Nataša Kovačević-Stojaković (; sr-Cyrl, Наташа Ковачевић-Стојаковић, ; born 20 May 1994) is a Serbian former professional basketball player. Standing at , she played in the

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three or swingman, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than power forwards and centers but taller, larger, and stronger t ...

position for Serbian League teams

Partizan Partizan may refer to: Sport * JSD Partizan, a sports society from Belgrade, Serbia, which includes the following clubs: **AK Partizan, athletics ** Biciklistički Klub Partizan, cycling ** Džudo Klub Partizan, judo **FK Partizan, association fo ...

Voždovac Voždovac ( sr-cyr, Вождовац, ) is a municipality of the city of Belgrade. According to the 2011 census results, the municipality has a population of 158,213 inhabitants. The municipality is located in the south-central part of the urban ...

, and

Crvena zvezda Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club, ), commonly known as Red Star Belgrade in English-language media, is a Serbian professional football club based in B ...

, as well as for UNI Győr in Hungary. She won a

national cup The English National Cup is an annual basketball knock-out competition held between professional, semi-professional and amateur teams from the various divisions of the National Basketball League. For most of the competition's history, the draw has ...

with

in 2016. Kovačević-Stojaković played on the Serbia national team, winning a bronze medal at the U20 European basketball Championship in 2012.

Professional career

Kovačević begin her in

back in 2008. In the 2008–09 season with Partizan, she won second place in the

Serbian League The Serbian League () is the third level football league in Serbia. It consists of four groups, namely Belgrade, East, Vojvodina, and West. The winner of each group earns promotion to the Serbian First League. History 1992–1995 In the summer of ...

championship. In January 2010, she moved to

. In the 2010–11 season with Voždovac, she played in the

Adriatic League The ABA League, renamed to the ABA League First Division in 2017, is the 1st-tier regional men's professional basketball league that originally featured clubs from the former Yugoslavia (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Mace ...

and

where her team took ninth and fifth place, respectively. The following season, her team was eliminated in the semifinals, winning the bronze medal of the play-off. By the end of December 2012 Kovačević still played for Voždovac, which played in the Adriatic League. As the club went into financial problems, she moved to become a player of

in January 2013. With Crvena zvezda, she reached the semi-finals of the

. In the third-place game series, Crvena zvezda beat

Vojvodina Vojvodina ( sr-Cyrl, Војводина}), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia. It lies within the Pannonian Basin, bordered to the south by the national capital ...

with a cumulative score of 190–187, winning the third place. In June 2013, she signed a contract with the Hungarian UNI Győr. On September 7, 2013, while on the road together with a team of UNI Győr set for the match against

UNIQA Euroleasing Sopron Sopron Basket is a Hungarian women's basketball club from Sopron. Founded in 1921 as the women's section of Soproni VSE, it has played in the Hungarian National Championship since 1986. It plays its home games in the Aréna Sopron. Sopron won ...

, a traffic accident occurred, which killed the coach Ákos Fűzy and general manager of the club Péter Tapodi. As a result of the injury, Kovačević had her left leg amputated below the knee. Following the accident, on February 28, 2014, FIBA Europe has been proclaimed her as an ambassador for young people. On March 13, 2014, she established a foundation that will carry her name, and which, as she said, is established to help young athletes. In November 2015, Kovačević signed a contract with

, following recovery from a leg amputation. During this season, has won the

Milan Ciga Vasojević Cup The Milan Ciga Vasojević Cup (Serbian Cyrillic: Куп Милан Цига Васојевић) is the women's national basketball cup of Serbia. It is run by the Basketball Federation of Serbia. Named in honor of Milan Ciga Vasojević, who as co ...

and lost in the final of Radivoj Korać. On 9 August 2016, she announced her retirement from her playing career at age 22 and became the president of Crvena zvezda.

International career

During her career, she represented Serbia in several junior age groups: U16, U18, U19 and

U20 U20 or U-20 may refer to: Naval vessels * * , a sloop of the Royal Navy * , a submarine of the Austro-Hungarian Navy Other uses * Great truncated cuboctahedron * Meizu U20, a smartphone * Roland U-20, a synthesizer * Small nucleolar RNA SN ...

. She took part in the U16 European Championship three times, from 2008 until 2010. Twice she represented Serbia at U18 European Championship in 2011 and 2012; in the second year, winning a bronze medal. She also took part in 2013 in U19 World Championships and once in U20 European Championship.

Post-playing career

On August 9, 2016, she became the president of the Crvena zvezda women's team. In September 2017, she resigned.

Personal life

Nataša's father is Vukašin Kovačević, a former handball player, and her mother is a Natalija Bacanović, a former basketball player who won the Euroleague in 1979 with

. Her brother is Ivan Kovačević, Serbian diplomat. In 2021,

French President The president of France, officially the president of the French Republic (french: Président de la République française), is the executive head of state of France, and the commander-in-chief of the French Armed Forces. As the presidency is ...

Emmanuel Macron Emmanuel Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France since 2017. ''Ex officio'', he is also one of the two Co-Princes of Andorra. Prior to his presidency, Macron served as Minister of Econ ...

awarded Kovačević with the highest order of France,

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

. On 5 March 2022, she married Vuk Stojaković in the

Church of Saint Sava The Temple of Saint Sava ( sr-Cyrl, Храм Светог Саве, Hram Svetog Save, lit='The Temple of Saint Sava') is a Serbian Orthodox church which sits on the Vračar plateau in Belgrade, Serbia. It was planned as the bishopric seat and ...

, Belgrade. The Ambassador of France to Serbia, Pierre Cochard, handed to Kovačević-Stojaković an National Order of Merit, the French second highest civilian honor, on 14 April 2022.

References

External links

* * *
Nataša Kovačević
at eurobasket.com
Official website of Foundation Nataša Kovačević

Official page of Foundation Nataša Kovačević
at facebook.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Kovacevic, Natasa 1994 births Living people Sportspeople with limb difference Basketball players from Belgrade Recipients of the Legion of Honour Recipients of the Ordre national du Mérite Serbian basketball executives and administrators Serbian expatriate basketball people in Hungary Serbian women's basketball players Small forwards Sportswomen with disabilities ŽKK Partizan players ŽKK Crvena zvezda players ŽKK Voždovac players