Germany lose Women's Basketball World Cup opener to Spain 83-53

Germany began their home Women's Basketball World Cup on 4 September 2026 with a heavy defeat. Spain won the opening game 83-53 at the Uber Arena in Berlin, in front of a home crowd that had hoped for a strong start.

The hosts were among the tournament's medal candidates, having finished as runners-up at the most recent European championship. Against Spain they never led and were well behind by halftime. Leonie Fiebich was Germany's top scorer with 13 points, followed by Nyara Sabally with 10. For Spain, Awa Fam scored 17 points. Germany had also failed to beat Spain in their previous competitive meetings.

The result mattered because it put the hosts under early pressure in a tournament they had prepared for as one of the favourites for a deep run. Germany lost again the next day, 73-82 to Mali, which made their path through the group stage much harder. The opener later gained extra context when it emerged that Fiebich had played through the tournament with a broken foot.