A match made in tennis heaven

Last year was a dream come true for Barbora Krejcikova. Already a two-time doubles and three-time mixed doubles champion at the majors, the Czech had her greatest moment on the singles court, scoring a trip to the fourth round in Paris that catapulted her into the WTA’s top 100 for the first time.

In 2021 the encore has been even sweeter.

She cracked the top-50 after reaching the final in Dubai in March, and after earning her first WTA singles title in Strasbourg two weeks ago, the Brno native has earned her first two top-10 victories in Paris this fortnight to once again take her place in the sweet 16.

Krejcikova enters her fourth-round showdown with 2018 finalist Sloane Stephens carrying an eightmatch winning streak.

“Right now I feel super, super happy,” she told reporters after her 6-3, 6-2 victory over No.5 Elina Svitolina on Saturday.

Her very first Grand Slam doubles crown was clinched on Parisian clay in 2018, alongside her partner Katerina Siniakova. And with her maiden singles title coming on French soil last month, along with her back-to-back fourth-round appearances at Roland-Garros in singles, it's no wonder France holds a special place in Krejcikova's heart.

“I love it in France and I love the clay, I grew up on it. For me it's the best surface. This is also the first tournament that I actually visited when I was younger in 2008 or something,” she told the crowd, a smile beaming, after toppling Svitolina.

It shows in her tennis, as the 25-year-old has chosen the red clay of Roland-Garros as her personal proving ground on the singles court. Krejcikova had never managed a top-130 year-end singles ranking prior to 2020, but she enters this week carrying a ranking of 33, making her one of the most unlikely breakout stories inside the WTA’s top-50.