Basketball - Team Australia

Nickname
The Opals

General
The Australian women's basketball team secured their ninth Olympic appearance by finishing second in their group, behind the host nation France, at the 2020 Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Bourges.

At the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, the Opals were defeated 73-71 in a closely fought quarterfinal match by eventual bronze medallists Serbia to finish ranked fifth overall. It was their lowest result since making their Olympic debut in 1984. Australia had finished on the podium at the five editions of the Games prior to Rio, securing silver in 2000, 2004 and 2008 after defeat in the gold medal match to the United States of America on all three occasions. They also won bronze medals in 1996 and 2012, following semifinal exits on both occasions to the US team.

The Opals have, however, managed to claim gold at the World Cup, formerly known as the world championship. At the 2006 edition Australia beat Brazil in the last four to set up a final against the Russian Federation, who had beaten the US team in the semifinal. Australia took full advantage, securing a 91-74 victory to claim their first world title. The Opals were runners-up in 2018 when they lost the final 73-56 to their US rivals, and have also finished third three times at the tournament.

At continental level Australia left the Oceania championship following the 2015 edition and began competing in the Asia Cup from 2017. They lost the final of the 2017 edition to Japan by a single point [74-73], and were defeated by Japan again in the semifinals of the 2019 edition to set up a third-place match against the Republic of Korea, which they won comfortably.