A month ago Barbora Krejcikova was never considered to be a contender for a major title and her success as a singles player had been rather modest.
Then at the French Open the Czech stunned the women’s field by winning the title in what was a fairytale journey for the 25-year-old. En route to the title match she defeated seeded players Ekaterina Alexandrova (R2), Elina Svitolina (R3), Coco Gauff (QF) and Maria Sakkari (SF). Then in a nerve-stricken final she dismissed another seed in the shape of Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-1, 2-6, 6-4.
Krejcikova has made headline news worldwide following her triumph at one of tennis’ biggest tournaments but how surprised should the sport be about her success?
Here are five things to know about Krejcikova.
1.It is not the first time she has triumphed at a Grand Slam
Prior to the start of the French Open Krejcikova was not ranked among the contenders to win. It was only the fifth time she has played in the main draw of a major as a singles player and she had only won one tournament title in her career which was in Strasbourg last month.
However, the Czech knows what it is like to win the big titles as she is an established doubles player who is on the verge of returning back to the No.1 spot. She has won eight WTA doubles trophies and seven of those were with compatriot Katerina Siniakova. Back in 2018 the Czech duo triumphed at both the French Open and Wimbledon. Furthermore, Krejcikova has won the Australian Open mixed doubles title three years in a row (2019-2021).
Krejcikova is also playing in the women’s doubles final at Roland Garros this year. Should she win, she would become the first player to achieve the double since Mary Pierce back in 2000.
2. A slice of Czech history
The Czech Republic is known for producing top players such as Petra Kvitova, Lucie Safarova, Martina Navratilova* and Hana Mandlikova. However, Krejcikova’s success in Paris is the first time a player representing Czechoslovakia/Czech Republic has won the title since 1981. The year when Mandlikova won. It is only the second time in the Open Era (since 1968) a woman representing the Czech flag has won the title.
Krejcikova is also only the third player in history to have won the women’s French Open title whilst unseeded after Iga Swiatek (2020) and Jelena Ostapenko (2017).
*(Navratilova won her titles after switching allegiance to America).
3.The meteoric rise in rankings
Krejcikova made her official appearance in the WTA rankings back in 2011 at the age of 15. However, it wasn’t until last October that she broke into the world’s top 100 for the first time in her career. Since then she has continued to surge up the rankings by breaking into the top 40 in March. Now on a 12-match winning streak she will rise to a career high of 15th when the standings are updated on Monday. An increase of 18 places compared to where she was ranked prior to the start of the French Open.
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4.The first time she has beaten a top 10 player was less than two months ago
Amid her status of an emerging threat on the women’s Tour, the 25-year-old had only ever defeated a top 10 player twice. Her first win was over Sofia Kenin at the 2021 Italian Open where she prevailed 6-1, 6-4. She followed up on that at the French Open when she upset Elina Svitolina 6-3, 6-2.
Krejcikova is 0-7 against players who are former world No.1s – losing to Garbine Muguruza, Naomi Osaka and Victoria Azarenka once. She has also suffered multiple losses to Simona Halep and Karolina Pliskova.
5.The Novotna influence
The story of how Krejcikova started to work with former tennis great Jana Novotna sounds like a movie script. She had read that the former Wimbledon champion was based in a town nearby to her. So as a young player with her parents she turned up to Novotna’s house asking for advice out of the blue.
“When I went there for the very first time I was nervous because she was such an amazing person, such a big tennis player, big athlete and everything. She was always just very nice, very warm. She wasn’t acting like she won so many titles, that she’s somebody special. She’s always acting like a normal person,” Krejcikova recounts.
The original goal was to seek guidance on how to switch from junior to professional tennis and if she should explore the world of college tennis. However, Novotna was more than willing to offer advice and ended up becoming Krejcikova’s coach until 2016 when she was forced to stop due to deteriorating health. Sadly a year later Novotna died at the age of 49 following a battle with cancer.
“I spent a lot of time with Jana before she died. Her last words to me were ‘enjoy tennis and try and win a Grand Slam’. I know she’s looking after me. All this is pretty much because she is looking after me.“