Newly crowned Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova says she started to view the Grand Slam as the most prestigious event in tennis after working with the late Jana Novotna.
Krejcikova, who defeated Jasmine Paolini to claim her second major title at The All England Club, was the last player to be coached by the former tennis star before she passed away at the age of 49. Novotna is former world No.2 who won 24 WTA titles during her career. However, she is best remembered for crying on the shoulder of the Duchess Of Kent after losing the 1993 Wimbledon final to Steffi Graf before finally clinching the trophy five years later.
“When I was 12, I wrote (in her notebook) that in the future I would like to win the French Open. So it was quite a big dream for me to win the French Open,” Krejcikova said during her press conference.
“To be honest, maybe things shifted a little bit when I met Jana and when she was telling me all the stories about Wimbledon, about the grass, how difficult it was for her to win the title and how emotional she was when she actually made it.
“I think since then I started to see Wimbledon as like the biggest tournament in the world.”
Krejcikova, who also won the 2021 French Open, credits her former mentor for helping her rise in the sport. It all began in 2014 when she turned up at Novotna’s apartment with a letter asking for help. She had just finished competing on the junior circuit and was looking for advice about what to do next. Novotna agreed to mentor her compatriot and they worked together until 2019. The year Novotna died of ovarian cancer.
“I’m dreaming about her a lot,” the world No.25 said of her former coach.
Now their names are on the same board at SW19 that lists the women’s champions. Something that gives Krejcikova mixed emotions.
“The only thing that was going through my head was that I miss Jana a lot. It was a very emotional moment to see me on a board right next to her.” She said.
“I think she would be proud. I think she would be really excited that I’m on the same board as she is because Wimbledon was super special for her.”
