Katarina Srebotnik is a Slovenian former professional tennis player, born on 12 March 1981 in Slovenj Gradec, then part of Yugoslavia and now Slovenia.
She turned professional in the late 1990s and competed until her official retirement in 2022, with her last match in 2020.
Nicknamed Kata, she resided in Dubai after her career and became one of Slovenia’s most successful athletes, amassing more than eight million dollars in prize money.
She is recognized as the country’s highest-earning female athlete of all time based on tournament earnings.
Siblings
Katarina is the younger of two daughters born to Jože and Zlatka Srebotnik. Her older sister is named Urška.
The sisters trained in tennis together for a time during their youth and competed against each other with intensity, though Urška later shifted her focus more toward dance.
Career
Srebotnik began competing on the ITF circuit in the mid-1990s and quickly showed promise as a junior, winning the 1998 Wimbledon girls’ singles title and finishing as runner-up at the US Open juniors.
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She secured her first WTA titles early, including a singles victory in Estoril in 1999 that, along with doubles and mixed doubles successes that same year, earned her a Guinness World Record as the first and youngest player to claim debut titles in all three categories.
In singles she reached a career-high ranking of world No. 20 in August 2006, won four WTA titles, and advanced to the fourth round of major tournaments such as the French Open and US Open.
Her greatest achievements came in doubles and mixed doubles.
She captured 39 WTA doubles titles, including the 2011 Wimbledon Championships with partner Květa Peschke, and rose to world No. 1 in doubles on 4 July 2011, holding the position for ten weeks.
In mixed doubles she won five Grand Slam titles: the French Open in 1999, 2006 and 2010; the US Open in 2003; and the Australian Open in 2011.
She also represented Slovenia in the Fed Cup and at three Olympic Games.
After focusing primarily on doubles from 2011 onward, she continued competing successfully into her late thirties before retiring.
Accolades
Srebotnik’s honors include six Grand Slam titles in total, one in women’s doubles and five in mixed doubles, along with multiple appearances in major finals.
She and Peschke were named the WTA Doubles Team of the Year and ITF World Champions in 2011 after their Wimbledon triumph and strong season.
Her four singles titles and 39 doubles titles place her among the more decorated players of her generation, while her peak doubles ranking of No. 1 and career prize money exceeding eight million dollars underscore her consistency and success.
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