It wasn’t to be for Barbora Krejcikova at Wimbledon this year. The defending champion suffered a heartbreaking third-round exit, bursting into tears at the back of the court before losing to No. 10 seed Emma Navarro in three sets. She later confirmed she had been suffering from an illness that left her in bed for days.
But the Czech star still has plenty of happy memories of lifting the Venus Rosewater Dish in 2024 after beating Jasmine Paolini in the final. The winners are always invited to the annual Wimbledon Champions’ Dinner, and this year Jannik Sinner joked that he’d been “drinking a lot” after his victory. However, Krejcikova’s celebrations were very different, as she barely had a drink and then put herself to bed.
Wimbledon was Krejcikova’s second Grand Slam singles title after she lifted the French Open trophy in 2021. And the former world No. 2 made sure that it wasn’t a wild night when she was crowned the champion at the All England Club.
Earlier this year, during a social media Q&A, Krejcikova was asked how she celebrated her Wimbledon title triumph, and she replied: “I treated myself with a sip of champagne and finally calm sleep.”
The 29-year-old still had some fun at the Champions’ Dinner, donning a stunning emerald gown and sharing a dance with 2024 men’s singles champion Carlos Alcaraz.
“Thanks for the dance, but I think we better stick to playing tennis?” Krejcikova jokingly told the Spaniard.
It’s no surprise that Krejcikova wasn’t up for a wild night out after claiming the Wimbledon crown, as she’d already enjoyed a late-night trip before facing Paolini in the championship match.
The two-time Major winner has since revealed that she decided to escape the Wimbledon area and jumped on a train to visit the London Eye on the Friday evening before her final. However, she didn’t get to ride it, as it had already closed.
But she returned to the London Eye this year to take part in the draw ceremony for the new WTA 500 event at the Queen’s Club.
Reflecting on the spontaneous outing, she explained: “I just wanted to disappear from Wimbledon because it was very overwhelming what was happening there, and we decided to take a train and just to go to the city centre.
“We had a little walk around the London Eye and then the streets and we had a dinner there as well.
“So when I got the opportunity this year, I said yes right away, because I really wanted to experience this and I thought it’s a very nice thing and very nice from the organising point.”
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Content Source: www.express.co.uk