The FINA Women's Water Polo World League 2018 kicked-off last night, Tuesday November 21, in Utrecht (NED) and Dos Hermanas (ESP), as the two cities hosted the opening games of the season.
Spain proved stronger for the Russians and scored 9 against 8, deciding of the game's fate in the last quarter (1-2, 2-1, 5-5, 1-0).
In the only other match of the first round, the Netherlands beat Hungary 7-6, with a lead of two goals in the second quarter.
The provisional ranking unfolds as follows:
ESP 3 pts; NED 3 pts; HUN 0pt; RUS 0pt
The second round of the European women's preliminaries will take place on December 19 and 22 in Budapest (HUNvsESP) and Astrakhan (RUSvsNED), while the men will play on December 12.