Barbora Krejcikova, the 2021 French Open champion, added the Wimbledon title to her Grand Slam collection last year.
Wimbledon 2025
Dates: 30 June-13 July Venue: All England Club
Coverage: Comprehensive live coverage across BBC TV, radio, and online platforms, including BBC iPlayer, Red Button, Connected TVs, and the mobile app. Full coverage guide.
In a compelling first-round match at Wimbledon, defending champion Barbora Krejcikova overcame a strong challenge from rising star Alexandra Eala to avoid an early exit.
The Czech player, whose participation had been uncertain due to injury concerns, drew upon her experience to secure a 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 victory on Centre Court and begin her title defense.
Krejcikova, who defeated Jasmine Paolini in last year’s final, has faced injury setbacks this season.
After a significant absence due to a back injury, she was also forced to withdraw from Eastbourne last week with a thigh injury.
Her limited match play this year – just six matches – led many to believe that the stage was set for an upset at the All England Club against the promising 20-year-old from the Philippines, Eala.
‘Worst result of year’ – Pegula one of two top-five seeds beaten
GB’s Watson exits Wimbledon with Tauson loss
Raducanu gives coach ’11 out of 10′ after win over Xu
Similar to this year, seventeenth seed Krejcikova’s preparations for last year’s tournament were also hampered, arriving at the All England Club with only nine matches played and dealing with an injury.
Returning to Centre Court, the site of her emotional triumph, to open Tuesday’s play, Krejcikova appeared somewhat unsettled in the first set against a determined opponent.
Eala, who notably defeated Iga Swiatek at the Miami Open in March, further cemented her place in history by becoming the first Filipina to reach a WTA Tour final at Eastbourne last week, where she was defeated by Australian teenager Maya Joint.
This impressive run has propelled her to 56th in the world rankings, and her talent was evident on day two at the Championships.
The pair exchanged breaks early on, with Krejcikova’s exquisite lob initially breaking Eala’s serve, only for a double fault to return the match to serve.
Errors from the reigning champion, combined with an impressive array of shots from Eala, secured a second break. This time, Krejcikova was unable to capitalize on her break-back opportunity, missing the forehand on break point.
Krejcikova appeared to be struggling on serve, visibly uncomfortable with her ball toss and committing five double faults in the first set, perhaps indicating the lingering effects of her back injury.
Following a protracted game at 5-2, where Krejcikova saved a set point, Eala held her nerve to serve out the set brilliantly.
Krejcikova responded in the second set, and despite still appearing uneasy on serve, frequently redoing her ball toss, she surged to a 5-0 lead.
Visibly disappointed and keen to avoid a second-set bagel, Eala rallied to hold her serve and then recover one of the breaks, but she was ultimately unable to prevent Krejcikova from leveling the match.
A more composed third set followed as Krejcikova reduced her errors and finally displayed her emotion, securing a double break for 5-1 and unleashing a roar after a passing winner that put her on the brink of victory.
A similar outburst of emotion followed as she secured her place in the second round.
Live scores, results and order of play
Get tennis news sent straight to your phone
Comments can not be loaded
To load Comments you need to enable JavaScript in your browser