WIMBLEDON, England — Not even Barbora Krejcikova thought she would win the singles title at Wimbledon.
Her mentor, Jana Novotna, had won in 1998 and, before Novotna died of cancer in 2017, she had told Krejcikova to win a Grand Slam. When Krejcikova did exactly that at the French Open four years later, she was sure it was because Novotna was watching over her from above.
But Krejcikova did not believe she could repeat the feat at the All England Club. It was a miracle. “I never dreamed of winning the same trophy as Jana in 1998,” she said on Saturday.
And with the season she was having, few believed she had a chance this year. She had been battling a back injury, an illness that kept her off the court, a winless season on clay and a plummeting ranking.
But at Wimbledon, the 28-year-old Krejcikova's self-confidence grew with every match she played. And on Saturday, she surpassed her wildest dreams and won the Wimbledon title with a 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 victory over No. 7 seed Jasmine Paolini in the final. But while she called it “the best day” of her career and life on the court, Krejcikova didn't seem to be thinking about the larger implications.
“I still feel the same,” Krejcikova said. “It's great to be a two-time champion of a major tournament. It's an incredible thing. On the other hand, I'm still the same person. I still love tennis very much. I still want to continue playing good tennis and fight for other tournaments.”
AT 12 YEARS OLDKrejcikova wrote down her ultimate goal on a piece of paper: to win Roland Garros. Lifting the trophy on the red clay of Roland Garros was what motivated her in the beginning and what she imagined when she closed her eyes at the end of the day.
But meeting Novotna changed things and she started thinking about what it would be like to win Wimbledon. They had started working together when Krejcikova was 18 and had just finished her junior career. Krejcikova was unsure whether she should turn pro and her parents encouraged her to write a letter to Novotna, a former world No. 2 and fellow Czech, asking for advice. Novotna responded a week later and the two began working together soon after. Novotna told Krejcikova she had potential and encouraged her to turn pro.
They soon became friends and Krejcikova valued her guidance and friendship. Novotna would tell her stories about Wimbledon, what the grass was like and how difficult it was to become a champion.
“I think that's when I started watching Wimbledon. [as] “The biggest tournament in the world,” Krejcikova said Saturday.
But it was at the 2021 French Open that she would win the first major title she had dreamed of.
Playing in just her fifth career major main draw and unseeded, Krejcikova formally introduced herself to the tennis world with a dynamic run to the title, defeating Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-1, 2-6, 6-4 in the final. She had already won doubles titles at the French Open and Wimbledon (both with compatriot Katerina Siniakova) and three mixed doubles titles at the Australian Open, but had generally not been a factor in singles play.
Since her breakthrough in Paris, she has continued to play doubles and find success. She and Siniaková won the French Open doubles title the day after she won the singles trophy, and together they won four more Grand Slam doubles titles and Olympic gold in Tokyo before splitting as a team at the end of the 2023 season.
But consistent results in singles have proven more difficult. Krejcikova made her main-draw debuts at both Wimbledon and the US Open after her triumph in Paris in 2021. By late summer, after reaching the fourth round and quarterfinals respectively, Krejcikova had broken into the top five.
She opened the 2022 season with a quarterfinal appearance at the Australian Open and reached a career-high world No. 2 in February. But then things took a turn. An arm injury kept her sidelined for months and she returned just in time for the French Open. She lost in the first round. Then she had to withdraw from doubles the next day after testing positive for COVID.
At the start of 2023, the tide turned. Krejcikova reached the fourth round of the Australian Open and then won the 1000-level title in Dubai after defeating four top-10 players, including No. 1 Iga Swiatek in the final. She hoped this would finally put her in the conversation among the best players in the game.
“When I read something on social media, it's about Iga, Aryna [Sabalenka]and Elena [Rybakina] “I'm not really there,” Krejcikova told WTA Insider a few weeks later. “What else should I do? How should I prove it again? … I also want to be mentioned. I want to be recognized because I think I deserve it. I've had a lot of success on the tour and I just don't get the credit.”
But she couldn’t back up her words with her play. She lost in the first round of the 2023 French Open and had to withdraw from her second-round match at Wimbledon with an ankle injury. She went 0-2 in hard-court tournaments before the U.S. Open and then lost her opening match in New York. She salvaged her season by winning in singles and doubles in San Diego soon after, but by season’s end she had parted ways with her longtime coach and Siniakova in doubles, and it was back to the drawing board in the brief offseason.
Krejcikova opened 2024 with a quarterfinal appearance at the Australian Open, but a back injury kept her out for much of the hard-court season. She returned in time for the clay portion of the schedule but went 0-4, including at the French Open. Grass didn’t look like it would be much better. She won two matches in Birmingham, but then lost in the first round at Eastbourne. Her ranking fell to No. 32.
She was optimistic, but even she didn't expect to do so well at Wimbledon.
Match by match, she improved her form and found ways to dispatch higher-ranked opponents, including No. 11 seed Danielle Collins in the fourth round and No. 13 seed Jelena Ostapenko in the quarterfinals. But it was her 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 comeback win in the semifinals over Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon champion and the remaining seed, that truly showed everyone how good she could be when she was at her best.
“It's been a very difficult season. I've been through a lot of difficult periods,” Krejcikova said after her semi-final win. “I never imagined that in four weeks I could reach a Wimbledon final, that I could be a different player. But I'm very happy to be here.” [and] that I was able to fight against everything.”
She’s also been more relaxed at this tournament, especially compared to her performance at the French Open three years ago. On court, she looks visibly more composed and festive and off court, it’s clear she’s having fun. Beginning with a rain delay before a doubles match (she reached the quarterfinals with Laura Siegemund), Krejcikova began doing a Twitter Q&A with fans. It’s something she’s continued to do, even during her day off on Friday. She’s touched on everything from baking to music to Legos.
“Before the tournament, I went through a difficult period,” Krejcikova said Thursday. “I just told myself that I would try to enjoy everything more… In the end, so far I think… [am] “I was very successful at that. I'm definitely enjoying this time a lot more than in Paris, which was more stressful for me.”
Krejcikova leaves Wimbledon now ranked No. 10 in the world, but perhaps more importantly, she seems happy with her game and how others perceive her.
While she may not be considered in the same league as Swiatek and the rest of the top-ranked players, she is in the same category as Novotna: Wimbledon champion. Shortly after her victory on Saturday, she stopped to look at her newly etched name on the winners list.
“[It was a] Very emotional moment to see myself on a board right next to [Novotna]”I think she would be proud. I think she would be really excited for me to be on the same team as her because Wimbledon was super special for her.”
