Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova has presented a heart-warming gift to tennis-fanatic Princess Charlotte while meeting with the young royal and Princess Catherine on Sunday.
Princess Kate has received a standing ovation as she appeared at the Wimbledon men’s singles final.
The Princess of Wales appeared smiling with her daughter Princess Charlotte before the match between Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic.
It is only her second public appearance since being diagnosed with cancer earlier this year.
Czech star Krejcikova, 28, won her second grand slam at Wimbledon after defeating Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in a rollercoaster three setter on centre court.
While Kate was not available to hand Krejcikova her trophy on Saturday, the Princess of Wales arranged to meet Krejcikova ahead of the men’s final on Sunday.
In a post on the official Prince and Princess of Wales X page, the Princess wrote: “Great to be back at Wimbledon! There’s nothing quite like The Championships.”
The post included a snap of the moment a smiling Krejcikova presented her championship-winning racquet to Charlotte.
The heart-warming moment came as Kate made a surprise appearance at Wimbledon amid her ongoing chemotherapy treatment for cancer.
Kate has served as patron of the All England Lawn Tennis Club since 2016 and traditionally hands out the trophies to the men’s and women’s singles champions.
The Princess of Wales received a standing ovation from the arena as she made her entrance to the men’s final with Charlotte and her sister Pippa Middleton.
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Kate received a standing ovation after making her appearance at the men’s final. Picture: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
Kate, 42, stunned in an elegant purple dress by Safiyaa and watched on enthusiastically as Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz defeated Serbian legend Novak Djokovic in straight sets.
The appearance marked Kate’s return to the public eye after a surprise appearance at Trooping the Colour as she continues her cancer treatment.
Krejcikova has previously spoken about her own connection to the disease after her former coach and mentor Jana Novotna succumbed to cancer at age 49 in 2017.
Novotna is also forever linked to the royal family after famously crying on the shoulder of the Duchess of Kent after losing the 1993 Wimbledon final to Steffi Graf.
The Duchess of Kent famously consoled Czech tennis star Jana Novotna after she lost to Steffi Graf. Picture: Henning Bangen/Bongarts/Getty Images
The Duchess of Kent famously told Novotna “your time will come”, and the Czech ultimately did win at Wimbledon five years later in 1998.
Novotna later became Krejcikova’s mentor after the rising star knocked on Jana’s front door and handed her a letter.
“Going to Jana, knocking on her door, giving her the letter, everything that happened during that moment – it changed my life,” Krejcikova said on Saturday.
“During the period when I finished juniors, I didn’t know what I should do. I didn’t know if I should continue and play pro or go the way of education.
“Jana was the one that told me that I have the potential and I should definitely turn pro and try to make it.”