Antonina Ryzhova played in six matches and scored six points in the volleyball tournament at the 1964 Olympics. She was a member of the winning USSR team at the 1956 and 1960 World Championships in France and Brazil respectively. The next edition of the Championships was in the Soviet Union in 1962, but Ryzhova had to be content with a silver medal. Additionally, she won gold medals at the 1958 and 1963 European Championships, and silver in 1955. At club level, she won the European Champions’ Cup three times, twice with CSKA, Moscow and once with Dynamo, Moscow. She also won nine Soviet titles. After her active playing career, she worked as a coach.