There are 19 active Grand Slam singles champions in women’s tennis, and one of them is Barbora Krejickova.
Fourteen of them entered the draw at Wimbledon 2024, and Krejcikova beat two of them along the way to winning her second major singles trophy, three years after her 2021 Roland Garros title.
The 28-year-old Czech believes she’s playing, now, the best tennis of her career.
ALCARAZ v DJOKOVIC: Unmissable final rematch set at Wimbledon
“I think I did because today was very difficult, and I really had to dig deep in every aspect. Also in tennis, but also mentally,” she said after a 6-2 2-6 6-4 final win over rising Italian star Jasmine Paolini.
“I'm extremely proud that I was able to do that, to hold everything together, and to just win the finals.
“Winning any slam is great. Winning here at Wimbledon is huge for me.”
Krejcikova’s triumph over Paolini means she enters rarified air.
Of those 19 active Slam champions, less than half had won multiple major singles titles, until Krejcikova joined them on Saturday.
Just six of those players had won their titles at different Grand Slam tournaments. And only one, Simona Halep, had done so on the clay of Roland Garros and the grass of Wimbledon.
But then you have to consider Krejcikova’s doubles exploits, something which separates her from almost all those other singles champions.
The Czech has won another 10 Grand Slam trophies in doubles – seven in women’s, three in mixed – which alongside her singles success convinces many of her eventual International Tennis Hall of Fame inclusion.
Of the 19 active major champions, only Venus Williams can say she’s achieved more on the doubles court than Krejcikova.
But then you must consider Krejickova’s winning percentage in those finals.
Of her 13 Grand Slam finals across singles, doubles and mixed, she has won 12 of them.
It’s an unparalleled success rate.
“It's (an) advantage that I was able to play a lot of finals in doubles and in mixed doubles. I was there with my partner to share all the emotions that are going through for you during the match. It definitely, definitely helped me also for my singles matches,” Krejcikova said.
“It's great that I'm a two-time major champion. It's something unbelievable. On the other hand, yeah, I'm still the same person.
“I still love tennis very much. I still want to continue playing tennis well and fight for other tournaments.”
There’s no doubt she can do that, given her track record.
Krejcikova has been as high as world No.2 in singles, and is projected to return to the top 10 after her Wimbledon title.
She beat the world’s top three women to win her other most significant singles title, on Dubai’s hard courts in 2023. It means she owns “big” titles – Grand Slam or WTA 1000 level – on all three surfaces.
She navigated her way past quality opposition during this Wimbledon fortnight, too.
MORE: Late Novotna inspiring Krejcikova in run to Wimbledon final
She survived former world No.9 Veronika Kudermetova in the opening round – that match went to 7-5 in the third set – then beat in-form American Danielle Collins, the AO 2022 finalist, in the fourth round.
Her respective quarterfinal and semifinal wins, over 2017 Roland Garros winner Jelena Ostapenko and 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina, improved her Grand Slam record against former major champions to 6-2.
And then she overcame Paolini, a player set to crack the top five after joining a list of stellar names to appear in Roland Garros and Wimbledon finals back-to-back.
It's been an incredible turnaround for Krejcikova, who had battled injury and illness earlier in 2024 and won just three singles matches in the five months between the Australian Open and Wimbledon.
RELATED: Italian pocket rocket Paolini suddenly launching on grass
“She's a very complete player. She's so good,” Paolini said of Krejcikova.
With such an impressive career record and incredible talent, who knows what Krejickova will go on to achieve from here?
Saturday’s Wimbledon victory, however, will be hard to top.
“I wouldn't really say (winning Wimbledon) was kind of like my dreams when I was very little,” revealed Krejcikova, who emulated late coach and mentor Jana Novotna as a singles champion at the All England Club.
“I have like a little notebook that I wrote when I was, like, 12. I don't know, maybe like three, four months ago I was listing through that notebook. I wrote that in the future I would like to win the French Open. So it was quite a big dream for me to win the French Open.
“To be honest, maybe things shifted a little bit when I actually met Jana and when she was telling me all the stories about Wimbledon, about the grass, how difficult it was for her to win the title and how emotional she was when she actually made it.
“I think since then I started to see Wimbledon like the biggest tournament in the world.”