Cuba finished fifth in Group 3 at the 2015 World Grand Prix after winning as many matches as they lost. They swept Australia, Algeria and Kazakhstan but missed out on the Final Four tournament. At the Pan American Games in Canada, Cuba failed to win a medal for the first time. They qualified from their pool, and a quarterfinal defeat by USA put them up against Argentina, a game they won to take fifth place. Cuba return to the World Cup after failing to qualify in 2011. After winning silver medals in 1977 and 1985, they dominated the tournament in the 1990s. They won four consecutive World Cup titles between 1989 and 1999, losing just one match during that successful spell. They also won three consecutive Olympic titles between 1992 and 2000, and gold at the 1994 and 1998 World Championships.

After a sharp decline in results, culminating in failure to qualify for the 2012 Olympic Games, the aim now is to rebuild. Former coach Juan Carlos Gala put his faith in younger players, but a disappointing 2014 World Championship, in which they lost all their games and won only one set, led to him being replaced by Roberto Garcia. The new coach's squad for the 2015 World Grand Prix had an average age of just over 19, and the oldest, Emily Borrell Cruz, was 23.