Wojciech Fibak (Polish pronunciation: [ˈvɔjt͡ɕɛx ˈfibak]; popularly Wojtek Fibak [ˈvɔjtɛk -]; born 30 August 1952) is a Polish former professional tennis player, entrepreneur, and art collector. Fibak is best known for his doubles success with Dutch pro Tom Okker and Australian Kim Warwick, although he also reached the Top 10 in singles.

Wojciech Fibak
Wojciech Fibak in 1982
ITF nameWojtek Fibak
Country (sports) Poland
ResidencePoznań, Poland
Born (1952-08-30) 30 August 1952 (age 72)
Poznań, Poland
Height1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
PlaysRight-handed (one-handed backhand)
Prize money$2,725,403[1]
Singles
Career record536–314
Career titles15
Highest rankingNo. 10 (25 July 1977)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open3R (1978)
French OpenQF (1977, 1980)
WimbledonQF (1980)
US OpenQF (1980)
Other tournaments
Tour FinalsF (1976)
WCT FinalsQF (1977, 1981, 1982)
Doubles
Career record527–248
Career titles52
Highest rankingNo. 2 (5 February 1979)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian OpenW (1978)
French OpenF (1977)
WimbledonSF (1978)
US OpenSF (1978)
Other doubles tournaments
Tour FinalsW (1976, 1978)

Throughout his career, he won 15 ATP career singles titles as well as 52 ATP doubles titles including one Grand Slam title, the 1978 Australian Open. He was also the runner-up at the 1976 ATP Finals.

Biography and personal life

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Born in Poznań, Poland, he won his first tournament in 1976, and between then and 1982 won 15 singles titles and 52 doubles titles. His best year was arguably 1980, when he reached the quarter-finals at the French Open, the US Open and Wimbledon. Fibak's career singles win–loss record was 520–310, and he reached his career-high singles ranking of World No. 10 on 25 July 1977. His highest doubles ranking was World No. 2, which he reached in February 1979. He was consistently ranked in the top 20 in singles, and earned $2,725,403 in career prize money.

The highlight of his career was winning the Australian Open men's doubles in 1978 with Kim Warwick. They beat Paul Kronk and Cliff Letcher 7–6, 7–5 to take the title.

In 1983 he was banned from his local Poznań tennis club and faced reduced involvement from the Polish Tennis Federation and Davis Cup national team for his opposition to the communist PZPR government.[2]

In 1985, Fibak founded the Polish Tennis Club (Polish Tennis Association of Southern California); in the 1990s he was head of the Polish Tennis Federation and widely credited with popularising the sport in his native country. After the fall of communism in the early 1990s his company Fibak Press acquired the regional former PZPR mouthpiece Gazeta Poznańska, until it was acquired by rivals Głos Wielkopolski in 2006, and published several other newspapers and magazines as well as being involved in books related to tennis.

He is also a businessman and an avid art collector, and used his tennis fortune to open the art gallery Galeria Fibak in 2001.[3]

Fibak divides his time between Warsaw and Monaco, where he was Poland's honorary consul.[4] He is a self-declared local patriot and was close to fellow local billionaire Jan Kulczyk.[5]

He has three daughters: Agnieszka, Paulina, and Nina.

Grand Slam finals

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Doubles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)

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Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 1977 French Open Clay   Jan Kodeš   Brian Gottfried
  Raúl Ramírez
6–7, 6–4, 3–6, 4–6
Win 1978 Australian Open Grass   Kim Warwick   Paul Kronk
  Cliff Letcher
7–6, 7–5

Career finals

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Singles: 34 (15 titles, 19 runners-up)

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Result No. Year Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Loss 1. 1975 Shreveport, US Carpet   Juan Gisbert Sr. 3–6, 7–5, 1–6
Loss 2. 1976 Monte Carlo WCT, Monaco Clay   Guillermo Vilas 1–6, 1–6, 4–6
Win 1. 1976 Stockholm, Sweden Carpet   Ilie Năstase 6–4, 7–6
Win 2. 1976 Bournemouth, England Clay   Manuel Orantes 6–2, 7–9, 6–2, 6–2
Loss 3. 1976 Louisville, US Clay   Harold Solomon 2–6, 5–7
Loss 4. 1976 Indianapolis, US Clay   Jimmy Connors 2–6, 4–6
Loss 5. 1976 Montreal, Canada Hard   Guillermo Vilas 4–6, 6–7, 2–6
Win 3. 1976 Vienna, Austria Hard (i)   Raúl Ramírez 6–7, 6–3, 6–4, 2–6, 6–1
Loss 6. 1976 Masters, Houston Carpet   Manuel Orantes 7–5, 2–6, 6–0, 6–7, 1–6
Loss 7. 1977 Mexico City WCT, Mexico Hard   Ilie Năstase 6–4, 2–6, 6–7
Win 4. 1977 Monterrey WCT, Mexico Carpet   Vitas Gerulaitis 6–4, 6–3
Loss 8. 1977 Buenos Aires, Argentina Clay   Guillermo Vilas 4–6, 3–6, 0–6
Win 5. 1977 Düsseldorf, West Germany Clay   Raymond Moore 6–1, 5–7, 6–2
Loss 9. 1977 Vienna, Austria Hard (i)   Brian Gottfried 1–6, 1–6
Loss 10. 1977 Cologne, West Germany Carpet   Björn Borg 6–2, 5–7, 3–6
Loss 11. 1978 Hamburg, West Germany Clay   Guillermo Vilas 2–6, 4–6, 2–6
Win 6. 1978 Cologne, West Germany Hard (i)   Vijay Amritraj 6–2, 0–1, RET.
Win 7. 1979 Denver, US Carpet   Victor Amaya 6–4, 6–1
Win 8. 1979 Stuttgart Indoor, West Germany Hard (i)   Guillermo Vilas 6–2, 6–2, 3–6, 6–2
Loss 12. 1979 Munich, West Germany Clay   Manuel Orantes 3–6, 2–6, 4–6
Loss 13. 1979 Vienna, Austria Hard (i)   Stan Smith 4–6, 0–6, 2–6
Loss 14. 1979 Cologne, West Germany Hard (i)   Gene Mayer 3–6, 6–3, 1–6
Win 9. 1980 Dayton, US Carpet   Bruce Manson 7–6, 6–3
Win 10. 1980 New Orleans, US Carpet   Eliot Teltscher 6–4, 7–5
Win 11. 1980 São Paulo, Brazil Carpet   Vincent Van Patten 6–0, 7–6
Loss 15. 1980 Stuttgart, West Germany Clay   Vitas Gerulaitis 2–6, 5–7, 2–6
Loss 16. 1981 Philadelphia, US Carpet   Roscoe Tanner 2–6, 6–7, 5–7
Win 12. 1981 Gstaad, Switzerland Clay   Yannick Noah 6–1, 7–6
Loss 17. 1982 Naples Finals WCT, Italy Carpet   Ivan Lendl 4–6, 2–6, 1–6
Win 13. 1982 Amsterdam WCT, Netherlands Carpet   Kevin Curren 7–5, 3–6, 6–4, 6–3
Win 14. 1982 Paris Indoor, France Hard (i)   Bill Scanlon 6–2, 6–2, 6–2
Loss 18. 1982 Dortmund, West Germany Carpet   Brian Teacher 7–6, 4–6, 4–6, 6–2, 4–6
Win 15. 1982 Chicago-2 WCT, US Carpet   Bill Scanlon 6–2, 2–6, 6–3, 6–4
Loss 19. 1983 Basel, Switzerland Hard (i)   Vitas Gerulaitis 6–4, 1–6, 5–7, 5–5, RET.


Doubles (52 titles, 33 runners-up)

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Result No. Year Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1. 1975 Munich, West Germany Clay   Jan Kodeš   Milan Holeček
  Karl Meiler
7–5, 6–3
Loss 1. 1975 Hamburg, West Germany Clay   Jan Kodeš   Juan Gisbert Sr.
  Manuel Orantes
3–6, 6–7
Win 2. 1975 Hilversum, Netherlands Clay   Guillermo Vilas   Željko Franulović
  John Lloyd
6–4, 6–3
Loss 2. 1975 Indianapolis, US Clay   Hans-Jürgen Pohmann   Juan Gisbert Sr.
  Manuel Orantes
5–7, 0–6
Win 3. 1975 Louisville, US Clay   Guillermo Vilas   Vijay Amritraj
  Anand Amritraj
NP
Loss 3. 1975 Barcelona, Spain Clay   Karl Meiler   Björn Borg
  Guillermo Vilas
6–3, 4–6, 3–6
Win 4. 1975 Paris Indoor, France Hard (i)   Karl Meiler   Ilie Năstase
  Tom Okker
6–4, 7–6
Win 5. 1975 London, England Carpet   Karl Meiler   Jimmy Connors
  Ilie Năstase
6–1, 7–5
Loss 4. 1976 Atlanta WCT, US Carpet   Karl Meiler   John Alexander
  Phil Dent
3–6, 4–6
Loss 5. 1976 Barcelona WCT, Spain Clay   Karl Meiler   Robert Lutz
  Stan Smith
3–6, 3–6
Win 6. 1976 Barcelona, Spain Clay   Jacek Niedźwiedzki   Colin Dowdeswell
  Paul Kronk
6–2, 6–3
Loss 6. 1976 Nice, France Clay   Karl Meiler   Patrice Dominguez
  François Jauffret
4–6, 6–3, 3–6
Win 7. 1976 Monte Carlo WCT, Monaco Clay   Karl Meiler   Björn Borg
  Guillermo Vilas
7–6, 6–1
Win 8. 1976 World Doubles WCT, US Carpet   Karl Meiler   Robert Lutz
  Stan Smith
6–3, 2–6, 3–6, 6–3, 6–4
Win 9. 1976 Bournemouth, England Clay   Fred McNair   Juan Gisbert Sr.
  Manuel Orantes
4–6, 7–5, 7–5
Win 10. 1976 Düsseldorf, West Germany Clay   Karl Meiler   Bob Carmichael
  Raymond Moore
6–4, 4–6, 6–4
Loss 7. 1976 Båstad, Sweden Clay   Juan Gisbert Sr.   Fred McNair
  Sherwood Stewart
3–6, 4–6
Loss 8. 1976 Hilversum, Netherlands Clay   Balázs Taróczy   Ricardo Cano
  Belus Prajoux
4–6, 3–6
Win 11. 1976 Tehran, Iran Clay   Raúl Ramírez   Juan Gisbert Sr.
  Manuel Orantes
7–5, 6–1
Win 12. 1976 Madrid, Spain Clay   Raúl Ramírez   Bob Hewitt
  Frew McMillan
4–6, 7–5, 6–3
Loss 9. 1976 Wembley, England Carpet   Brian Gottfried   Stan Smith
  Roscoe Tanner
6–7, 3–6
Win 13. 1977 Birmingham WCT, US Carpet   Tom Okker   Billy Martin
  Bill Scanlon
6–3, 6–4
Loss 10. 1977 Philadelphia WCT, US Carpet   Tom Okker   Bob Hewitt
  Frew McMillan
1–6, 6–1, 3–6
Win 14. 1977 Richmond WCT, US Carpet   Tom Okker   Ross Case
  Tony Roche
6–4, 6–4
Win 15. 1977 Mexico City WCT, Mexico Hard   Tom Okker   Ilie Năstase
  Adriano Panatta
6–2, 6–3
Win 16. 1977 Toronto Indoor WCT, Canada Carpet   Tom Okker   Ross Case
  Tony Roche
6–4, 6–1
Win 17. 1977 Monterrey WCT, Mexico Carpet   Ross Case   Billy Martin
  Bill Scanlon
3–6, 6–3, 6–4
Win 18. 1977 Rotterdam, Netherlands Carpet   Tom Okker   Vijay Amritraj
  Dick Stockton
6–4, 6–4
Loss 11. 1977 Monte Carlo WCT, Monaco Clay   Tom Okker   François Jauffret
  Jan Kodeš
6–2, 3–6, 2–6
Win 19. 1977 Buenos Aires, Argentina Clay   Ion Țiriac   Lito Álvarez
  Guillermo Vilas
7–5, 0–6, 7–6
Loss 12. 1977 French Open, Paris Clay   Jan Kodeš   Brian Gottfried
  Raúl Ramírez
6–7, 6–4, 3–6, 4–6
Win 20. 1977 South Orange, US Hard   Colin Dibley   Ion Țiriac
  Guillermo Vilas
6–1, 7–5
Win 21. 1977 Barcelona, Spain Clay   Jan Kodeš   Bob Hewitt
  Frew McMillan
6–0, 6–4
Loss 13. 1977 Vienna, Austria Hard (i)   Jan Kodeš   Bob Hewitt
  Frew McMillan
4–6, 3–6
Win 22. 1977 Stockholm, Sweden Hard (i)   Tom Okker   Brian Gottfried
  Raúl Ramírez
6–3, 6–3
Loss 14. 1978 St. Louis WCT, US Carpet   Tom Okker   Bob Hewitt
  Frew McMillan
3–6, 2–6
Loss 15. 1978 Milan WCT, Italy Carpet   Raúl Ramírez   José Higueras
  Víctor Pecci
7–5, 6–7, 6–7
Win 23. 1978 Houston WCT, US Clay   Tom Okker   Tom Leonard
  Mike Machette
7–5, 7–5
Win 24. 1978 World Doubles WCT, US Carpet   Tom Okker   Robert Lutz
  Stan Smith
6–7, 6–4, 6–0, 6–3
Win 25. 1978 Hamburg, West Germany Clay   Tom Okker   Antonio Muñoz
  Víctor Pecci
6–2, 6–4
Win 26. 1978 Louisville, US Clay   Víctor Pecci   Victor Amaya
  John James
6–4, 6–7, 6–4
Win 27. 1978 Toronto, Canada Clay   Tom Okker   Colin Dowdeswell
  Heinz Günthardt
6–3, 7–6
Win 28. 1978 Woodlands Doubles, US Hard   Tom Okker   Marty Riessen
  Sherwood Stewart
7–6, 3–6, 4–6, 7–6, 6–3
Win 29. 1978 Madrid, Spain Clay   Jan Kodeš   Pavel Složil
  Tomáš Šmíd
6–7, 6–1, 6–2
Win 30. 1978 Basel, Switzerland Hard (i)   John McEnroe   Bruce Manson
  Andrew Pattison
7–6, 7–5
Win 31. 1978 Stockholm, Sweden Hard (i)   Tom Okker   Robert Lutz
  Stan Smith
6–3, 6–2
Win 32. 1978 Australian Open, Melbourne Grass   Kim Warwick   Paul Kronk
  Cliff Letcher
7–6, 7–5
Win 33. 1979 Philadelphia, US Carpet   Tom Okker   Peter Fleming
  John McEnroe
5–7, 6–1, 6–3
Loss 16. 1979 Denver, US Carpet   Tom Okker   Robert Lutz
  Stan Smith
6–7, 3–6
Win 34. 1979 Memphis, US Carpet   Tom Okker   Frew McMillan
  Dick Stockton
6–4, 6–4
Win 35. 1979 Stuttgart Indoor, West Germany Hard (i)   Tom Okker   Bob Carmichael
  Brian Teacher
6–3, 5–7, 7–6
Win 36. 1979 Munich, West Germany Clay   Tom Okker   Jürgen Fassbender
  Jean-Louis Haillet
7–6, 7–5
Loss 17. 1979 Stuttgart Outdoor, West Germany Clay   Pavel Složil   Colin Dowdeswell
  Frew McMillan
4–6, 2–6, 6–2, 4–6
Loss 18. 1979 Los Angeles, US Carpet   Frew McMillan   Marty Riessen
  Sherwood Stewart
4–6, 4–6
Loss 19. 1979 San Francisco, US Carpet   Frew McMillan   Peter Fleming
  John McEnroe
1–6, 4–6
Loss 20. 1979 Stockholm, Sweden Hard (i)   Tom Okker   Peter Fleming
  John McEnroe
4–6, 4–6
Loss 21. 1980 Masters Doubles WCT, London Carpet   Tom Okker   Brian Gottfried
  Raúl Ramírez
6–3, 4–6, 4–6, 6–3, 3–6
Win 37. 1980 Birmingham, US Carpet   Tom Okker   José Luis Clerc
  Ilie Năstase
6–3, 6–3
Loss 22. 1980 Denver, US Carpet   Heinz Günthardt   Kevin Curren
  Steve Denton
5–7, 2–6
Win 38. 1980 Stuttgart Indoor, West Germany Hard (i)   Tomáš Šmíd   Tim Mayotte
  Larry Stefanki
6–4, 7–6
Win 39. 1980 Dayton, US Carpet   Geoff Masters   Fritz Buehning
  Fred McNair
6–4, 6–4
Loss 23. 1980 Las Vegas, US Clay   Gene Mayer   Robert Lutz
  Stan Smith
2–6, 5–7
Loss 24. 1980 Indianapolis, US Clay   Ivan Lendl   Kevin Curren
  Steve Denton
6–3, 6–7, 4–6
Loss 25. 1980 Cincinnati, US Hard   Ivan Lendl   Bruce Manson
  Brian Teacher
7–6, 5–7, 4–6
Win 40. 1982 Strasbourg WCT, France Carpet   John Fitzgerald   Sandy Mayer
  Frew McMillan
6–4, 6–3
Loss 26. 1982 Zürich WCT, Switzerland Carpet   John Fitzgerald   Sammy Giammalva Jr.
  Tom Gullikson
4–6, 2–6
Loss 27. 1982 Rome, Italy Clay   John Fitzgerald   Heinz Günthardt
  Balázs Taróczy
4–6, 6–4, 3–6
Win 41. 1982 Zell Am See WCT, Austria Clay   Bruce Manson   Tony Giammalva
  Sammy Giammalva Jr.
6–7, 6–4, 6–4
Loss 28. 1983 Gstaad, Switzerland Clay   Colin Dowdeswell   Pavel Složil
  Tomáš Šmíd
7–6, 4–6, 2–6
Win 42. 1983 Kitzbühel, Austria Clay   Pavel Složil   Colin Dowdeswell
  Zoltán Kuhárszky
7–5, 6–2
Win 43. 1984 Rotterdam, Netherlands Carpet   Kevin Curren   Fritz Buehning
  Ferdi Taygan
6–4, 6–4
Win 44. 1984 Munich, West Germany Clay   Boris Becker   Eric Fromm
  Florin Segărceanu
6–4, 4–6, 6–1
Loss 29. 1984 Kitzbühel, Austria Clay   Colin Dowdeswell   Henri Leconte
  Pascal Portes
6–2, 6–7, 6–7
Loss 30. 1984 Los Angeles, US Hard   Sandy Mayer   Ken Flach
  Robert Seguso
6–4, 4–6, 3–6
Win 45. 1984 Cologne, West Germany Hard (i)   Sandy Mayer   Jan Gunnarsson
  Joakim Nyström
6–1, 6–3
Win 46. 1984 Vienna, Austria Hard (i)   Sandy Mayer   Heinz Günthardt
  Balázs Taróczy
6–4, 6–4
Loss 31. 1985 Philadelphia, US Carpet   Sandy Mayer   Joakim Nyström
  Mats Wilander
6–3, 2–6, 2–6
Loss 32. 1985 Brussels, Belgium Carpet   Kevin Curren   Stefan Edberg
  Anders Järryd
3–6, 6–7
Win 47. 1985 Gstaad, Switzerland Clay   Tomáš Šmíd   Brad Drewett
  Mark Edmondson
6–7, 6–4, 6–4
Win 48. 1986 Toronto Indoor, Canada Carpet   Joakim Nyström   Christo Steyn
  Danie Visser
6–3, 7–6
Win 49. 1986 Metz, France Carpet   Guy Forget   Francisco González
  Michiel Schapers
2–6, 6–2, 6–4
Loss 33. 1986 Rotterdam, Netherlands Carpet   Matt Mitchell   Stefan Edberg
  Slobodan Živojinović
6–2, 3–6, 2–6
Win 50. 1986 Vienna, Austria Hard (i)   Ricardo Acioly   Brad Gilbert
  Slobodan Živojinović
W/O
Win 51. 1987 Hilversum, Netherlands Clay   Miloslav Mečíř   Tom Nijssen
  Johan Vekemans
7–6, 5–7, 6–2
Win 52. 1987 Toulouse, France Hard (i)   Michiel Schapers   Kelly Jones
  Patrik Kühnen
6–2, 6–4

Grand Slam doubles performance timeline

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Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# DNQ A NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.
Tournament 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 Career SR
Australian Open A A A A W A A A A A A A NH A 1 / 1
French Open 1R 3R 3R F SF 2R SF A 2R 1R 1R 1R 1R 1R 0 / 13
Wimbledon A 2R QF QF SF 1R 2R A A 2R 1R 1R 3R 2R 0 / 11
US Open A 2R 2R 2R SF 2R 3R 1R 3R A 3R 2R 1R 2R 0 / 12
Annual win–loss 0–1 3–3 5–3 9–3 17–3 2–3 7–3 0–1 3–2 1–2 2–3 1–3 2–3 2–3 N/A

References

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  1. ^ "Tennis – ATP World Tour – Tennis Players – Wojtek Fibak". ATP World Tour. Retrieved 27 March 2012.
  2. ^ "Poland's top tennis player Wojtek Fibak, banned from his..." United Press International. 27 May 1983.
  3. ^ "Galeria Kolekcji Fibak". Retrieved 26 January 2023.
  4. ^ Kronika Wydarzeń. Część druga (kwiecień – czerwiec 1989), w: Kronika Miasta Poznania, nr 1-2/1991, s.229, ISSN 0137-3552
  5. ^ "Wojciech Fibak: Poznań jest wciąż mój". 21 August 2015.
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Awards and achievements
Preceded by ATP Most Improved Player
1976
Succeeded by