Krejčíková or Vondroušová shone, Bouzková failed. How did our tennis players do in 2021?

The women’s tennis season is over. Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova won the Women’s Doubles Tournament, which was the icing on the cake of a very successful season. Overall, this year was a good one for our tennis players. Krejčíková won Rolland Garros, Vondroušová won silver at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, Plíšková played the final of Wimbledon. How did the others fare and who burned out?

Barbora Krejcikova

Grade: 1*

It was a season of a lifetime for the Brno native, crowned with great successes. The Czech Republic had a new Grand Slam winner after 7 years. In Paris, she also won the doubles and achieved a magnificent double. She was also successful at the Olympic Games in Tokyo. Alongside Siniakova, she dominated the doubles and won the first tennis gold in history for her country.

In total, she won 3 singles titles and, thanks to her great performance, broke into the top 10 for the first time in her career. She eventually climbed up the rankings to 4th place, which secured her participation in the Champions Tournament. As a rookie, she did not win once and finished already in the group. She made up for it in the doubles when she and Siniakova dominated the tournament. A unique season that will be very hard to follow.

Markéta Vondroušová

Mark:: 2

Markéta Vondroušová’s 2021 tennis year can be evaluated positively, even though it looked bad for a long time. The first half of the season did not work out at all for the Czech left-hander, her form was in sight. The wave of criticism came after her Olympic nomination, where she was supposed to compete.

In Tokyo, however, Vondroušová showed everyone what her elbow is all about. She played the tennis of her life in Japan. She successively scalped Osaka, Badosa and Svitolina and finally achieved a sensational silver.

This success gave her a huge boost, and it definitely showed in her performance for the rest of the season. After that, Vondrousova played one quarterfinal (Chicago) and three semifinals (Luxembourg, Chicago, Moscow). Thanks to her improved performance, she returned to the top 40, so she can feel more comfortable. It wasn’t an excellent season, but it was a successful one.

Karolina Pliskova

Grade:: 2

A similar case to Vondrousova. Her year could also be divided into parts. The opening half was an agony for Pliskova. Up until the Rome tournament she was playing very below average, dropping out in the opening rounds. In the Italian capital, she improved her reputation by reaching the final.

For the Czech number one, Wimbledon in London was a turning point. Her performance at this Grand Slam was amazing. Pliskova sensationally reached the final and equalled her best Grand Slam result.

However, she fell short of the title again. The native of Louny picked up her performance rapidly in the final third of the season. She reached the final in Montreal, the semifinals in Cincinnati, and the quarterfinals of the US Open. Thanks to these results, she returned to the Top 5, which sent her to the Tournament of Champions.

Here too she was successful, although the final result did not end as gloriously as she would have imagined. She scored 2 wins in the group, but it was not enough to reach the semifinals. Pliskova ends this season as the Czech number one, which is a miracle considering the dismal start of the season.

Petra Kvitová

Mark:: 2-

Petra Kvitova was no flop either, although she didn’t quite live up to expectations. This was mainly due to her poor health, which has plagued her throughout the season. Although she didn’t play much, she did achieve a few successes that are worth mentioning. In the season opener, she achieved a valuable title in Doha. Then she played 3 quarterfinals (Stuttgart, Madrid, Cincinnati) and 2 semifinals (Bad Homburg, Ostrava).

Grand Slams didn’t work out for her at all, she hasn’t done well at these big tournaments in recent years. Let’s see if she can still make some big results at a grand slam. But the passing years are against her. A solid season, marred by numerous injuries. Still, not bad at all.

Karolína Muchová

Grade:: 2-

In the case of the native of Olomouc, it was perhaps an even sadder story than that of Petra Kvitova. The talented tennis player had a great start to the season and could have had a similarly successful one as Barbora Krejcikova. Muchová shone at the Australian Open. In Australia she reached the semi-finals and reached the Grand Slam maximum. After that, it wasn’t so glorious. This was mainly due to a nasty abdominal muscle injury that plagued her throughout the season.

She had to miss a number of tournaments, so her performance was very fluctuating. Despite her health problems, she was quite successful this year. Apart from the Australian Open, she also managed to play in Madrid (quarterfinals) and Wimbledon (quarterfinals). Considering her low number of matches, it is a miracle that she is still on the edge of the top 30.

Health problems have plagued Muchova for a long time. If she does not get rid of these troubles, it may mark her tennis development and her whole career quite negatively. Let’s hope this won’t be the case.

Tereza Martincova

Grade:: 2-

Tereza Martincova finally had a breakthrough season. The 27-year-old Czech made a significant performance and ranking jump. She moved up 72 spots to 48th place, which is her ranking maximum. She will no longer have to qualify at every tournament as she has done so far. Martincova shone the most at her home tournament in Prague (final), in which she fell short to Barbora Krejcikova.

She was also successful in Nottingham (quarter-finals), Birmingham (quarter-finals) and Ostrava (quarter-finals). This season Martincova has finally started to fulfil her potential, which is not yet at its maximum. If she continues to perform at this level, even greater successes will soon come.

Kateřina Siniaková

Grade:: 2

As far as doubles is concerned, it was a dream season for Siniakova. She won Rolland Garros and the Olympic doubles alongside Krejcikova. She also played the Australian Open and Wimbledon finals with her partner. The perfect ending was a valuable triumph at the Champions Tournament.

The Czech was also quite successful in singles, returning to the top 50 in the rankings. Her most successful tournament was her appearance in Bad Homburg (final). She fell just short of her third singles title. She was also successful in Parma (semifinals), Istanbul (quarterfinals) and Cleveland (quarterfinals).

She also recorded some very valuable scalps. She beat Pegula and Muguruza. The biggest success was the triumph over Serena Williams, the most valuable victory of Siniakova’s career. In terms of doubles, a season of a lifetime for Siniakova. It was solid in singles as well, but there was a lack of any major Grand Slam success.

Marie Bouzkova

Grade:: 4

Two Czech players had an absolutely bad season. The first one is Marie Bouzkova. The young Czech dropped a total of 39 places (from 52nd to 91st). She had a very solid start of the season (Phillip Island Trophy – final, Guadalajara – semifinal). After that, however, it was a big trouble. In the next 13 of 17 tournaments she dropped out in the opening round. Bouzkova definitely did not live up to expectations, her season is a big disappointment.

Kristyna Pliskova

Grade:: 5

The worse of the Pliskova twins has absolutely failed this year. She dropped from 69th to 150th place. A negative record of 14::17, the biggest success of the season was reaching the quarterfinals in Cluj and Belgrade. Apart from these 2 tournaments, it was a big pain. One of the worst seasons of Kr. Pliskova’s career. If she doesn’t pick up her results and game next year, it’s quite possible that her career will only go downhill.

Source: Livesport, Twitter