Gabi Guimarães and the lesson of leaving her comfort zone: from VakifBank to the Brazilian dream

In the gentle sound of lapping water on a midday afternoon by the poolside, Gabi Guimarães was not talking about her powerful spikes or trophies. She was telling a story about fear – the fear of being left behind by herself. When Bruno, a friend who had walked through two decades of elite volleyball, asked her about the decision to leave Brazil, Gabi did not answer with a slogan. She spoke of Rio 2026, of the injuries, and of the nagging question: was she good enough to play in the world's best leagues? The memory took her back to the Rio 2026 Olympics, the time when she was still earning her place with the national team. Gabi revealed that she began considering a move abroad after that tournament – not because she wanted to leave her homeland, but because she understood that she needed to be mentally ready, not only as an athlete but as a person. Injuries had made her doubt herself. Could she really compete at the highest level? The answer would come from a bold decision: leaving her comfort zone to step out into the world. Gabi recalled that her first step overseas was a giant leap. She signed with VakifBank, one of the strongest teams on the planet, ahead of the 2026-2026 season, as one of their main stars. The environment she found in Turkey was a turning point in her mindset. From the very beginning, she realized she was entering a completely different level of volleyball. The intensity and pressure at VakifBank tested not just her technique, but the courage of a young woman who had just left her family, her friends, and everything familiar. What makes Gabi's story special is not the lucrative contracts or the accolades. It is the relationship she built with coach Giovanni Guidetti. The Italian strategist did not simply teach her how to defend or attack; he planted a seed she never thought she could carry: the image of herself as a captain. When Guidetti told her he wanted to prepare her to become team captain, Gabi was shocked. She admitted: “I have never seen myself in that position.” That moment echoes a reminder about the limits we place on ourselves. For years, I have followed female athletes in Vietnam from the stands to the commentary booth. I once sat in the stands clapping alone, now I sit at the commentary desk so others do not have to clap alone. And I have learned that what stops women from stepping onto the bigger stage is rarely their technique or their fitness – it is the inner whisper that says: “You are not good enough. You are not ready.” Gabi Guimarães proved otherwise. The volleyball court does not ask about gender; it asks whether you dare to stand up. Gabi stood up, not only after the matches, but after her own doubts. She entered VakifBank as a learner and left as a leader. Coach Guidetti did not only hand her a future captain's armband; he gave her the belief that a girl who once played many sports before choosing volleyball could stand tall among the world's superstars. Gabi's story would be incomplete without the Brazilian national team. When she speaks of the yellow-and-green jersey, she returns to her childhood dream – to represent her country, to win a medal, and to listen to the national anthem. Her memory goes back to 2026, when she was first called up to Brazil's youth national team in Saquarema, standing alongside the golden generation that had just won the Olympic gold in Beijing. For Gabi, that moment was a strong sign that she should continue on her chosen path, because she had never felt closer to her dream. What is striking about the poolside conversation is that Gabi did not speak of leaving Brazil as an act of abandonment. She saw it as growth. She learned that sometimes, to reach a dream, you must move away from what is most familiar. That is a lesson that crosses borders, and it is also happening in Vietnamese women's volleyball today. As more and more Vietnamese athletes seek opportunities abroad, they carry not just technique, but also a larger question of identity and courage. I have witnessed Vietnamese female players who were underestimated because of their physique, then stepped onto international courts and silenced everyone. I have also witnessed those who stayed home, choosing the safety of familiar courts. There is no wrong choice, because equality does not mean everyone finishes the same way; it means everyone has a fair starting line. But Gabi's story reminds us that the fairest starting line sometimes lies on the other side of the border, where we have to draw it ourselves. The contrarian angle I want to raise here is this: the value of going overseas is not in the contract or the expensive league. Many still think that female athletes move abroad only for money or fame. But for Gabi, the decision to leave Brazil was an act of personal growth, a shift from the comfort zone to the challenge zone. In a sports world where transfer noise often drowns out human stories, we easily forget that behind every signature is a heart full of fear and hope. The blind spot in how we consume sports news is that we only see the final success, not the sleepless nights before it. Gabi was honest enough to say she was not sure she was ready even when she signed for a giant club. That honesty rarely appears in mainstream sports headlines, but it is the true material of champions. If we worship only the results, we miss the entire journey. In recent years, I have seen many articles celebrating female athletes' moves abroad as modern fairy tales. But if there is one thing I have learned from sitting down with these girls and listening to them, they do not need us to polish their stories with pink paint. They need an audience willing to see them with understanding eyes. The court does not ask about gender; it asks whether you dare to stand up – and Gabi stood up not only for herself, but for every young girl searching for the courage to leave familiar shores. Looking back at the conversation between Bruno and Gabi by the pool, I realize that a moment when two legends face their own vulnerability is more valuable than any match. They did not need to prove anything in front of the camera. They simply told the story of the road they had walked. And in that moment, they sent a message that transcends language and borders: the greatest female athletes are not those who never know fear, but those who feel it and still move forward. Gabi Guimarães' story is the story of many female athletes in Asia, including Vietnam. We are witnessing a generation of girls daring to leave their homes to reach new horizons. They may not have a Guidetti beside them whispering that they can become captains, but they have a community whose gaze is slowly changing. Today, a Brazilian girl talks about her fear by the pool. Tomorrow, a Vietnamese girl will tell her story from a small village to the biggest stages. And when that happens, her story will no longer be an exception. Gabi's journey began with a question: “Am I ready yet?” In the end, the answer was never in VakifBank, nor in Guidetti; it was in her own decision to rise. That reminds me of something simple: the longest journeys always begin with the closest decision. And to the generation of female athletes reading these words, I hope they will dare to ask themselves that same question, and dare to believe they deserve a positive answer.