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Estavana Polman

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Estavana Polman
Personal information
Born (1992-08-05) 5 August 1992 (age 33)
Arnhem, Netherlands
Nationality Dutch
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Playing position Centre back
Club information
Current club CS Rapid București
Number 79
Senior clubs
Years Team
2009–2010
 AAC Arnhem
2010–2011
 VOC Amsterdam
2011–2013
 SønderjyskE
2013–2022
 Team Esbjerg
2022
 Nykøbing Falster Håndboldklub
2022–
 CS Rapid București
National team
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010–2025
 Netherlands 207 (685)
Medal record
World Championship
Gold medal – first place 2019 Japan
Silver medal – second place 2015 Denmark
Bronze medal – third place 2017 Germany
European Championship
Silver medal – second place 2016 Sweden
Bronze medal – third place 2018 France
Youth World Championship
Bronze medal – third place 2010 Dominican Republic
Junior European Championship
Silver medal – second place 2011 Netherlands

Estavana Polman (born 5 August 1992) is a Dutch handball player for CS Rapid București and the Dutch national team.[1][2][3][4] She is broadly considered one of the best dutch players of all time and has become a symbol of the Netherlands' rise from handball minnows to the one of the best teams in the world.

She was a part the Netherlands team that won the 2019 World Women's Handball Championship; the first title in the country's history[5][6] as well as the team that won their first ever medals at the 2015 World Women's Handball Championship.[7]

Career

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Polman started her career at her hometown club AAC Arnhem where she played from 2005 to 2010. She then joined VOC Amsterdam for a single season. In 2011 she joined Danish second tier side SønderjyskE. In her first season she was promoted with the club to the Damehåndboldligaen. The same season she was the league MVP.[8]

In 2013 she joined Team Esbjerg. In 2016 she was part of the Team Esbjerg side that won the Danish Championship for the first time in club history.[9] In 2019 she won the Danish Championship for a second tme.[10] In 2020 she had cruciate ligament injury which kept her out for most of the 2020-21 season.[11] Upon her return she won the 2021 Danish Cup. In total she played 240 games for Team Esbjerg scoring 1270 goals.

In March 2022 she left Team Esbjerg on mutual agreement despite her contract running until 2023.[12] In July the same year she joined Nykøbing Falster Håndboldklub.[13] She played here for half a season before joining Romanian side CS Rapid București in November 2022 when they triggered a release clause in Polman's contract.[14]

National team

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She represented the Netherlands in younger age categories as well and collected the silver medal at the 2011 Women's U-19 European Handball Championship. In addition, she was voted into the all-star team of the tournament in playmaker position.[15]

At the 2015 World Championship she was part of the Dutch team that won Netherlands' first ever medals when they won silver.[7]

She was surprisingly not included in the Dutch team for the 2024 European Championship. She did however return to the Dutch team in March 2025.[16] In November 2025 she announced her intention to retire from the national team after the 2025 World Championship, together with Lois Abbingh.[17] Netherlands finished fourth after losing to eventual winners Norway in the semifinal and losing narrowly to France after extra time in the bronze match.[18]

Personal life

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Since August 2016, she has been in a relationship with Dutch footballer Rafael van der Vaart.[19] On 27 December 2016, they announced that they are expecting a child.[20] On 24 June 2017, she gave birth to a 3 kg baby girl, Jesslynn.[21]

Estavana's twin brother Dario is also a handball player.[22]

Honours

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Awards and recognition

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References

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  1. ^ "Persoonlijk" (in Dutch). Estavana Polman official website. Archived from the original on 28 November 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
  2. ^ "Selectie Nationaal Team Dames" (in Dutch). Nederlands Handbal Verbond. Archived from the original on 10 February 2014. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
  3. ^ "2014 European Championship Roster" (PDF). handball.sportresult.com. EHF. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 December 2014. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
  4. ^ EHF profile
  5. ^ "Mayonnade maakt definitieve WK-selectie bekend". handbal.nl (in Dutch). 4 November 2019. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  6. ^ 2019 World Women's Handball Championship roster
  7. ^ a b "Selectie Nederlands Damesteam voor WK in Denemarken". handbal.nl. 29 November 2015. Archived from the original on 3 April 2016. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  8. ^ a b "Årets Kvindelige 1. divisionsspiller". tophaandbold.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 13 September 2021.
  9. ^ Lars Bruun-Mortensen (5 May 2016). "Team Esbjerg vinder DM" (in Danish). TV2 Danmark. Retrieved 3 December 2025.
  10. ^ "Team Esbjerg er dansk mester". TV2 Sport. Archived from the original on 24 May 2019. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
  11. ^ "Esbjerg-stjerne misser hele næste sæson". TV2 Sport. 1 August 2020. Archived from the original on 7 October 2020. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  12. ^ "Team Esbjerg indgår forlig med Estavana Polman" (in Danish). teamesbjerg.dk. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
  13. ^ "Officielt: Polman skifter til dansk rival" (in Danish). TV2 Danmark. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  14. ^ "Polman solgt øjeblikkeligt" (in Danish). TV2 Danmark. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  15. ^ "Denmark triumph at Women's 19 EURO". European Handball Federation. 14 August 2011. Archived from the original on 17 September 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
  16. ^ "Polman frygtede at have spillet sin sidste landskamp". sport.tv2.dk (in Danish). TV2 Danmark. 6 March 2025. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
  17. ^ "Hollandske legender stopper på landsholdet" (in Danish). TV2 Danmark. 14 November 2025. Retrieved 14 November 2025.
  18. ^ "Extra-time thriller sees France clinch podium place". international Handball Federation. 14 December 2025. Retrieved 15 December 2025.
  19. ^ "Her er de så - turtelduerne Estavana Polman og Rafael van der Vaart | Sport | jv.dk". Archived from the original on 27 January 2017. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  20. ^ "Estavana Polman and Rafael van der Vaart expected child | Health and Beauty | Make up, Skincare, Hair, Nails – Health Beauty Spot". Archived from the original on 28 December 2016. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
  21. ^ "Estavana Polman har født en lille prinsesse". 24 June 2017.
  22. ^ "Dario Polman: Like sister, like brother". eurohandball.com. European Handball Federation. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
  23. ^ "Topscorere siden 1965 - Damer" (in Danish). Danish Handball Federation. 9 July 2008. Archived from the original on 19 February 2009. Retrieved 15 March 2009.
  24. ^ a b "Japan 2019 All-star Team". ihf.info. 15 December 2019.
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