She is the first Polish female tennis player in Open Era to reach the Top 50 on the WTA ranking. Her highest career singles ranking is world No. 47, which she achieved in September 1995. She is also the first Polish female tennis player, who represented her country at the Olympics (1992 Barcelona Olympics).
Early life and tennis career
She began playing at the times of the hard rules of the communist period in Poland: tennis was considered by the authorities as a sport reserved for the elite and was not profitable because it was not among the Olympic sports then.[2]
Poland was facing economic catastrophe until the fall of Communism.
She began competing in the Grand Slams in 1990. After winning three rounds of qualifications at French Open, she qualified to the second round in 1994 – losing to Lindsay Davenport, future world number 1. She qualified and advanced to the third round in 1995 – losing to Kimiko Date, number 4 at the WTA.
Nowak also reached the second round of Wimbledon in 1992.
In the years 1988-1995, she was the leader of the Polish Billie Jean King Cup’s Team in: Melbourne (1988), Tokyo (1989), Atlanta (1990), Nottingham (1991), Frankfurt (1992-1994) and Barcelona (1995).
She played her first match for the Polish team in 1988 in Melbourne where Italy dominated Poland 2-1. Nowak beat Laura Garrone to score her team’s only point.
In 1991, the Polish team defeated six seeded France, with Katarzyna Nowak beating Nathalie Tauziat, a future Wimbledon runner-up. One year later in Frankfurt: Katarzyna Nowak, Magdalena Mróz and Katarzyna Teodorowicz advanced to the Fed Cup quarter-finals for the first time in history, winning against Sweden and Israel.
As the number 1 player in her team, Katarzyna Nowak defeated Catarina Lindqvist and Anna Smashnova. This success was only repeated by one other Polish team in 2015. Nowak won a total of 9 singles matches in the Fed Cup.
Achievements
She won 7 Polish championship titles in senior and was nominated the best Polish tennis player in years 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1995.
Retirement
She retired from the professional tour in 1998 due to back pain.
Nowak has been a tennis commentator and expert on the Polsat Sport Television from 2004 to 2022, commentating on tennis tournaments such as Wimbledon, Miami Open, Indian Wells, Rolex Monte Carlo, Internacjonale di Italia Rome, French Open, Rolex Szanghaj, and the Cincinnati Open.
In 2021, for the 100th anniversary of the Polish Tennis Federation, she was awarded an Order of Rebirth of Poland for her outstanding sport achievements in such a difficult period, her pioneer role and civic action for the development and promotion of sport.
In 2022, she was awarded the Gold badge of honor of the Polish Tennis Federation.
In 2025 during Billie Jean King Cup in Gorzów Wielkopolski Katarzyna was honourd by president of Polish Tennis Federation a special statuette for services to the Polish national team and to the development and popularization of tennis in Poland.
In 2015, she received an award for her extreme commitment and for contributing to Polsat Sport 1 as the best sports channel in Poland.
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