Cuba have won the gold medal on three occasions at the World Championship - 1978, 1994 and most recently in 1998. Since then, the best ranking they have achieved was fifth in 2002. Last time out in 2010 they finished 12th after losing in straight sets to the Netherlands in the battle for 11th place. With a silver medal to their name in 1986, following a 3-1 defeat by China in the gold medal match, Cuba ranks third in the all-time World Championship medal table behind Russia and Japan.

Cuba were feared on the world stage in the 1990s when the team won a string of elite championships. Although those days have passed the Caribbean nation are rebuilding to hopefully rise again. It is 14 years since the team won their third straight gold medal on the Olympic stage at Sydney 2000, and most recently they failed to qualify for London 2012. They have enjoyed great success at the Pan American Games, where they have taken a medal at every edition since 1967.

At last year's World Grand Prix, Cuba were ranked 19th after a disappointing tournament. They lost all three games in straight sets against the Netherlands, China and Bulgaria. They finished a disappointing sixth at the 2014 Pan American Cup, and most recently finished bottom of Group 2 at the 2014 World Grand Prix.