'I’m happy I turned it around': Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova secures much-needed grass victory

The 2024 Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova has secured a victory on grass courts, following a challenging last year marked by injuries. The Czech defeated local favorite Harriet Dart in her Eastbourne Open debut, marking her second win of the season.

The former world No. 2 has faced physical struggles since winning her second Grand Slam title almost a year ago. During the latter half of last year, she managed to play only a handful of tournaments, and 2025 hasn't been much better.

Krejcikova spent about six months off the court after the WTA Finals, only returning in mid-May at the Strasbourg Open. Since then, this is her fourth tournament appearance, and her only previous win of the season was in the first round of the French Open against Tatjana Maria.

The 29-year-old is playing her final preparatory tournament before defending her title at the All England Club and had an encouraging debut against local hope Harriet Dart, defeating her in a tight match, 6-3, 6-7(4), 7-5. "It was a really tough match and I expected Harriet to play well because she’s home favorite and she loves to play on grass and we are quite close also outside of the court.”

"So I expected it was gonna be tough and to be honest in the third set when I was down and having those two match points down I was kind of already in the locker room,” she added. “I’m happy I turned it around.”

Krejcikova appears to be feeling physically well now, achieving consistency with several consecutive tournaments and managing to win an exhausting three-set match that lasted 2 hours and 45 minutes. "I’m super excited, I’m super excited. I love being in England and I love to play on the grass so I’m looking forward,” she stated.

The current world No. 17 is preparing for a massive loss of points at Wimbledon (2,000 out of her current 2,700), which could see her fall outside the top 100 if she doesn't secure several victories in the coming days. Her next opponent will be fellow Brit Jodie Burrage, who just eliminated Japan's Moyuka Uchijima.