Barbora Krejcikova held off Italian crowd favourite Jasmine Paolini to win the Wimbledon singles title on Saturday, overcoming a spirited challenge to secure a 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 victory on a sunlit Centre Court.
The Czech player, known for her doubles prowess, dominated the opening set with near-perfect play, but Paolini fought back impressively in the second set, setting up a tense decider. In the final set, Krejcikova broke serve at 3-3 and held her nerve to clinch victory on her third match point, adding the Wimbledon singles title to her French Open crown from 2021.
This win marks a significant achievement for Krejcikova, who also has 10 doubles Grand Slam titles, including two at Wimbledon. She continues the Czech legacy at Wimbledon, following Marketa Vondrousova’s triumph last year.
Krejcikova started the match confidently, breaking Paolini’s serve in the first game and holding her own serve for a 2-0 lead. Despite Paolini’s resilience and the crowd’s support, Krejcikova’s powerful baseline play secured the first set in 35 minutes.
However, Paolini came back stronger in the second set, breaking Krejcikova’s serve and taking a 3-0 lead. With renewed energy and fluent winners, Paolini leveled the match, setting the stage for a decisive third set.
In the final set, both players traded blows until Krejcikova broke Paolini’s serve at 3-3. Despite some nerves when serving for the match at 5-4, Krejcikova finally closed it out on her third match point, cementing her place as the Wimbledon singles champion.
For Paolini, it was another heartbreaking final loss, having also been runner-up at the French Open earlier in the year. Despite her valiant effort, she fell short of becoming the first Italian to win a Wimbledon singles title.