WIMBLEDON, England — Even Barbora Krejcikova didn’t think she would win the singles title at Wimbledon.
Her late mentor, Jana Novotna, had won the tournament in 1998, and before her death from cancer in 2017, she had advised Krejcikova to win a Grand Slam. When Krejcikova did so at the French Open four years later, she was certain it was because Novotna was watching from above.
But Krejcikova still doesn’t think she’ll repeat the feat at the All England. It was a miracle. “I never dreamed I would win the same trophy that Jana won in 1998,” she said Saturday.
With the season she was having, no one thought she had a chance this year. She had a back injury, an illness that kept her out of action, a winless season on clay, and a low ranking.
But at Wimbledon, the 28-year-old Krejcikova grew in confidence with every match she played. On Saturday, she surpassed her wildest dreams and won the Wimbledon title with a 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 win over seventh seed Jasmine Paolini in the final. But while she described that day as “the best day” of her career and life on the court, Krejcikova did not seem to be thinking of any larger consequences.
“I still feel the same. It’s great to be a two-time Grand Slam champion. It’s unbelievable. I mean, on the other hand, I’m still the same person. I still love tennis a lot. I still want to continue playing good tennis and fight for other tournaments,” Krejcikova said.
When I was 12 years oldKrejcikova wrote down her ultimate goal: to win the French Open. Lifting the trophy on the red clay of Roland Garros was what motivated her during her first days and what she envisioned when she closed her eyes at the end of the day.
But meeting Novotná changed things, and she began thinking about what it would be like to win Wimbledon. They had started working together when Krejciková was 18 and had just finished her junior career. Krejciková wasn’t sure if she should turn pro, and her parents encouraged her to write a letter to Novotná, a former world No. 2 and fellow Czech, asking for advice. Novotná responded a week later and the two began working together soon after. Novotná told Krejciková she had potential and encouraged her to turn pro.
They quickly became close, and Krejcikova appreciated her guidance and friendship. Novotna told her stories about Wimbledon, what the grass was like, and how hard it was to win the tournament.
“I think since then I started to see Wimbledon as the biggest tournament in the world,” Krejcikova said on Saturday.
But she won the first major title she dreamed of at the French Open in 2021.
After playing in her fifth Grand Slam as an unseeded player, Krejcikova officially introduced herself to the tennis world by winning the title, defeating Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the final 6–1, 2–6, 6–4. 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 not been a major factor in singles action.
Since her Paris debut, she has continued to play doubles and find success. She and Siniakova won the French Open doubles title the day after her singles triumph, and together they went on to win four more Grand Slam doubles titles and an Olympic gold medal 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 the end of the 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 the world No. 2 ranking by February. But then things took a turn. An arm injury kept her on the sidelines for months and she returned in time for the French Open. She lost in the first round. She then had to withdraw from doubles the next day after testing positive for COVID.
There was a turnaround at the start of 2023. Krejcikova reached the fourth round at the Australian Open and then won a 1000-level title in Dubai after defeating four top-10 players, including top-ranked Iga Swiatek in the final. She hoped it would finally put her in the conversation among the game’s best.
“When I read something on social media, it’s about Iga, Arina (Sabalenka), Elena (Rybakina) — I’m not really there,” Krejcikova told WTA Insider a few weeks later. “What else do I have to do? How do I prove it again? … I want my name to be mentioned too. I want to be recognized too because I think I deserve it. I’ve had a lot of success on the tour and I haven’t gotten the credit.”
But she couldn’t back up her words with performance. 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 on hardcourt tournaments before the US Open and then lost her opening match in New York. She salvaged her season by winning singles and doubles in San Diego shortly after, but by the end of the season she had split with her longtime coach and Siniakova in doubles — and was back to the drawing board in the short offseason.
Krejcikova opened 2024 with a quarterfinal appearance at the Australian Open, but a back injury kept her out of most of the hardcourt season. She returned in time for the clay portion of the schedule but went four matches unbeaten, including at the French Open. It didn’t look like grass would be much better. She won two matches in Birmingham but then lost in the first round in Eastbourne. Her ranking dropped to No. 32.
She was optimistic – but even she didn’t expect to do this well at Wimbledon.
With each match, she raised her game and found ways to overcome higher-ranked opponents, including No. 11 seed Danielle Collins in the fourth round and No. 13 seed Jelena Ostapenko in the quarterfinals. But her 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 semifinal win over Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon champion and remaining favorite, really showed everyone how good she is when she’s at her best.
“It was a very tough season. I had a lot of tough times. I never imagined that I would reach the Wimbledon final in four weeks and that I would be a different player. But I’m very happy that I was able to overcome everything,” Krejcikova said after her semi-final win.
She was more relaxed at this tournament, too, especially when compared to her performance at the French Open three years ago. On the court, she was more relaxed and visibly partying, and off the court, she was clearly enjoying herself. Starting with a rain delay before her doubles match (she reached the quarterfinals with Laura Siegemund), Krejcikova began doing Q&As with fans on Twitter. It’s something she’s continued, including during her day off on Friday. She’s touched on everything from baking to music to Lego.
“Before the tournament I had a tough time. I told myself I would try to enjoy everything more… and in the end I think I did it to a large extent. I’m definitely enjoying this moment a lot more than I did in Paris, which was more stressful for me,” Krejcikova said on Thursday.
Krejcikova leaves Wimbledon now ranked 10th in the world, but perhaps more importantly she seems content with her performance and the way others perceive her.
While she may not be considered in the same league as Swiatek and the other top seeds, she belongs in the same category as Novotna: Wimbledon champions. She paused to look at her newly inscribed name on the winners’ list shortly after her victory on Saturday.
“It was a very emotional moment to see me on a plaque next to (Novotel),” she said. “I think she would have been so proud. I think she would have been so happy that I was on the same plaque as her because Wimbledon was so special to her.”
