HANDBALL PLAYERS from Netherlands

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Dutch Handball Players of all time. This list of famous Dutch Handball Players is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Dutch Handball Players.

1. Estavana Polman (b. 1992)

With an HPI of 45.02, Estavana Polman is the most famous Dutch Handball Player.  Her biography has been translated into 20 different languages on wikipedia.

Estavana Polman (born 5 August 1992) is a Dutch handball player for CS Rapid București and the Dutch national team. She was a part the Netherlands team that won the 2019 World Women's Handball Championship; the first title in the country's history. 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. 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.

2. Lois Abbingh (b. 1992)

With an HPI of 41.46, Lois Abbingh is the 2nd most famous Dutch Handball Player.  Her biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Lois Abbingh (born 13 August 1992) is a Dutch handball player who plays for Borussia Dortmund Handball and the Dutch national team. She was a part the Netherlands team that won the 2019 World Women's Handball Championship; the first title in the country's history.

3. Nycke Groot (b. 1988)

With an HPI of 40.38, Nycke Groot is the 3rd most famous Dutch Handball Player.  Her biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Cornelia Nycke Groot (born 4 May 1988) is a Dutch handball player. She represented the Netherlands in three World Women's Handball Championship (winning a silver in Denmark 2015, and a bronze in Germany 2017) and two editions of the Olympic Games. In January 2019, 14 years after debuting on the Dutch national team, she announced she would be retiring from the national team to focus on her club career. In 2021, Groot announced she would participate with the Netherlands at the Tokyo Olympic Games. She also announced the end of her club career.

4. Tess Wester (b. 1993)

With an HPI of 39.37, Tess Wester is the 4th most famous Dutch Handball Player.  Her biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Tess Lieder (née Wester, born 19 May 1993) is a Dutch retired handballer for the Dutch national team. A full international with the Dutch national team since 2012, she was a part the Netherlands team that won the 2019 World Women's Handball Championship; the first title in the country's history. She was also on the team that won the silver medal in the 2015 World Women's Handball Championship with the Dutch team and became the goalkeeper with the highest percentage of saves in the tournament. Wester also reached fourth place with the Dutch team in the 2016 Summer Olympics.

5. Angela Malestein (b. 1993)

With an HPI of 38.60, Angela Malestein is the 5th most famous Dutch Handball Player.  Her biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Antje Angela Malestein (born 31 January 1993) is a Dutch handball player for Ferencvárosi TC and the Dutch national team. She was a part the Netherlands team that won the 2019 World Women's Handball Championship; the first title in the country's history.

6. Danick Snelder (b. 1990)

With an HPI of 37.98, Danick Snelder is the 6th most famous Dutch Handball Player.  Her biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Danick Albertine Snelder (born 22 May 1990) is a Dutch handball player for SG BBM Bietigheim and the Dutch national team. She was a part the Netherlands team that won the 2019 World Women's Handball Championship; the first title in the country's history.

7. Laura van der Heijden (b. 1990)

With an HPI of 37.25, Laura van der Heijden is the 7th most famous Dutch Handball Player.  Her biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Laura van der Heijden (born 27 June 1990) is a Dutch handball player for Chambray Touraine Handball in France and formerly the Dutch national team. She was a part the Netherlands team that won the 2019 World Women's Handball Championship; the first title in the country's history.

8. Kelly Dulfer (b. 1994)

With an HPI of 35.32, Kelly Dulfer is the 8th most famous Dutch Handball Player.  Her biography has been translated into 14 different languages.

Kelly Dulfer (born 21 March 1994) is a Dutch handball player for Győri ETO KC and the Dutch national team. She normally plays left back, but is known to be a very versatile player. She was a part the Netherlands team that won the 2019 World Women's Handball Championship; the first title in the country's history.

9. Rinka Duijndam (b. 1997)

With an HPI of 33.48, Rinka Duijndam is the 9th most famous Dutch Handball Player.  Her biography has been translated into 11 different languages.

Rinka Duijndam (born 6 August 1997) is a Dutch female professional handballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Romanian club CS Rapid București and the Dutch national team. She was a part the Netherlands team that won the 2019 World Women's Handball Championship; the first title in the country's history.

10. Debbie Bont (b. 1990)

With an HPI of 33.33, Debbie Bont is the 10th most famous Dutch Handball Player.  Her biography has been translated into 12 different languages.

Debbie Bont (born 9 December 1990) is a Dutch handball former player and current coach. Since July 2024 she has been the coach at the Dutch team Garage Kil/Volendam. As a player, she featured in the Dutch national team. In 2019 she became a World Champion with the Dutch team.