Barbora Krejcikova was crowned the Wimbledon women’s singles champion after defeating Jasmine Paolini at the All England Club on Saturday, 13 July. It marked the first time Barbora has won the iconic tournament.
The tense match, watched by a host of celebrities, went to a deciding third set, with Barbora having won the first 6-2, and Paolini winning the second by the same score. However, Barbora beat Paolini in the third and final set, breaking her opponent’s serve to win 6-4.
The new champion, as OK! reported, opened up tearfully about how she felt guided by her late coach Jana Novotna, a previous Wimbledon champion herself, as she lifted the iconic cup at centre court.
Jasmine and Barbora reached the final after dramatic comeback victories in the semifinals against Croatia’s Donna Vekić and 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, respectively. Barbora already holds the 2021 French Open singles title and seven Grand Slam doubles titles, including Wimbledon victories in 2018 and 2022.
But when Barbora is not on the courts, she’s busy teasing her social media following about her personal life and relationship status. On Friday night, the tennis star fuelled speculation that she’s dating her coach Pavel Motl during a cryptic Q&A. Here’s everything you need to know…
Away from the courts, the tennis star loves to tease her fans with sporting gossip and her social media is as unpredictable and thrilling as her matches. When she’s not on the court, the Czech tennis loves to keep her social media buzzing. Her latest Q&A on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Friday night saw Barbora spark speculation about her relationship status with her coach Pavel Motl.
The 28-year-old participated in a Q&A session as she waited out a rain delay that affected her doubles match with Laura Siegemund. She answered a couple of questions and even fuelled rumours that she’s ‘dating her coach’ as she appeared to be ‘excited’ at a fan question about a marriage proposal.
One curious fan asked: “Will Pavel propose to you if you win Wimbledon?” Known for her cheeky character, Barbora continued to send the rumour mill churning as she gave a quick-witted response.
She said: “Pavel says he hasn’t thought about it yet but he thanks for the idea!” This isn’t the first time Barbora has appeared mysterious in her answers about her relationship with her coach.
In a previous social media Q&A, a fan asked: ” Are you and Pavel a couple?” But the tennis star simply replied: “What do you think?” Keen not to miss their opportunity to question the sports star, the fan added: “Yes because love always wins.”
But Barbora continued to leave room for speculation as she had a very cryptic reply and used a GIF that said: “I guess we’ll never know now…will we?”
World number 32 Barbora has struggled with injuries and illness in the past 12 months but on Thursday the 28-year-old found a way to negate the power of Elena Rybakina as she won 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 to reach the Wimbledon singles final for the first time.
Barbora then broke down in tears during her on-court interview following a question about tennis icon Jana Novotna, who was also Czech and won the 1998 Wimbledon ladies’ singles title. But Jana passed away in 2017 at the age of 49 following a battle with cancer.
Barbora was asked if Novotna was her inspiration and replied: “Definitely. I remember thinking about Jana a lot. I have so many beautiful memories and when I step on the court here I’m just fighting for every single ball as that is what she would want me to do.”
Barbora is the seventh Czech woman to reach the final in the Open era. She has the experience of playing in and winning a Grand Slam singles final, having triumphed at the 2021 French Open.
The Palace has confirmed that Princess Kate will be attending the Men’s Singles Final on Sunday 14 July.