"10 is my number" — Maja Ognjenović on making EuroVolley history

A playmaking queen. An exceptional captain. A role model. A true Volleyball legend and icon. Maja Ognjenović has returned to the EuroVolley stage for a historic 10th appearance at the European Championship, reaching the milestone alongside Türkiye’s Eda Erdem at CEV Trendyol EuroVolley 2026 Women. But for Ognjenović, numbers tell only part of the story. A two-time EuroVolley champion, she continues to prove that there is no limit to what can be achieved when passion becomes a way of life. Reflecting on her extraordinary career, her EuroVolley journey and her long-standing partnership with coach Zoran Terzić, Ognjenović shares a message that reaches far beyond the Volleyball court - with her fellow players, her fans and everyone who believes in the power of passion: “When you do things with love, when you enjoy what you do, then everything is possible.”

One of the most decorated players in the history of the competition, widely recognised and admired around the world for her skills and charisma, Maja Ognjenović returned to the Serbian national team this summer. Her medal cabinet includes six EuroVolley medals - two gold, three silver and one bronze - making her one of the most successful players in the history of the European Championship. Now, at 42, she is writing another chapter in that remarkable story alongside Eda Erdem, as the two legends become the first players to compete at 10 editions of EuroVolley.

More than 20 years after making her EuroVolley debut in Zagreb in 2005, the 42-year-old is still performing at the highest level. Her journey has taken her through ten editions of the European Championship - 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2019, 2021, 2023 and now 2026 - but the number itself is particularly meaningful to her.

“It’s very special, I would say, especially because it’s not a random number - it’s my number! I would never have expected to play at the European Championship for the 10th time. Especially because in 2017 I skipped it, so I’m really excited. If I didn’t feel this excitement inside and the love that I really feel for playing Volleyball, I would never be here. I can also say that I’m proud of myself, because there aren’t many athletes who reach such a milestone. When I see all these articles and posts on social media, especially when I see the years when I started - in 2005 in Zagreb, which I remember very well, and then 2007 - it seems like it was 100 years ago. But honestly, 20 years is a really long period. It was really not easy to stay at the same top level all these years and to accept all the challenges that Volleyball brings. If I compare 2009 or 2011, when we won in Belgrade, with now, volleyball is very different.”

Across her two-decade EuroVolley journey, Maja Ognjenović has collected countless memories, but two moments stand out above the rest.

“I have actually two, for sure. The final in Belgrade in 2011, when we won our first gold medal, and also the final in 2019 against the Turkish team in Ankara, in front of around 10,000 Turkish spectators. We were losing 8-11 in the tie-break, and we won the title. It was really something crazy, something I will never forget. Those two are the most special. Of course, I remember many good and tough matches, emotional ones as well. I also remember very well one really bad game for us in Berlin, when we lost the bronze-medal match. But those two finals are definitely my best memories.”

Maja Ognjenović’s career is also inseparable from one name: Zoran Terzić. The Serbian coach guided her through some of the greatest achievements of her career, and now their long-standing partnership has been renewed with his return to the Serbian bench. For her, the connection goes far beyond that of a player and coach.

“I’ve said many times that he is the coach who, even today, has a huge impact on my career. Everything that I know - of course, there are maybe two or three other coaches whom I really respect and appreciate working with, and who also affected my career - but Zoran is something more. He is the coach who discovered me and gave me the opportunity to play when I was 20 or 21 years old. He was the one who gave me my first nomination, and he is also the coach who knows me the best. This kind of relationship and this kind of connection is really something more. Even today, after all these years of working together, when I see that he is trying to teach me something different, I listen to him. And when I don’t know what to do, I look at him and wait for his help.”

Their reunion would not have happened, however, if Ognjenović had not decided to reverse the decision she made after the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, where she also had the honour of carrying Serbia’s flag at the Opening Ceremony.  After announcing her retirement from the national team, she spent a year away before eventually realising that the desire to play was still there.

“Many things made me come back, but mainly I realised that I’m still really enjoying playing Volleyball. All these things that people say about playing at my age - honestly, it’s not easy. It’s really challenging. But not mentioning my age, there aren’t many athletes who are playing at this level at this age. After the season I had in Scandicci, where I’m going to play for the fourth season, I really realised that I’m playing with the same excitement and that I really love it. There is nothing that I would say I cannot do. I don’t want to say that everything is easy, but there is nothing on the court that I cannot do. Everything that is in my mind and that I want to transfer into action on the court, I can do without any problems. Of course, physically I feel good, and I’m always trying to stay in shape and take care of myself. Zoran was following all of us in our leagues and, in January, he called me. When he realised that I had signed for another season, he asked if I would like to come back to the national team. I said yes, of course. We had maybe a two-minute phone call - he didn’t have to convince me. My answer was, ‘If you think I can help the team.’ And he said, ‘Of course, of course. We need you.’ And here I am.”

Ognjenović’s influence extends far beyond her statistics and medals. For younger players, she represents longevity, professionalism and a level of passion that has kept her at the top for more than two decades. But when asked about being a role model, she does not speak about records or achievements. Instead, she returns to the one thing she believes has made the difference throughout her career: love for the game.

“I’m really thankful to hear this. I think that not only in sport, not only in volleyball, what is really, in my opinion, from the deepest point of my soul, is that everything we do in life, we have to do with love. If we do things with love - and the biggest love I feel is volleyball - then things really come more easily. In my case, this is the key.”

Two decades after first stepping onto the EuroVolley stage, Ognjenović is still writing her story. The medals, records and historic milestones have already secured her place among the greats. Yet her 10th European Championship perhaps says as much about what she still feels as it does about everything she has already achieved.