Barbora Krejcikova: Roland Garros? A huge success. Now I’m looking forward to Prague

She has done so much for Czech tennis in the last year. Titles from Roland Garros and the Olympic Games have moved Barbora Krejcikova up to fourth place in the WTA rankings. In an interview with Ruik.cz, she talked not only about her achievements, but also gave advice to young tennis players.

Singles and doubles titles at Roland Garros, then a doubles triumph at the Olympics. What does that mean to you?

Huge achievement. It’s the fulfillment of a big sporting dream. It’s such a realisation that hard work and patience bears fruit and at the same time these achievements bring the desire and motivation to keep working.

You mentioned that at the French Open you hadn’t eaten much since the quarterfinal match, you were very nervous… How are you doing now? Are you still more nervous than normal before the top duels?

I thought there would be nothing worse than the nervousness I suffered before graduation, but the French Open surpassed it by like 1000%. It’s stabilized now, I’ve learned to control it better. Anyway, I’ve noticed that the more nervous I get, the more I care about doing well, so it’s actually a positive and right emotion for me.

You’ll probably remember France in the best light. How did you feel after winning the double at Roland Garros?

I felt great. I heard from all sides that I had achieved a historic success. I was happy that I managed to win the singles. I really enjoyed the doubles afterwards. I was a bit upset about the mix where I lost to my partner in the quarterfinals, but all bad things are good for something. I don’t really have much success as I keep going from tournament to tournament and I haven’t really stopped.

You’ve achieved a lot in the last year, moving up from 65th in the WTA rankings to the top 5. What has helped you the most?

There were several factors that helped me. The pandemic, when everything stopped and I could be more with my family, friends and coaches. I also worked hard and consistently on my tennis and fitness, I played a lot of Czech tournaments, and this event made me realize a lot of things I used to take for granted.

Now you are the Czech number two, what do you think is behind the success of our tennis players? How much of it is the work of junior and children’s coaches?

That’s tough, we each have our own path, it’s not like there is a model to follow. I personally am motivated by the success of other Czech girls. Tennis has a great history in our country and when young people see those successes, they want to be a part of it too, that’s how I felt when I was younger and saw girls winning Fed Cups and Grand Slams.

In July, you managed to triumph at your home tournament in Prague. What was it like playing in a venue full of Czech fans?

It was amazing, it was always sold out and I enjoyed the support of the home crowd. I was happy that I could repay them in some way and that I gave a good performance and won the whole tournament. Playing in the Czech Republic is always special, we have great fans.

Karolina Pliskova revealed in an interview that she doesn’t have many foreign friends in women’s tennis. Do you have the same?

It’s hard to make friends in tennis when we are actually rivals every week, but I have some girls I get along with on the circuit.

Is there any opponent on the tennis scene at the moment that you’re really struggling and not doing well with?

The worst opponent is me when I get to play against myself from time to time.

You’re about to enter the season’s highlight, the Champions Tournament. How do you plan to prepare for it and what is your goal going into it?

First, I will play the BJK Cup (formerly Fed Cup) in Prague at the O2 Arena. I’m really looking forward to this event. I will be the team number one and so far I have only played doubles in this competition, so now I believe I will make my debut in singles as well. I wish we could succeed.

After that, I’ll move to Mexico right away to prepare for the tough conditions. Time will be short, but I intend to enjoy the end of the season 100%. I want to do a good performance.

Do you have a schedule planned for 2022? Do you want to continue to focus 100% on doubles?

I have it easily planned. I would like to continue to play singles and doubles, but I need to choose my tournaments better and spread out my strength.

How do you manage it all? For example, if you play two matches in one day?

Well, I’m persistent. They get me on the court, they put me out there, I try my best to bounce back and go back to the locker room and it’s kind of the same thing in the afternoon in doubles.

Do you have a recovery ritual that you do regularly?

I’d say I do the same as other athletes. Obviously outside of tennis I like to sleep, watch movies, TV shows, listen to music, call my family and friends, but I also follow athletes and celebrities who have inspired me on my sport/life journey.

Do you try to get to know the city, new culture at tournaments?

I would love to, but there’s not much time for that right now.

Are you planning any vacations for the winter?

I definitely plan to, but I don’t know where yet.

Nowadays, social networks are an essential part of sport. What does it mean to you when you say Instagram? Do you get a lot of messages from your fans?

I try to keep my fans informed on my profile @bkrejcikova, about my life and career, but to the extent that I still have time and energy for tennis, preparation, family and things I enjoy. I try to be active and answer messages and communicate, but it’s getting pretty time consuming.

Have you gotten used to the huge media attention? Are you happy to be written about all the time or would you prefer more privacy?

I don’t think the media hype that goes on around other girls who have won Grand Slams happens in my case and it doesn’t. I don’t need to be in the newspapers every day, but I’m happy to know that there is a tennis player named Bára with a grand slam and an Olympic medal. Now that seems fine and suits me just fine.

Have you come across any negative comments as well? Do you ignore them?

There’s a lot of negativity on the internet. It’s not pleasant to read negative comments about yourself, but I always try to turn it around and take it as motivation and experience to develop further.

Is 2021 the best tennis year of your career so far?

Definitely the best year so far. I’ve improved every year so far in terms of results, so to top this season next year will be a really tough nut to crack.

In an interview with Radiožurnál you mentioned that you played tennis for fun when you were a kid. What message would you give to hopeful tennis players who look up to you?

I would tell them that they have to enjoy the sport, that’s number one. And then it’s all about hard work, patience, sacrifice, health and luck, running into the right people at the right time. It’s not all rosy, you have to be resilient, but if you can do that, you’ll have dreams come true and a lot of valuable experience for life.