NEW DELHI: 28-year-old
tennis player
Barbora Krejcikova clinched her second Grand Slam title by winning the 2024
Wimbledon
women's championship, defeating
Jasmine Paolini
in a three-set match on Saturday.
This victory adds a prestigious accolade to Krejcikova's already impressive career. Here, we delve into five notable aspects of Krejcikova's life and career:
1) Lego enthusiast
Krejcikova engages in a unique hobby off the court; she is an avid Lego enthusiast.
Her collection includes intricate models such as the Milky Way and a figure of Dobby from the Harry Potter series. Krejcikova has expressed a desire to one day construct a Lego model of the Wimbledon Centre Court.
"I have many of them actually. Yeah, I even received some from my team here. If there's one for me, I'll do that," said Krejcikova, as quoted by AFP.
2) Significant change
Krejcikova experienced a significant change in her professional support team. She parted ways with Ales Kartus, her coach who was instrumental in her 2021 French Open victory, in July of the previous year.
Since then, she has been collaborating with Pavel Motl, a former schoolmate and occasional training partner, in a less formal coaching capacity.
Motl, who hesitates to label himself as a coach, emphasizes the journey they are on together, rather than the conventional coach-athlete dynamic.
"Bara was 10 and she played in the village where I live. She was playing on court number three and beat our adult neighbour 6-0, 6-0," Motl once said, recalling their first meeting.
3) Staying with locals
Krejcikova also opts for a non-traditional approach during tournaments, particularly at Wimbledon. For the past ten years, she has chosen to stay with a local family instead of at the official tournament hotels. This decision reflects her preference for a more relaxed atmosphere, a tradition she shares with her late coach, Jana Novotna, who also stayed with the same family and won Wimbledon in 1998. Krejcikova has publicly acknowledged the influence of Novotna, who passed away in 2017, on her career and approach to the game.
"I remember thinking about her a lot," said Krejcikova. "I have so many beautiful memories and when I step on the court I fight for every single ball as that is what she would want me to do."
4) Paris Olympics dream
Krejcikova has aspirations for the Paris Olympics, where she plans to team up with
Katerina Siniakova
in an attempt to defend their doubles title from the Tokyo Olympics. Despite a temporary split in their partnership, with Siniakova initially deciding to pair with another player, circumstances have led to a reunion for the Olympic games.
5) Missing school for tennis
From a young age, Krejcikova demonstrated a strategic approach to her
tennis
career, linking her participation in junior finals to the opportunity to miss school.
"I always liked playing the finals at minor tournaments, because we played on Mondays and I didn't have to go to school. That was my goal for the weekend," she said.
English (US) ·