It was supposed to be the first day of my grown-up life. My first time alone, playing basketball abroad. It became the first day of my new, second life, though……
GLOBAL:
Natasa Kovacevic
Natasa Kovacevic
She was born on May 20th, 1994 in Belgrade and she played for all Serbian national team’s age categories, winning the bronze medal in the 2012 U18 European championship. Started her club career in Partizan Belgrade, during the 2008-2009 season. In 2010 she moved to Vozdovac and in 2013 she played for Red Star Belgrade. In the summer of the same year, she signed with Hungarian Uni Gyor. On September 7th, 2013, after an accident with the team’s bus, she had her left leg amputated below the knee. Following the recovery, she became the first player in the Serbian league with a prosthetic leg in 2015, playing for Red Star and winning the 2016 Serbian Cup. She retired from professional basketball and she became Red Star women’s team president for the 2016-2017 season. Kovacevic has worked as a FIBA ambassador and Technical Delegate and she finished her higher education. Earning a Bachelor of Economics and Tourism/Hotel Management from the University of Singidunum, a degree in Sports Management from the University Nikola Tesla and a Master in Engineer Management from the Northumbria University of Newcastle. In 2017 she was the author of her autobiography «Steps» and on September 2020, French President, Emmanuel Macron, awarded Kovacevic with the highest order of France, the Legion of Honor and appointed her a Knight of the National Order of Merit. She is now working with the Serbian basketball federation and running the «Natasa Kovacevic Foundation», which is established to help young athletes and kids with disabilities.