Super Globe 2021 handball tournament kicks off in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday

Saudi handball team Al-Noor - who will be participating in the Super Globe 2021 tournament - in training. (Supplied/Al-Noor Club)
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Updated 04 October 2021
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Super Globe 2021 handball tournament kicks off in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday

JEDDAH: The 2021 edition of the IHF Men’s Super Globe will take place at King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, from Tuesday night until October 9 to determine the best men’s handball club in the world.

Qualified teams
Ten (10) teams have qualified through to the competition. Six (6) representing the IHF Continental Confederations, one (1) reigning champion, one (1) Wild Card and two (2) host nation places.

Host country representatives
Al-Wehda, Al-Noor (KSA): 2021 IHF Men’s Super Globe host country. (2)

August 2019 Reigning champions
FC Barcelona (ESP): Winners of the 2019 IHF Men’s Super Globe. (1)

June 2021 European Handball Federation (EHF) representative
Aalborg Håndbold (DEN): Runners-up of the 2020/21 EHF Men’s Champions League Men (behind already-qualified FC Barcelona). (1)

Asian Handball Federation (AHF) representative
Al-Duhail (QAT): Winners of the 2021 AHF Men’s Asian Club League Championship. (1)

July 2021 Wild Card
SC Magdeburg (GER): Winners of the 2020/21 EHF European League Men (second-tier continental club championship) (1)

August 2021 South and Central America Handball Confederation (SCAHC) representative
EC Pinheiros (BRA): Winners of the 2021 SCAHC Club Championship. (1)

North America and the Caribbean Handball Confederation (NACHC) representative
San Francisco CalHeat (USA): Winners of the 2021 NACHC Club Championship. (1)

Oceania Continent Handball Federation (OCHF) representative
Sydney University (AUS): No OCHF qualification due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic but Sydney University granted place via the IHF.

September 2021 African Handball Confederation (CAHB) representative
Zamalek SC (EGY): Winners of the 2021 CAHB Men’s African Super Cup. (1)

Competition format
Six teams qualify directly into the quarter-finals, so the 2021 IHF Men’s Super Globe starts with four teams competing in the quarter-final play-offs to grab the final two spots. It is then a simple format with the winners of the quarter-finals then going through to the semi-finals and final.

The losers of the quarter-final play-offs and quarter-finals will compete in two groups with the final rankings of the groups determining the 5-10 ranks.

Competing players
The final squad lists for the competition will be available on the IHF.info mini-site following the technical
meeting. The squads will appear here.

Match schedule

Tuesday 5 October

Quarter-final play-offs (PO)

16:30 PO1: Sydney University (AUS) vs SC Magdeburg (GER)
19:00 Opening Ceremony
20:30 PO2: Al Wehda (KSA) vs San Francisco Cal Heat (USA)

Wednesday 6 October

Quarter-finals (QF)
13:15 QF1: Al Duhail vs Winner PO1
15:30 QF3: Al Nour vs EC Pinheiros
17:45 QF2: Aalborg Håndbold vs Winner PO2
20:00 QF4: FC Barcelona vs Zamalek SC

Thursday 7 October

Placement round 5-10
13:45 Group A: Loser PO2 vs Loser QF3
16:00 Group B: Loser PO1 vs Loser QF4

Semi-finals (SF)
18:15 SF1: Winner QF1 vs Winner QF2
20:30 SF2: Winner QF3 vs Winner QF4

Friday 8 October

Placement round 5-10
16:00 Group A: Loser QF1 vs Loser PO2
18:15 Group B: Loser QF2 vs Loser PO1

Saturday 9 October

Placement round 5-10
13:45 Group A: Loser QF3 vs Loser QF1
16:00 Group B: Loser QF4 vs Loser QF2

Finals
18:15 Bronze-medal match: Loser SF1 vs Loser SF2
20:30 Gold-medal match: Winner SF1 vs Winner SF2


Twice champion Naomi Osaka out of Australian Open

Updated 24 January 2026
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Twice champion Naomi Osaka out of Australian Open

  • Osaka said ‌on ⁠social media ‌that her body needed attention following her previous match against Sorana Cirstea

MELBOURNE: Twice Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka has pulled out of the Grand Slam ahead of her scheduled third round match on Saturday, citing a fitness problem.
Her opponent, Australian Maddison Inglis, has a walkover into the fourth round.
Japanese 16th seed Osaka, the 2019 and 2021 ‌winner at ‌Melbourne Park, said ‌on ⁠social media ‌that her body needed attention following her previous match against Sorana Cirstea, without elaborating on the issue.
“I’ve had to make the difficult decision to withdraw to address something my body ⁠needs attention for after my last match,” she ‌wrote.
“I was so excited ‍to keep ‍going and this run meant the ‍most to me, so having to stop here breaks my heart but I can’t risk doing any further damage so I can get back on the court.”
The pull-out is a ⁠setback for Osaka, who has been returning to her best and made the US Open semifinals last year.
At Melbourne Park, Osaka made a huge splash before her opening match against Antonia Ruzic when she entered Rod Laver Arena in a jellyfish-inspired outfit, one of the boldest fashion ‌statements seen at a Grand Slam.