By Elizabeth Winter
For Tonga Netball Association, their journey throughout the past seven years has been nothing short of remarkable.
The national team, the Tonga Tala, have climbed to number eight in the world rankings and received the highest honour of the King’s Medal Investiture in Tonga, as well as being some of the country’s most recognisable athletes.
Throughout the past year, Tonga have achieved some major milestones across all areas of their netball ecosystem.
COMMONWEALTH GAMES QUALIFICATION
In 2025, by maintaining their ranking in the world’s top 12, the Tala earned their place in the 2026 Commonwealth Games – scheduled for 23 July to 2 August 2026 in Glasgow.
This achievement reflects the dedication of the players, coaches, and officials of Tonga Netball Association, whose commitment continues to elevate Tongan sport on the international stage.
CEO of Tonga Netball Association Salote Sisifa emphasised the emotional weight carried in the Tala's qualification.
“For a small country like Tonga, sitting in the top 10 amongst the world's greatest is like sitting amongst the stars,” she said.
“All the countries in the top 10 rankings have millions in population, then there's little Tonga – 106,000 in population – amongst them.
“It’s a testament to the hard work by many unsung heroes, and that anything is possible.”
The Tonga Tala have established themselves as a formidable force, building a strong reputation through their success at the PacificAus Sports Netball Series, where they have claimed four out of five titles, demonstrating their talent pool is small but mighty.
Tonga has secured victory in four of the five PacificAus Sports Netball Series held recently.
“The PacificAus Sports Netball Series has been the best thing that's happened to Tonga's national team and high performance,” said Sisifa.
“Giving us a platform to showcase talent and the fast rise of our national team to be in the world's top 10 couldn't have been done without the partnership of Australia.
“Our success in this is a shared story of success from this beautiful partnership.”
Netball Australia, with the support of the Australian Government through the PacificAus Sports program, have partnered with Tonga Netball Association since 2021 to provide developing pathways for Pacific athletes to compete in elite competitions and access high performance coaching in Australia and internationally.
NETBALL WORLD YOUTH CUP QUALIFICATION
As well as the national team’s successes, in September 2025, the Junior Tala competed in the Netball World Youth Cup – Tonga’s first time qualifying since 1992.
Building on their strengths from the Oceania Regional Qualifiers, Tonga placed 13th at the event in Gibraltar.
Beyonce Palavi captained the Junior Tala at the 2025 Netball World Youth Cup.
Junior Tala captain Beyonce Palavi explained how the tournament meant so much more than just results on the scoreboard, as she shared in the Netball Australia documentary For Court & Country.
“Giving it our all every game, every minute, every quarter, is something we should be proud of, and reminding each other that we’re setting the stage for younger Tongan girls to come up,” she said.
Palavi’s words rang true as supporters across Tonga celebrated the Junior Tala’s performance in Gibraltar as inspirational for the next generation.
TALA-TUTONE TOUR
Shortly after the Netball World Youth Cup, Tonga Netball Association hosted their first international tournament – the Tala-Tutone Tour – in which the national team competed on home soil for the first time.
In partnership with Netball Australia, PacificAus Sports, and the Tongan Government, the Tala-Tutone Tour marked a major milestone for Tonga, playing a significant part in the national celebrations for the 150th anniversary of Tonga's Constitution.
The Tala faced some of Australia’s best emerging talent during the tour – providing an opportunity for both sides to gain high-level international matchplay experience – while showcasing their skills to local supporters and inspiring the next generation in Tonga.
The tour was fiercely contested, with the Australian Pathways claiming the opening two matches but the Tala taking home the win on the final night.
The Tala-Tutone Tour was the first time Tonga have hosted an international netball tournament.
For Head Coach of the Tonga Tala Jaqua Pori-Makea Simpson, the tour also provided a valuable opportunity to connect with Tonga’s local teams to support continued growth of netball in the country.
“Because we don't reside in Tonga, you can be a face and a name but not a person,” she said.
“It's important for us to be with the local teams and have that face-to-face contact. For the teams to have access to coaching and staff that can help develop them.
“I've been with Tonga for six years now and to see the improvement in their local players, is amazing.”.
The tour brought together Tonga’s entire netball ecosystem, strengthening the country’s capacity to host future international matches.
Tonga’s own bench officials officiated the matches; eight new umpires gained accreditation; and both teams hosted a community clinic for local participants in Tonga’s KidsNet program.
“This tournament was not just two teams playing, it was everyone coming together – our heartbeats of our whole netball program,” said Sisifa.
“To see others thriving in their own lanes – players, officials, coaches, umpires, volunteers, all that are involved, to see their pride and joy gives me great pride and joy.”
The Tala-Tutone Tour brought together the country's entire netball ecosystem.
GROWTH IN ORGANISATIONAL CAPACITY
Following the success of the Tala-Tutone Tour, Tonga was granted the hosting rights for the Oceania Regional Qualifiers for the 2027 Netball World Cup.
This will be Tonga Netball Association’s first time hosting the Qualifiers and an international tournament of this magnitude.
“It’s not just for netball, but Tonga as a whole,” said Sisifa.
"These achievements are a testament to the combined effort by many who are rowing Tonga's boat forward. These are the products and rewards of hard work and persistence over the years."
Tonga Netball Association have reached milestone achievements within their organisation.
Throughout the past year, Tonga Netball Association’s staff have also made significant achievements individually for their organisation.
Technical Development Officer Uinita Tauhalaliku became Tonga’s first B Badge umpire in May 2025, opening the doors to international umpiring opportunities.
“It was years of waiting and working and it wasn’t just for me. It was for Tonga – proof that we belong on an international stage,” Tauhalaliku said.
“Previously we relied on flying umpires in for regional tournaments in the Pacific – now we can begin to umpire for our own region.”
Meanwhile, Tonga Netball Association CEO Salote Sisifa has stepped into the role of President of Oceania Netball Federation, the first Tongan to do so, and is passionate about uplifting the Oceania region alongside fellow Pacific nations.
Tonga’s growth over the past 12 months has been incredible, and they will be one to watch with more milestones on the horizon as they build towards the Commonwealth Games and the road to the 2027 Netball World Cup in Sydney.
Netball’s Ocean of Power is an Australian Government initiative empowering women and girls in the Pacific to step into leadership roles and become champions within their communities.
PacificAus Sports is an Australian Government initiative which builds people-to-people links and further strengthens Australia and the Pacific’s close regional ties through a shared love of sport.
Interested in Netball Australia’s International Development work? See more here.
