SERIE A1 FORMAT
The 2026 Serie A1 Women's Championship is structured in three stages: Regular Season, Round of Challenges, Playoffs/Playouts.
Regular Season (22 rounds, from 3-4 October 2026 to 14 March 2027)
The Regular Season of the Serie A1 Women's Championship is a twelve-team round-robin with home and away games. The first round of the first half will be played at a single venue for all teams, during the twenty-fourth edition of the Opening Day (3-4 October 2026). The first round of the second half will be played on the court of the team that lost the corresponding first-leg game (except for the team that played that game at home). The championship will pause twice for national-team duties, on 13-14 November and 13-14 February.
Round of Challenges (4 rounds, from 21 March to 11 April 2027)
At the end of the Regular Season the twelve teams move to the Round of Challenges, where they play four games; the points earned are added to the Regular Season standings. The complete Round of Challenges schedule will be official at the end of the Regular Season and is defined by Chapter V of the Appendix to the 2026/2027 Annual Organisational Provisions (Dates and Formats — Amateur Championships).
The teams ranked 1st to 8th at the end of the Round of Challenges qualify for the Playoffs; the remaining teams, ranked 9th to 12th, go to the Playouts. Ties in the standings are resolved as set out in art. 62 of the Game Regulations.
Playoffs (from 18 April 2027 to 18 May 2027, date of the eventual Game 5 of the Scudetto Finals)
The top eight teams at the end of the Round of Challenges face each other in the Playoffs. Home advantage between two teams goes to the one with the better ranking at the end of the Round of Challenges.
QUARTER-FINALS
(best of three games, Home-Away-Home format)
QF 1 — 1st place vs 8th place
QF 2 — 2nd place vs 7th place
QF 3 — 3rd place vs 6th place
QF 4 — 4th place vs 5th place
SEMI-FINALS
(best of three games, Home-Away-Home format)
SF 1 — winner of QF 1 vs winner of QF 4
SF 2 — winner of QF 2 vs winner of QF 3
SCUDETTO FINALS
(best of five games, Home-Home-Away-Away-Home format)
Played between the two semi-final winners.
The winner is crowned 2026/2027 Italian Champion.
PLAYOUTS
The teams ranked 9th to 12th at the end of the Round of Challenges take part in the Playouts, played as best-of-three series over two stages. Home advantage between two teams goes to the one with the better ranking at the end of the Round of Challenges.
FIRST STAGE
(best of three games, Home-Away-Home format)
Pool 1 — 9th place vs 12th place
Pool 2 — 10th place vs 11th place
SECOND STAGE
(best of three games, Home-Away-Home format)
Pool 3 — loser of Pool 1 vs loser of Pool 2
The team losing Pool 3 is relegated to the Serie A2 Championship for the 2027/2028 season.