Tijana Bošković ( sr-Cyrl, Тијана Бошковић; born 8 March 1997) is a Serbian professional

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

player of VakıfBank. A left-handed

opposite In lexical semantics, opposites are words lying in an inherently incompatible binary relationship. For example, something that is ''even'' entails that it is not ''odd''. It is referred to as a 'binary' relationship because there are two members i ...

, she has won gold medals with the

Serbia women's national volleyball team The Serbia women's national volleyball team is governed by the Volleyball Federation of Serbia and takes part in international volleyball competitions. FIVB considers Serbia the inheritor of the records of SFR Yugoslavia (1948–1992) and Serbi ...

at the 2018 and 2022 World Championships and the 2017 and 2019 European Championships. She is also a two-time Olympic medalist, having won silver at the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

and bronze at the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

. Considered one of the world's best volleyball players, Bošković has been a key member of the Serbian team's offense since her debut with the national team in 2014. She was selected as the

European Volleyball Confederation The European Volleyball Confederation ( or ''CEV'') is the continental sports governing body, governing body for the sports of volleyball, indoor volleyball, beach volleyball and snow volleyball in Europe. Its headquarters is in Luxembourg City, ...

Female Volleyball Player of the Year for three consecutive years, in 2017, 2018, and 2019. Bošković has broken several records for spike and serve speed in women's indoor volleyball. She currently holds the second- and fourth-fastest spike speed records, at 110.3 and 107.5 kilometers per hour respectively.

National team career

2013–2014: Junior team

Bošković joined the Serbian junior team at age 15. In 2013, she won a silver medal at the 2013 European Youth Olympic Festival, where she was named the Most Valuable Player and Best Spiker. In 2014, she led Serbia's U19 national team to a gold medal at the 2014 Women's Junior European Volleyball Championship.

2014–2016: Senior team debut and Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics

Bošković made her debut with Serbia's senior national team in 2014, where she became Serbia's leading scorer at the

2014 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship The 2014 FIVB Women's Volleyball World Championship, FIVB Women's World Championship was the seventeenth edition of the competition, contested by the 24 senior women's national teams of the members of the ' (FIVB), the sport's global governing bod ...

. The next year, she won a silver medal at the

2015 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Cup The 2015 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Cup, FIVB Women's World Cup was held from August 22 to September 6 in Japan. The tournament was a qualification process for the Volleyball at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Women's tournament, 2016 Summer Olymp ...

. Serbia's second-place finished secured the team a spot at the

, where the team earned a silver medal after a four-set defeat in the finals by China. This marked Serbia's first-ever women's volleyball medal. During the tournament, Bošković served a 100 km/h serve, the fastest-ever serve at the Olympics at the time. The record was broken in a match later that day by Italian player

Paola Egonu Paola Ogechi Egonu (; born 18 December 1998) is an Italian professional volleyball player. She plays for Italian volleyball club Vero Volley Milano and is part of the Italy women's national volleyball team. Early life Egonu was born in Cittad ...

2017–2021: Continued success and Tokyo Summer Olympics

In 2017, Bošković won bronze with the national team at

2017 FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix The 2017 FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix was the 25th edition of the annual women's international volleyball tournament played by 32 teams between 7 July and 6 August. The Group 1 Final Round was held in Nanjing, China. Defending champions Brazi ...

, where she was named Best Opposite Player of the tournament. At the

2017 Women's European Volleyball Championship The 2017 Women's European Volleyball Championship was the 30th edition of the European Volleyball Championship, organised by Europe's governing volleyball body, the Confédération Européenne de Volleyball. The tournament was co-hosted by Azerb ...

, Bošković led her team to a victory over the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, resulting in Serbia's second European title. With a total of 130 points, she was the most productive offensive player of the tournament and was named Most Valuable Player. During the

first edition The bibliographical definition of an edition is all copies of a book printed from substantially the same setting of type, including all minor typographical variants. First edition According to the definition of ''edition'' above, a book pr ...

of the FIVB Women's Volleyball Nations League, Bošković was the leading scorer with 206 total points. Serbia ranked 5th in the tournament. That same year, Bošković led Serbia to its first-ever title at the

2018 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship The 2018 FIVB Women's World Championship was the eighteenth edition of the event, contested by the senior women's national teams of the members of the ' (FIVB), the sport's global governing body. The final tournament was held in Japan from 29 Se ...

, where she was once again named Most Valuable Player after amassing a total of 193 points. Bošković and Serbia repeated their European title at the

2019 Women's European Volleyball Championship The 2019 Women's European Volleyball Championship was the 31st edition of the Women's European Volleyball Championship, organised by Europe's governing volleyball body, the Confédération Européenne de Volleyball, CEV from 23 August to 8 Septemb ...

, where she was awarded Most Valuable Player and Best Opposite. At the

, Serbia earned a bronze medal, with Bošković being named Best Opposite. She became the first player to score 30 or more points in three different matches within a single Olympics tournament.

2022–present: Second World Championship title and Paris Summer Olympics

At the

2022 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship The 2022 FIVB Women's Volleyball World Championship was the 19th staging of the FIVB Women's Volleyball World Championship, contested by the senior women's national teams of the members of the (FIVB). The Netherlands and Poland were dual hosts f ...

, Serbia defended its title and Bošković was named Most Valuable Player and Best Opposite of the tournament. She became the second player in history, after Regla Torres of

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

, to achieve back-to-back World Championship MVP awards, making her the sole player in the history of European volleyball to attain this feat. At the 2023 Women's European Volleyball Championship, Bošković and the team advanced to the final for the fourth consecutive edition, where they ultimately placed second. Bošković is part of Serbia's 12-player roster at the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Club career

Since 2015, Bošković has played professionally for

Eczacıbaşı Eczacıbaşı Holding is a Turkish industrial group of companies founded in 1942. As of 2023, the Group's 50 companies employ more than 13,500 people, operate 40 production plants, and generate a combined net turnover of TL 33 billion. Group E ...

in the

Turkish Women's Volleyball League Sultanlar Ligi (''Sultans League''), known for sponsorship reasons as Vodafone Sultanlar Ligi, is the highest professional women's volleyball league in Turkey. It is run by the Turkish Volleyball Federation and began with the 1984–85 season. 14 ...

. She won her first trophy with the team at the 2016 Club World Championship in the Philippines, where she was the tournament's Most Valuable Player and Best Opposite. As a member of Eczacıbaşı, she has won eight trophies in total: three times at the Turkish Women's Volleyball Super Cup (2018, 2019 and 2020), twice at the

Women's CEV Cup The Women's CEV Cup, formerly known as CEV Cup Winners' Cup (from 1972 to 2000) and CEV Top Teams Cup (from 2000 to 2007), is the second-top official competition for women's volleyball clubs of Europe and takes place every year. It is organized b ...

(2017–18 and 2021–22), twice at the FIVB Club World Championship (2016 and 2023) and once at the

Turkish Women's Volleyball Cup The Turkish Women's Volleyball Cup (), is a national cup for professional women's volleyball in Turkey, organized by the Turkish Volleyball Federation since the 1994-95 season. Between 2003 and 2008, the event was not held five consecutive season ...

(2018–19).

Early life

Bošković was born to

Serb The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history, and language. They primarily live in Serbia, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia ...

parents on 8 March 1997 in

Trebinje Trebinje ( sr-Cyrl, Требиње, ) is a city and municipality in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the southernmost city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and is situated on the banks of the Trebišnjica river in the region of East Her ...

Republika Srpska Republika Srpska ( sr-Cyrl, Република Српска, ; also referred to as the Republic of Srpska or Serb Republic) is one of the two Political divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, entities within Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other bein ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

. Her younger brother, Vuk, is a basketball player and her older sister, Dajana, plays for the Bosnia and Herzegovina women's national volleyball team. The two sisters played their first international match against each other in 2021 Women's European Volleyball Championship. Bošković initially ventured into sports through

karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ), also , is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tī'' in Okinawan) un ...

and ultimately gravitated toward volleyball and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

. Without any basketball clubs in her hometown to join, she began pursuing a career in volleyball. At age 14, she and her sister, then aged 17, moved to

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

to play volleyball.

Recognition

Bošković has received widespread acknowledgement for her athletic success. In 2017, President

Milorad Dodik Milorad Dodik ( sr-Cyrl, Милорад Додик, ; born 12 March 1959) is a Bosnian Serb politician currently serving as the 8th president of Republika Srpska since 2022, a position he previously held from 2010 to 2018. He also served as ...

donated KM 20,000 (US $11,000) to Bošković and two of her teammates. In 2018, Bosnia and Herzegovina's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Igor Crnadak, presented Bošković with a

diplomatic passport A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that certifies a person's Identity (social science), identity and nationality for international travel. A passport allows its bearer to enter and temporarily reside in a foreign ...

. As part of Serbia's national women's volleyball team, Bošković was also presented with a diplomatic passport from Serbia by the Minister of Foreign Affairs,

Ivica Dačić Ivica Dačić ( sr-cyrl, Ивица Дачић, ; born 1 January 1966) is a Serbian politician serving as deputy prime minister of Serbia since 2022 and minister of internal affairs since 2024. He has been the leader of the Socialist Party of ...

. In July 2019, a sports hall in

Bileća Bileća ( sr-cyrl, Билећа) is a town and municipality in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, the town has a population of 7,476 inhabitants, while the municipality has 10,807 inhabitants. History The first traces of ci ...

was named after Bošković.

Awards

National team

Junior team

* 2013 European Youth Olympic Festival – Silver Medal * 2014 Junior European Championship – Gold Medal

Senior team

* 2015 World Cup – Silver Medal * 2015 European Championship – Bronze Medal *

2016 Olympic Games The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

– Silver Medal * 2017 World Grand Prix – Bronze Medal * 2017 European Championship – Gold Medal * 2018 World Championship – Gold Medal * 2019 European Championship – Gold Medal *

2020 Olympic Games The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

– Bronze Medal * 2021 European Championship – Silver Medal * 2022 World Championship – Gold Medal * 2023 European Championship – Silver Medal

Club

Serbian SuperCup * 2013 Serbian Super Cup – Champion, with OK Partizan Vizura * 2014 Serbian Super Cup – Champion, with OK Partizan Vizura Serbian Cup * 2012/13 Serbian Cup – Runner-Up, with OK Partizan Vizura * 2013/14 Serbian Cup – Runner-Up, with OK Partizan Vizura * 2014/15 Serbian Cup – Champion, with OK Partizan Vizura Serbian SuperLeague * 2011/12 Wiener SuperLiga – Third place, with OK Partizan Vizura * 2012/13 Wiener SuperLiga – Third place, with OK Partizan Vizura * 2013/14 Wiener SuperLiga – Champion, with OK Partizan Vizura * 2014/15 Wiener SuperLiga – Champion, with OK Partizan Vizura Turkish Super Cup * 2018 Spor Toto Champion's Cup – Champion, with

Eczacıbaşı VitrA Eczacıbaşı Holding is a Turkish industrial group of companies founded in 1942. As of 2023, the Group's 50 companies employ more than 13,500 people, operate 40 production plants, and generate a combined net turnover of TL 33 billion. Group E ...

* 2019 Spor Toto Champion's Cup – Champion, with

* 2020 AXA Sigorta Champion's Cup – Champion, with

* 2021 AXA Sigorta Champion's Cup – Runner-Up, with Eczacıbaşı Dynavit Turkish Cup * 2017/18 Turkish Volleyball Cup – Runner-Up, with

* 2018/19 AXA Sigorta Volleyball Cup – Champion, with

* 2020/21 AXA Sigorta Volleyball Cup – Runner-Up, with

* 2023/24 AXA Sigorta Volleyball Cup – Runner-Up, with Eczacıbaşı Dynavit Turkish League * 2015/16 Turkish Volleball League – Third place, with

* 2017/18 Vestel Venus Sultanlar Ligi – Runner-Up, with

* 2018/19 Vestel Venus Sultanlar Ligi – Runner-Up, with

* 2021/22 Misli.com Sultanlar Ligi – Third place, with Eczacıbaşı Dynavit * 2022/23 Misli.com Sultanlar Ligi – Runner-Up, with Eczacıbaşı Dynavit * 2023/24 Vodafone Sultanlar Ligi – Runner-Up, with Eczacıbaşı Dynavit CEV Cup * 2017/18 CEV Cup – Champion, with

* 2021/22 CEV Cup – Champion, with Eczacıbaşı Dynavit CEV Champions League * 2016/17 CEV Champions League – Bronze Medal, with

* 2022/23 CEV Champions League – Runner-Up, with Eczacıbaşı Dynavit * 2023/24 CEV Women's Champions League – Third place, with Eczacıbaşı Dynavit FIVB Volleyball Club World Championship * 2016 Club World Championship – Champion, with

* 2018 Club World Championship – Bronze Medal, with

* 2019 Club World Championship – Runner-Up, with

* 2022 Club World Championship – Bronze Medal, with Eczacıbaşı Dynavit * 2023 Club World Championship – Champion, with Eczacıbaşı Dynavit

Individual Awards (awarded)

National Team

* 2013 European Youth Olympic Festival "Most valuable player" * 2014 Junior European Championship "Most valuable player" * 2017 FIVB World Grand Prix "Best opposite" * 2017 European Championship "Most valuable player" * 2018 World Championship "Most valuable player" * 2019 European Championship "Most valuable player" * 2019 European Championship "Best opposite" * 2020 Summer Olympics "Best opposite" * 2022 World Championship "Most valuable player" * 2022 World Championship "Best opposite"

Club

* 2016 FIVB Club World Championship "Most valuable player" * 2016 FIVB Club World Championship "Best opposite" * 2017 FIVB Club world Championship "Best opposite" * 2017/18 Women's CEV Cup "Most valuable player" * 2018 FIVB Club World Championship "Best opposite" * 2018/19 Turkish Cup "Most valuable player" * 2018/19 Turkish League Final Series "Best opposite" * 2019 Turkish Super Cup "Most valuable player" * 2020 Turkish Super Cup "Most valuable player" * 2023 FIVB Club World Championship "Most valuable player" * 2023 Club World Championship "Best opposite" * 2023/24 Turkish League Final Series "Best opposite"

Individual awards (not awarded)

National Team

* 2013 European Youth Olympic Festival – Best spiker * 2018 Nations League – Best spiker * 2018 World Championship – Best attacker * 2019 Intercontinental Olympic Qualification – Pool A best attacker * 2019 Intercontinental Olympic Qualification – Pool A best server * 2020 Summer Olympics – Best scorer * 2020 Summer Olympics – Best attacker * 2021 European Championship Fans' All Star Team – Best opposite * 2021 European Championship – Best scorer * 2021 European Championship – Best spiker * 2022 World Championship – Best spiker * 2023 European Championship – Best scorer * 2023 European Championship – Best spiker

Club

* 2012/13 Serbian Cup – Best outside hitter * 2016/17 Turkish League Regular Season – Best opposite * 2016/17 CEV Champions League – Best server * 2016/17 CEV Champions League – Best scorer * 2017 FIVB Club World Championship – Best spiker * 2017 FIVB Club World Championship – Best server * 2017/18 CEV Cup – Best scorer * 2017/18 CEV Cup – Best spiker * 2018 Turkish Super Cup – Best scorer * 2018 Turkish Super Cup – Best attacker * 2017/18 Turkish League Regular Season – Best opposite * 2018 FIVB Club World Championship – Best spiker * 2018/19 Turkish Cup – Best scorer * 2019 Turkish Super Cup – Best opposite * 2019 Turkish Super Cup – Best scorer * 2019 FIVB Club World Championship – Best server * 2019/20 Turkish League Regular Season – Best scorer * 2019/20 Turkish League Regular Season – Best opposite * 2020 Turkish Super Cup – Best attacker * 2020/21 Turkish Cup – Best scorer * 2020/21 Turkish League Regular Season – Best scorer * 2021/22 Women's CEV Cup – Best scorer * 2021/22 Women's CEV Cup – Best spiker * 2022 FIVB Club World Championship – Best server * 2023/24 Turkish Cup – Best scorer * 2023/24 Turkish League Regular Season – Best opposite * 2023/24 CEV Champions League – Best scorer * 2023/24 CEV Champions League – Best spiker

Individual achievements

* 2013 OSS ( sr-lat, Odbojkaški savez Srbije – Volleyball Federation of Serbia) Best Young Volleyball Player of the Year * 2014 OSS Best Young Volleyball Player of the Year * 2016 OSS Best Female Volleyball Player of the Year * 2017 OSS Best Female Volleyball Player of the Year * 2018 OSS Best Female Volleyball Player of the Year * 2019 OSS Best Female Volleyball Player of the Year * 2022 OSS Best Female Volleyball Player of the Year * 2017 Young Athlete of The Year by the Serbian Olympic Committee * 2018 Sport Woman of The Year by the Serbian Olympic Committee * 2019 Sport Woman of The Year by the Serbian Olympic Committee * 2022 Team Sport Athlete of The Year by the Serbian Olympic Committee * 2018 The best Athlete of the Republic of Srpska of the year * 2019 The best Athlete of the

Republic of Srpska Republika Srpska ( sr-Cyrl, Република Српска, ; also referred to as the Republic of Srpska or Serb Republic) is one of the two Political divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, entities within Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other bein ...

of the year * 2022 The Best Athlete of the Republic of Srpska of the Year * 2017 CEV Female Volleyball Player of the Year * 2018 CEV Female Volleyball Player of the Year * 2019 CEV Female Volleyball Player of the Year

Career statistics

Junior team

National team

Major tournaments

Other tournaments

Season by club

League (regular season and finals)

Domestic cups and regional competitions

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Boskovic, Tijana 1997 births Living people Sportspeople from Trebinje People from Bileća Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina Serbian women's volleyball players 21st-century Serbian sportswomen European champions for Serbia Volleyball players at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for Serbia Olympic medalists in volleyball Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic volleyball players for Serbia Serbian expatriate volleyball players in Turkey Eczacıbaşı Dynavit players VakıfBank S.K. volleyballers Volleyball players at the 2020 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for Serbia Serbian expatriate volleyball players Volleyball players at the 2024 Summer Olympics