Krejcikova outlasts Paolini to win Wimbledon title

WIMBLEDON, England — After winning her second major singles title following a roller-coaster match Saturday, Barbora Krejcikova threw her hands up in the air in celebration and pointed at the sky.

Needing three match points and nearly two hours, she had just defeated Jasmine Paolini, the No. 7 seed and crowd favorite, 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 to claim her first Wimbledon title as former champions such as Billie Jean King, Martina Navratilova and Maria Sharapova watched on from the royal box.

Krejcikova became the eighth woman to win the prestigious title in eight years.

“I don’t have any words right now,” Krejcikova said to 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 from Czechia (Czech Republic) had previously won the 2021 French Open title, as well as 11 major titles in doubles and mixed doubles, but she hadn’t advanced past the quarterfinals in singles at a Grand Slam since her triumph in Paris over three years ago. After a tough season that included a back injury, an illness and an 0-4 record on clay, Krejcikova was hardly considered a favorite to win at the All England Club. She had never advanced previously past the fourth round, and her ranking — once 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 every match she played throughout the tournament. 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 fought back after dropping the first set to defeat Elena Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon champion, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

On Saturday, she faced Paolini, the surprise 2024 French Open runner-up who had staged a comeback of her own in the semifinals against Donna Vekic to win in a thrilling deciding-set tiebreak 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (10-8) and looked poised to do the same in the final for a better part of the last two sets. Krejcikova had controlled the opening set, winning 10 of the first 11 points and claiming a 5-1 double break lead. But Paolini showed exactly what has gotten her this far in her breakthrough season, and after a bathroom break in between sets, she stormed back and claimed the first three games.

In the decider, the pair traded games until Paolini was broken at 3-all following her lone double fault of the match. From there, Krejcikova seized momentum, winning all four points in the next game, but then struggled to close out the match. Ultimately on her third match point, she did just that. Paolini later praised her opponent.

“You played unbelievable,” Paolini said to Krejcikova on court. “You play such beautiful tennis.”

In an interview with ESPN’s Mary Joe Fernandez, Krejcikova called it an “amazing battle” and said she knew Paolini would raise her level in the second set. In the decider, she tried to find her opportunities and stay as composed as possible when serving for the match. She said she repeated two words in her head in the final moments.

“‘Be brave,'” Krejcikova said. “I was trying because I knew that I have to go for it and that I have to be brave. And yeah, I’m so happy that I did.”

With the win, Krejcikova became the first player in the Open era to win both of her first two Grand Slam finals in deciding sets. Her 175 games played across the fortnight in singles marked the most by a woman champion in the Open era.

During her postmatch interview, Krejcikova was emotional, as she had been after her semifinal victory, when talking about her late mentor Jana Novotna, who won the Wimbledon title in 1998. Novotna, also of Czechia, 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 pro or if I should go the way of education, and Jana was the one that told me I have the potential and I should turn pro and just try to make it,” Krejcikova said. “And before she passed away, she told me to go and win a Slam. I achieved that in Paris. It was an unbelievable moment for me, and I never dreamed that I would win the same trophy that Jana did in 1998.”

Krejcikova had pointed to sky after her win at the French Open in tribute to Novotna and later explained, “I know that all of this has happened because she is looking after me from up there.”

Following her run at Wimbledon, Krejcikova will return to the top 10 in the rankings. The defending gold medalist in doubles with Katerina Siniakova, the pair will look to stand atop the podium yet again when the Olympics get underway at the end of the month at Roland Garros. Krejcikova will also be playing singles and will look to build on her momentum before the season turns to the hard court ahead of the US Open.

Paolini improves to No. 5 in the world, a new career high, following the tournament.