WIMBLEDON, England — After winning her second major singles title following an emotional match on Saturday, Barbora Krejcikova raised her hands in the air in celebration and pointed to the sky.
Needing three match points and nearly two hours, she had just defeated Jasmine Paolini, the No. 7 seed and crowd favorite, in three sets, 6-2, 2-6, 6-4, to claim her first Wimbledon title as former champions Billie Jean King, Martina Navratilova and Maria Sharapova watched from the royal box.
Krejcikova became the eighth woman to win the prestigious title in eight years.
“I have no words right now,” Krejcikova told the Centre Court crowd moments later during the trophy presentation. “It's definitely the best day of my tennis career and also the best day of my life.”
The 28-year-old Czech had already won the 2021 French Open as well as 11 other major titles in doubles and mixed doubles but had not made it past the quarterfinals in singles at a Grand Slam since her triumph in Paris more than three years ago. After a difficult season that included a back injury, illness and an 0-4 record on clay, Krejcikova was not considered a favorite to win at the All England Club. She had never before made it past the fourth round and her ranking, which once stood as high as No. 2, had fallen to No. 32. ESPN Bet had given her 100-1 odds to win the tournament before play began.
But Krejcikova seemed to improve with each match she played during the fortnight. She beat No. 11 seed Danielle Collins and No. 13 seed Jelena Ostapenko in the round of 16 and quarterfinals, respectively, in straight sets. In the semifinals, she rallied after losing the first set to defeat Elena Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon champion, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
On Saturday she faced Paolini, the surprise finalist at the 2024 French Open who had staged a comeback in the semifinals against Donna Vekic to win in a thrilling tiebreak in the deciding set, 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (10-8) and looked primed to do the same in the final for most of the final two sets. Krejcikova had controlled the opening set, winning 10 of the first 11 points and taking a 5-1 lead at the double break. But Paolini showed exactly what has gotten her this far in her breakout season and, after a bathroom stop between sets, rallied to win the first three games.
In the deciding set, both players traded games until Paolini lost serve at 3-3 after her only double fault of the match. From there, Krejcikova gained momentum and won all four points in the next game, but then struggled to close out the match. Finally, on her third match point, she did so. Paolini later praised her opponent.
“You played amazing,” Paolini told Krejcikova on court. “You play beautiful tennis.”
In an interview with ESPN's Mary Joe Fernandez, Krejcikova called it an “incredible battle” and said she knew Paolini would raise her level in the second set. But in the deciding set, she had tried to find her opportunities and maintain her composure as much as possible while serving to win the match. She said she only repeated two words in her head in the final moments.
“Be brave,” Krejcikova said. “I tried because I knew I had to do it and I had to be brave. And yes, I'm very happy that I did it.”
With this victory, Krejcikova became the first player in the Open Era to win her first two Grand Slam finals in deciding sets. Her 175 games played in the fortnight in singles marked the most by a female champion in the Open Era. During her post-match interview, Krejcikova became emotional, as she had been after her semifinal victory, when speaking of her late mentor Jana Novotna, who had won the Wimbledon title in 1998. Novotna, also from the Czech Republic, died of ovarian cancer in 2017 at the age of 49.
“When I finished juniors, I didn't know if I should continue and play as a professional or if I should go down the path of education, and Jana was the one who told me that I had the potential and that I should turn professional and just try to succeed,” Krejcikova said. “And before she died she told me to go and win a Grand Slam. I achieved that in Paris. It was an amazing moment for me and for myself.” [then] I never dreamed that I would win the same trophy as Jana in 1998.”
Krejcikova pointed to the sky after her French Open victory in tribute to Novotna and later explained: “I know all this has happened because she is watching over me from up there.”
Following her Wimbledon appearance, Krejcikova will return to the top 10 of the latest rankings. The defending doubles gold medalist alongside Katerina Siniakova will be looking to get back on the podium when the Olympic Games begin later this month at Roland Garros. Krejcikova will also play singles and will look to build on her strong form before the season shifts to hard courts ahead of the US Open.
Paolini rises to world number 5, a new career high, after the tournament.
