Italian international Sofia Giustini is officially heading back to Rapallo Pallanuoto, the club where her senior career began. The 22-year-old attacker will leave Spanish giants Astralpool Sabadell at the end of the 2024–25 season and rejoin the Ligurian side, who announced her signing earlier today.
This marks a homecoming for Giustini, who first played for Rapallo between 2018 and 2020 before moving to SIS Roma and then Sabadell. Her return is a significant acquisition for Rapallo, signaling their ambition to challenge at the top of Serie A1 next season.
Giustini’s rise has been nothing short of meteoric. She made her senior national team debut at just 15 years old on 3 December 2018 in a match against Hungary, stepping in for the injured Domitilla Picozzi—and promptly scored her first goal for Italy, making it 7–6 at the time.
From 2020 to 2023, she starred for SIS Roma, where she won the Coppa Italia in March 2022—only the second in the club’s history. In 2023, she made the move to Spain to join Sabadell, where she continued her upward trajectory. That same season, she helped the Catalan side win the Champions League, scoring five goals in the final against Olympiacos in a 16–10 victory. This year, she played a key role in Sabadell’s Spanish League title win.
On the international stage, Giustini has already made a strong impact. She helped Italy win bronze medals at the 2022 European Championships in Split and the 2023 World Championships in Fukuoka, cementing her reputation as one of the sport’s brightest young stars.
Now, as she prepares to rejoin Rapallo, Giustini brings with her a wealth of experience and a winning pedigree—qualities that could prove decisive in Rapallo’s pursuit of domestic success.
Read more about women’s water polo
Follow Waterpolo 360 on Facebook, Instagram and X