Defending champion warns rivals not to underestimate her, despite lengthy injury lay-off
Cedric Lecocq / FFTWalking into the grounds of Roland-Garros, Barbora Krejcikova entered the gates with a big smile on her face.
Last summer the Czech stunned the draw and herself to clinch both the singles and doubles titles in Paris.
Boosted by those memories, the 26-year-old is gearing up for her opening match against French former junior No.1 Diane Parry, hoping to move on from a frustrating couple of months.
Krejcikova was denied a warm-up tournament ahead of defending her Roland-Garros titles, only feeling 100 per cent a “couple of days ago”, having not competed since the Qatar Open back in February due to injury.
“I have a problem with my elbow. I think it just happened because of the way I played last year. I think it was just so many matches,” explained the world No.2, who had made a promising start to 2022 with a Sydney final and Australian Open quarter-final.
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“My body told me that I have to rest. I was off for quite a long time. I didn't expect it, to be honest.
“But I think it was worth it to have a break after such a tough last season. Right now I feel healthy, also I think mentally I'm really recharged.
“It's amazing to start at the place where I won my first Slam last year. I'm looking forward to build up with matches and to get back to form.”
Due to her absence in the build-up to Roland-Garros, Krejcikova might be seen as an outsider, but she insists her rivals should still be wary.
“I don't think expecting is something good for me after being injured for a long time. But I think that I can be a good opponent. I think I can play well. And even after being injured I think I had some time to recover and to practise, so I have been preparing for this,” she added.
“I believe when I start playing matches I can be really dangerous again and can go really deep.”
©Corinne Dubreuil / FFTAfter striking such major success, Krejcikova’s profile at home and worldwide has, naturally, gone up several levels. The Czech however insists she hasn't changed under the spotlight.
“Overall for me, I'm still the same player. I'm still playing tennis. I still love tennis. I still love to compete. I'm still looking forward to every single match that I'm playing," she assured.
“I still feel that I can put myself back to the moment when I was a little kid and I was just enjoying the game, doing something that I love.”
A hot topic is how the rest of the draw can halt the immense 28-match winning streak of world No.1 Iga Swiatek.
For her part, Krejcikova is eager to close the gap in the near future.
“It feels amazing to be No.2, for sure,” added the Roland-Garros champion.
“Iga is playing amazing. She was doing such an incredible job on the court. Also off the court. I think she's also a very good person. I really like to talk to her. She deserves it and I hope at some point I will get closer to her and we can maybe fight for the No.1 spot.”
ROLAND-GARROS
19 May - 8 June 2025
