Wojtek
Kowalski
Male
Poland
1967-10-10
Wroclaw, Poland
As a teenager, he was proclaimed the successor of Wojciech Fibak. Strong, with a nuclear service for his time (over 200 km / h) and an excellent forehand, he was reportedly an even greater talent, which, however, did not develop until the end ...
He came from a poor, working-class family, which in the times of the Polish People's Republic could have been a significant problem in the increasingly intensive practice of the expensive sport, which was then tennis. However, he became perhaps the first Polish player whose development was financed by an individual sponsor (businessman Marek Profus). Thanks to this, already at the age of a junior he could train in foreign centers - incl. did an internship at the famous Nick Bolletieri tennis academy in Florida - or to have an individual coach. He was our first tennis Olympian (Seoul 1988) and - after Fibak - the winner of the tournament covered by the ATP scoring (Katowice part of the ITF satellite cycle "Golden Polish Autumn" 1987). In the early 1990s, however, his development stopped and he never managed to win a match in the Grand Slam or to be promoted to the top hundred of the world ranking. He flashed in 1995, when he qualified for Roland Garros and was eliminated in the first round of the main event after a five-set fight with the much higher (ATP 29) representative of the hosts Guy Forget. In the country, however, for almost a decade he had no equal - nine years in a row he led the PZT classification lists summarizing the seasons, and he won the Polish summer championship whenever he started (six times in a row).
After his career ended, he settled down and started a family in Germany. He is a coach, he runs a private tennis school near Nuremberg.
Club: Goplania Inowrocław.
Coaches: Jerzy Gumuła, Włodzimierz Pikulski, Paweł Strauss.
Professional tennis player in the period: 1987–1996. The highest position in the ATP ranking in career - single: 109 (July 25, 1988; seventh among Poles of all time); Doubles: 125. (28/11/1988). Balance sheet in ATP - single: 11/16; Doubles: 2/8. Earnings: 152,000 $ 514
Australian Open and Wimbledon: never played.
Roland Garros - single: 1/64 finals (1995).
US Open - single: 1/64 finals (1998); Doubles: 1/32 finals (with David Felgat GBR 1988).
ATP Challengers - single: winner (Eisenach 1995); doubles: winner (Vienna 1992 with Krister Wedenby SWE).
Davis Cup: 1984–1993; 14 matches, 23 wins / 15 defeats - single 16/8, doubles 7/7.
Olympic Games (1): Seoul 1988 (single, first round).
Wins over the world's top competitors: Mark Woodforde, Jeremy Bates, Nicklas Kulti, Aaron Krickstein.
PZT classification: 7. (1985), 7. (1986), 1. (1987–1995).
Polish champion titles: 11.
National MP - single: 6 times winner (1984–1989); doubles: winner 3 times (with Tomasz Maliszewski 1986, 1987 and 1989); mix: winner (with Beata Gumuła 1985), finalist (with Magdalena Mróz 1987).
Halowe MP - single: winner (1990), finalist (1984); doubles: finalist (with Wojciech Jamroz 1990).
1984 - 1988
1
7
5
1984 - Polish National Championships (Amateur)
Round 1
Pieter Aldrich 1 *
Wojtek Kowalski
7-5
6-3
6-4
Semifinals
Wojtek Kowalski 1 *
Lech Bieńkowski
6-1
4-6
7-5
Final
Waldemar Rogowski 1 *
Wojtek Kowalski
6-1
6-7
6-2
6-1
Round 3
Wojtek Kowalski 1 *
Maciej Koska
7-5
4-6
7-5
6-3
Quarterfinals
Wojtek Kowalski 1 *
Ryszard Major
6-4
6-2
4-6
6-2
Semifinals
Wojtek Kowalski 1 *
Waldemar Rogowski
6-2
4-6
6-4
4-6
6-3
Final
Wojtek Kowalski 1 *
Lech Bieńkowski
5-7
7-5
6-3
6-1