final. At the awards ceremony, the national team captain was named Best Outside Hitter and included in the tournament’s All-Star Team.^[66][67][68]

After the 2025 AVC Women's Volleyball Nations Cup, Thúy continued to participate in other tournaments with the national team such as the 2025 VTV International Women's Volleyball Cup and the 2025 SEA Women's V.League. She won an additional Best Outside Hitter award at the VTV Cup and was a factor in helping the Vietnam women’s national volleyball team defeat Thailand for the first time in history and claim the championship title during the second leg of the SEA V.League.^{[69][70][71][72]}

Thúy was one of the 13 national team players who took part in the 2025 FIVB Women's Volleyball World Championship, marking the first time in history that the Vietnam women’s volleyball team participated in a world championship.^[73] Placed in a group with Poland, Germany, and Kenya, Vietnam lost all three matches and won one set (against Poland).^[74] Thúy "performed well in the match against Germany but did not truly break through in the two matches against Poland and Kenya".^[75]

After the conclusion of the World Championship, Thúy continued her career overseas. She returned to Japan’s national championship league and joined Gunma Green Wings.^[76][77][78]

Thúy will not participate in the second leg of the domestic national league and the 2025 FIVB Volleyball Women's Club World Championship taking place at the end of 2025 with her parent club.^[79]

National team

Clubs

• 2014 Vietnam League – Runner-up, with VTV Bình Điền Long An
• 2015 Vietnam League – 3rd Place, with VTV Bình Điền Long An
• 2015–16 Thailand League – Champion, with Bangkok Glass
• 2016 Vietnam League – 3rd Place, with VTV Bình Điền Long An
• 2017 Vietnam League – Champion, with VTV Bình Điền Long An
• 2018 Taiwan Enterprise Volleyball League – 3rd Place, with Attack Line VC
• 2018 Vietnam League – Champion, with VTV Bình Điền Long An
• 2022 Vietnam League – 3rd Place, with VTV Bình Điền Long An
• 2023 Asian Club Championship – Champion, with Sport Center 1
• 2025 AVC Champions League – Runner-up, with VTV Bình Điền Long An