Monday, September 1, 2025

Czechs still bringing the drama at the U.S. Open--part 2: match point madness

Yesterday, I wrote about Barbora Krejcikova's coming back from 0-3 in the third set to defeat Emma Navarro. It turns out that that was child's play. Yesterday, in her three-hour round of 16 match against Taylor Townsend, the Czech star saved eight match points, six of which she saved in a second-set, 25-minute tiebreak. It was one of those tennis occurrences that--even though you were watching it--you couldn't quite believe it was happening. But then--a Czech player was involved.

Townsend won the first set 6-1, and--not to take anything from away her excellent play--but Krejcikova didn't seem to be wholly "there," and her forehand--usually her main weapon--was a mess. Apparently, getting trounced in the first set was all that she needed to turn on the switch--the second set was a different story, in that it was--whatever is beyond "highly competitive." Krejcikova saved two match points and brought the set to a tiebreak, which spectators will probably continue to think of as a set unto itself.

Townsend, who seemed undeterred by her opponent's resurgence (she saved three set points), created six more match points--and Krejcikova saved all of them, finally winning the tiebreak 15-13. By this time, the Krejcikova forehand had become lethal, especially in its cross-court version--though her down-the-lines-were also stunning. The third set was also competitive: Krejckova immediately went up a break, lost it, won it back, and then won the set 6-4, giving her a dramatic victory.

The Czech star missed the first four months of the season because of a back injury, and she also had to deal with a a foot injury, other assorted injuries, and an illness earlier in the season. Since returning to the tour, she has won twelve matches, and in three of them, she had to save match points.  

Krejcikova's countrywoman (and fellow Wimbledon champion), Marketa Vondrousova--who has experienced some of the most chronic injury woes on the tour (she's had two surgeries in the past three years)--arrived healthy in New York, and last night, played a highly anticipated match against another Wimbledon champion, Elena Rybakina. At her best, Vondrousova makes the toughest shots look "oh, I do this every day" easy, and last night, she was at her best. 

Aside from being Wimbledon champions, Vondrousova and Rybakina have something else in common: They were both cool, collected, no-nonsense players, and it's a pleasure to watch them compete against each other. Their match on Arthur Ashe Stadium last night was a beautiful display of tennis, with Vondrousova emerging as the victor, 6-4, 5-7, 6-2. And while there was none of the drama of Krejcikova's match, the last game was pretty dramatic: Vondrousova, down 15-40, closed the match with three aces (she hit thirteen total), and a winner. Cool and collected indeed.

Earlier in the day, Jessica Pegula defeated countrywoman Ann Li 6-1, 6-2, and top seed and defending champion Aryna Sabalenka defeated Cristina Bucsa 6-1, 6-4. 

Round of 16 play will be completed today. 

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Sunday, August 31, 2025

Czechs still bringing the drama at the U.S. Open

As I recalled in my summary of Petra Kvitova's career, she once apologized on social media for raising her fans' blood pressure. P3tra may be gone, but her countrywomen are continuing her tradition of taking a rugged, scenic route to get to victory. Well, two of them are--Marketa Vondrousova has her first three rounds in straight sets, and that includes the upset of 7th seed Jasmine Paolini. But Barbora Krejcikova and Karolina Muchova have each delivered some drama.

Krejcikova began her U.S. Open campaign by defeating Montreal champion and rising star Victoria Mboko in straight sets, and she won her second round match in straight sets, also. But the two-time major champion needed two and a half hours--and a great deal of nerve--to upset 10th seed Emma Navarro. Navarro had defeated Krejcikova, the defending champion (who was off the tour for some time with both injury and illness) in the third round of Wimbledon, and it looked as though Navarro might prevail again. She won the first set, Krejcikova won the second, and then the Czech star went down 0-3 in the third. 

But Krejcikova is nothing if not tough-minded, and she put together a combination of determination and shot-making that gave her a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory. Then there was 11th seed Karolina Muchova, who--even in the early rounds--studded spectators with what we might as well call The Muchova Show. But that doesn't mean that it was easy for her.  It took her three sets to defeat two-time champion Venus Williams, and three sets (and just shy of three hours) to defeat the ever-challenging Sorana Cirstea. 

Next came countrywoman Linda Noskova, who gave Muchova all kinds of problems. Muchova led throughout the first set, only to lose it in a tiebreak. She would win the next two sets, but not without having to put up quite a fight against Noskova.

There was also non-Czech drama in the third round. Ann Li reached her first-ever round of 16 at a major when she defeated Priscilla Hon, Elena Rybakina, in lethal form, made surprisingly quick work of 2021 champion Emma Raducanu, and Cristina Bucsa reached her first major round of 16 when she upset 19th seed Elise Mertens.

Commentators often say, "She had her opportunities," and in Anna Kalinskaya's case, that would be an understatement. Against 2nd seed Iga Swiatek, Kalenskaya, who led 5-1--had the first set on her racket--over and over, but her serve fell apart, and she lost the set in a tiebreak. And while Swiatek's performance in the second set was far from her best, and she made 33 unforced errors overall, she managed to take the match 7-6(2), 6-4.

Pulling the biggest upset was Taylor Townsend, who defeated 5th seed Mirra Andreeva in straight sets.

Here is the round of 16 draw:

Aryna Sabalenka (1) v. Cristina Bucsa
Elena Rybakina (9) v. Marketa Vondrousova (This could be 
Jessica Pegula (4) v. Ann Li
Barbora Krejcikova v. Taylor Townsend
Marta Kostyuk(27) v. Karolina Muchvova (11)  (also a must-watch match)
Naomi Osaka (23) v. Coco Gauff (3) 
Amanda Anisimova (8) v. Beatriz Haddad Maia (18)
Ekaterina Alexandrova (13) v. Iga Swiatek (2)

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Wednesday, August 27, 2025

Petra Kvitova plays her final match

Many years ago, I watched a young Czech woman play in Fed Cup (now Billie Jean King Cup) competition and thought to myself—“if she can control her aggression a bit better, she’s going to be somebody.” That young woman was Petra Kvitova; she learned a lot, and she indeed became somebody—an icon not only of sport, but of grace and resilience.

This week, at the U.S. Open, Kvitova, who is 35 years old, retired from professional tennis. She had intended to retire a year ago, after giving birth to a son, but she decided to go for one more season. The U.S. Open retirement ceremony was low-key, in fitting with the Czech star’s persona, and—while an emotional affair—it wasn’t as poignant as watching the two-time champion leave the Wimbledon court for the last time earlier this summer.

Even in those early Fed Cup days, there was something compelling about Kvitova’s court presence—the big serve, the baseline command, the breathtaking angles, and the full-throated screams of “pojd!” every time she hit a winner. In 2010, a lot of people got to see the Czech star-in-the-making when she reached the semifinals at Wimbledon. 

On her way there, Kvitova upset 14th seed Victoria Azarenka and 3rd seed Caroline Wozniacki (delivering bagel sets in both matches). After she won her quarterfinal, she was interviewed about her upcoming semifinal, and she expressed some mild-mannered concern about having to face “The Serena.” Of course, it was a Czech-to-English language thing, but what better title could anyone have given to eventual champion Williams? (In 2012, when asked what music she was listening to, she told the interviewer, “I like The Pink.”)

In 2011, the year after The Serena took her out of Wimbledon, Kvitova became the champion, defeating Maria Sharapova in the final. When she tried to make her way up to the balcony, she was stopped by security—who was this woman, anyway? Three years later, when Kvitova won her second Wimbledon title, allowing Genie Bouchard only three games (bagel included) in the final, everyone knew who she was.

In 2012, Kvitova reached the semifinals of the Australian Open, but was defeated by Maria Sharapova. Many of us thought that the Czech star would eventually win in Melbourne, but it wasn’t to be. She did reach the final seven years later, but lost to Naomi Osaka in a very close match. 

Kvitova, though she won both Stuttgart and Madrid (twice) tended to shy away from clay courts. However, in 2020, she reached the semifinals of the French Open, but lost to Sofia Kenin. (In the spring of 2021, I asked her if she was making any special preparations for Paris, and she quickly replied something to the effect of “You know I prefer not to think about it.”)

The U.S. Open was an especially difficult venue for Kvitova because she suffered from asthma and other occasional respiratory conditions (she did eventually get the asthma under better control), and the humidity made it hard for her to function at the level of which she was capable. The best that she ever did in Flushuing Meadows was to reach the quarterfinals in 2015 and 2017.

Shortly before Christmas in 2016, Kvitova’s life was profoundly changed when a violent intruder broke into her apartment and attacked her with a knife. It’s safe to say, I think, that it wasn’t the perpetrator’s best plan to go after a six-foot tall elite athlete—Kvitova gave him quite a fight. However, tendons and nerves in her left hand were cut—the hand that had dominated so many matches and led her to two Wimbledon victories—and her doctors were uncertain about her professional future.

Fortunately, Kvitova—like so many other patients who know when to stop listening to doctors—had other ideas. Her rehab went well, and she was scheduled to return to the tour after a six-month period. But again, Petra had other ideas—she made her return at the 2017 French Open, and what a return it was. She was greeted by a giant kiosk on which were displayed dozens of heartfelt good wishes from WTA players and others in the tennis world. Kvitova would go on to win her first round, and then lose her second round in two tiebreak sets. But any way you looked at it, it was a victory, especially considering the fact that she still didn’t have all of the feeling back in her fingers.

In June—still without full feeling in her left hand, Kvitova won her 20th career title in Birmingham.

photo by Daniel Ward
In 2017, I nominated Petra for the Women’s Sports Foundation’s Wilma Rudolph Courage Award. Among many other things, I said:

I have thought a lot about what it must have felt like: knowing you could have died, knowing that your career hand has been sliced to the bone, knowing that you may never again stand on one side of a net screaming “Pojd!” and rendering other talented players helpless. 

But Petra knew more than that: She knew that she had the strength—both within herself, and through the power of the spirit of those who admire and respect her—to transcend a truly horrific experience. That she did it so quickly makes the story even more glorious. 

Petra Kvitova won 31 singles titles, nine of which were at the 1000 level, and—a four-time Olympican—in 2016, she won a bronze medal at the Olympic Games. Just as impressive was Kvitova’s role in Fed Cup play—she was a major contributor to the Czech team’s six Fed Cup championships. 

She also won the WTA’s Karen Krantzcke award for sportswomanship (I refuse to call the award by its sexist name) an astounding seven consecutive times. 

And speaking of her peers’ affinity for Petra—no discussion of the Czech star is complete without mentioning Li Na, who was her best friend on the tour. When Li retired in 2014, Kvitova gave the speech at the ceremony, and it was an excellent, heartfelt speech. When people think of Li Na, they tend to think of her quick and wicked sense of humor, and—to me—that partly explains the bond between her and Kvitova. 

The Czech’s wit could be subtle, such as when she posted a photo of her back on social media after one of her famous “P3tra” close three-setters, and wrote, “Glad to have that behind me (and sorry for the blood pressure”). Several years ago, there was a “win lunch with Petra Kvitova” contest, and the winner also got to hit with Petra. The young man who won the contest had his hit, then sat down for lunch. “It’s my backhand that needs work, right?” he asked Kvitova. She looked at him for a moment, then deadpanned, “Everything.”

And who among us can forget Petra’s role as an astronomy expert? 


Petra Kvitova will always be remembered and honored for her accomplishments, but some of the greatest “what ifs” in professional tennis will continue to surround her. It’s hard not to wonder how much better she would have done at certain tournaments—including, of course, the U.S. Open—had she not had respiratory challenges. And it’s hard not to wonder how much her professional track was changed by the terrible trauma of 2016.

But even with these challenges, we always knew never to count her out. In 2023, she surprised a lot of people by winning Miami. 

Perhaps the biggest mystery of Kvitova’s career was her ranking. In 2011, she rose to number 2 in the world, and that remains her career-high ranking. The next year, in Sydney, she was two wins away from getting the number 1 ranking, and had she defeated Osaka in the 2019 Australian Open final, she would have risen to number 1.

And while Petra Kvitova may leave the sport with a few unanswerable questions attached to her legacy, none of those “what ifs” really matters. Petra was a once-in-a-generation star, as respected and treasured for her kindness and her gentle persona as she was respected and feared for her lefty serve and her laser-like, precisely-angled groundstrokes. Her career, which spanned nineteen years, will always be part of tennis history, and an important part of the amazing legacy that is Czech women’s tennis. 

photos by Daniel Ward

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Monday, August 25, 2025

Caroline Garcia retires from professional tennis

Caroline Garcia retired from professional tennis today. She played the final match of her career at the U.S. Open, and lost in the first round to Kamilla Rakhimova. The 31-year-old Garcia had a strong career in both singles and doubles, which is--these days--a hard-to-come-by achievement. The French star's highest career ranking in singles was number 4 in the world, and her highest career ranking in doubles was world number 2. She won eleven singles titles and eight doubles titles. In 2022, Garcia won the WTA Finals in singles.

Garcia began her professional career in 2011, following a successful junior career. In addition to her regular tour schedule, Garcia was a member of the French Fed Cup (now Billie Jean King Cup) team for seven straight years, and she was a key member of the championship team in 2019. She won the French Open doubles title twice, in 2016 and 2022. Both times, Garcia's partner was Kiki Mladenovic.  

Garcia was on the French Olympic team in 2016. In both 2022 and 2023, she led the tour in number of aces served--394 and 462 respectively. Garcia's success came from her having a number of strengths--a good serve, excellent forehand, solid backhand, the net skills of an elite doubles player, and excellent footwork. 

Known for her signature "in flight" celebrations, Garcia's fans knew what it was to "fly with Caro," and for fourteen years, it was a wonderful journey. Or, as the Frenchwoman herself put it: "Tennis brought me so much. Some great emotions, some tough ones. It shaped me to become the person I am today. I grew a lot. Especially the last years.  I’m very at peace with my decision to say goodbye to tennis at competition level...."

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Saturday, August 23, 2025

New York--last stop on Sabalenka's quest to win a major in 2025

World number 1 Aryna Sabalenka has had a year of "almost" with regard to the majors. She lost the Australian Open final to Madison Keys and the French Open final to Coco Gauff. At Wimbledon, she lost in the semifinals to Amanda Anisimova. Sabalenka is the defending champion at the U.S. Open; last year, she defeated Jessica Pegula to win the title.  

For some time, Sabalenka was so far ahead of everyone else in ranking points that she was a lock at number 1. But now, there are some contingencies: If she doesn't make it to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open, either former world number 1 Iga Swiatek or Coco Gauff could become number 1 by winning the tournament. If, however, Sabalenka reaches the quarterfinals (a very likely scenario), she has a lock on the number 1 spot, no matter who wins the Open.

Sabalenka's quarter includes Clara Tauson, Elena Rybakina, Emma Raducanu, Marketa Vondrousova, and Jasmine Paolini, as well as 2021 finalist Leylah Fernandez, Elise Mertens, and Alexandra Eala.

2022 champion Swiatek, like Sabalenka before her, arrives in New York with a fresh Cincinnati title--her first. And 2023 champion Gauff arrives with a new coach. Gauff has parted ways with Matt Daly, and has hired biomechanics coach Gavin MacMillan. MacMillan was the coach who helped Sabalenka overcome her services issues. And since her double-faulting is Gauff's biggest problem these days, bringing on MacMillan makes sense. 

The Open begins tomorrow, August 26. Here are some interesting first rounds to watch:

Alexandra Eala v. Clara Tauson (14)
Barbora Krejcikova* v. Victoria Mboko (22)
Alona Ostapenko (25) v. Wang Xiyu
Venus Williams v. Karolina Muchova (11)
Donna Vekic v. Jessica Bouzas Maneiro

*Krejcikova's unseeded status tells the story of her ongoing injury and illness woes in 2025.

 

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Sunday, July 13, 2025

My Wimbledon top 10

Here are my top 10 Wimbledon happenings, in ascending order:

10. Exceeding your worst expectations: It was a pain to have ESPN cover Wimbledon in the U.S. In addition to the painfully bad commentating (nothing new), the app had to be constantly refreshed or it would display a message that the match I was trying to watch wasn't available in my area or package. And breaking into the women's doubles final to show us ATP players practicing was also offensively on brand for the network. And on top of all that, ESPN is still using the promotional voice-over of the man saying "WimbleDEN."

9. Slovakian spirit: Unseeded Mia Pohankova of the Slovak Republic became the 2025 junior girls' singles champion when she defeated 6th seed Julieta Pareja 6-3, 6-1 in Saturday's final. Pohankova, who is 16, is the second consecutive Slovakian player to win the title. In doubles, the USA's Thea Frodin, playing with Pareja (also from the USA), defeated Kristina Penickova (USA) and the Czech Repubic's Vendula Valdmannova to win the championship.

8. Remember me?: Emma Raducanu has been a "fan" punching bag for some time now, but it was kind of hard to punch her at Wimbledon (although I'm sure that didn't stop some people): The 2021 U.S. Open champion won her first round, then upset 2023 champion Marketa Vondrousova in the seconde round. She then lost to world number 1 Aryna Sabalenka, who defeated her 7-6 (6), 6-4, which is a very respectable losing scoreline. Raducanu played quite well; it was too bad that she didn't make it to the second week.

7. New faces: We became so accustomed to Diede de Groot's winning just about everything that--when she had to take some time off in order to undergo hip surgery, rehab and working her way back on the tour--it was a bit of an adjustment. Of course, Yui Kamiji--always second to de Groot in results--was the natural (if likely temporary) successor. And indeed, the Japanese player won both the Australian Open and the French Open. 

But Wimbledon was different in every way. 3rd seed Li Xiaohui--the woman who ended de Groot's 145-match win streak--defeated de Groot in the quarterfinals. Li then lost to top seed Kamiji in the semifinals, then Kamiji lost to 4th seed Wang Ziying in the final. Wang got as far as the semifinals in the Australian Open, but was defeated by Aniek van Koot.                                                

6. Believe in yourself!: Conchita Martinez and Mirra Andreeva turned the tables in a hilarious way at this event. Once Andreeva was out of the tournament, she became her famous coach's coach in the Legends competition, and she put her whole heart into it. There are a number of prize videos of Andreeva's coaching, and I can't stop watching them.

5.  When you can't catch a break: Last year, Barbora Krejcikova won Wimbledon. But things didn't go so well after that. She was out for six months with a back injury, she was ill, and then she had to withdraw from Eastbourne (after saving match point in her two matches) because of a thigh injury. She arrived in London full of the usual Krejcikova spirit, defeating the talented Alexandra Eala, then also winning her second round.

But during the third set of her third round match against Emma Navarro, the eternally calm Krejcikova appeared to be ill, and at one point, she went to the back of the court and wept. Then she pulled herself together and won the next game, which was nothing short of amazing, but she lost the match. It turned out that the Czech star had contracted a virus, and she was sick for several days. 

4. Time to add another shelf to the trophy case: Katerina Siniakova spends a lot of time in the winner's circle. She has won ten women's doubles titles (seven of them with Krejcikova), and now, she has also won a mixed doubles title. Siniakova and Sem Verbeek won the 2025 title, defeating Luisa Stefani and Joe Salisbury in the final. 

3: They were just here a moment ago: The first two rounds of this year's tournament were filled with carnage. 2nd seed Coco Gauff, 3rd seed Jessica Pegula, 5th seed Zheng Qinwen, and two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova all went out in the first round, as did three of the warmup tournament champions. In the second round, 4th seed and 2024 runner-up Jasmine Paolini and 6th seed Madison Keys were upset, and 2023 champion Marketa Vondrousova was also defeated.

2. Veronika gets her trophy: In 2021, Veronika Kudermetova and Elena Vesnina (making a brief comeback to the tour) lost the Wimbledon final to Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens. This year, Kudermetova--playing with partner Elise Mertens (the no. 8 seeds)--defeated 4th seeds Hsieh and Aฤผona Ostapenko 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 to win the title. It was an entertaining match, and the last two points were stunning. This is Mertens' fifth major doubles title; she won two of those titles with Hsieh. This is Kudermetova's first major title.

1. Bagels with a side of strawberries: Iga Swiatek, throughout her career, has had an issue with grass courts. The Polish star, who likes to have a little time to set up her shots, couldn't find that time on grass, and she appeared to have developed a mindset that she needed that time. But mindsets can be changed, and so can serves, and strategies. Now working with coach Wim Fissette, Swiatek has improved her serve, lifted her comfort level on grass, and very obviously changed her mindset. 

Known for dispensing bagel sets to her opponents, the former world number 1 saved her signature beat-down tactic for the final, defeating 13th seed Amanda Anisimova 6-0, 6-0. Anisimova, who had upset world number 1 Aryna Sabaenka in the semifinals, simply wasn't herself in the final. She was undoubtedly affected by the occasion (she had never before contested a major final), but she also appeared to be physically and mentally low on fuel. On the other hand, Swiatek was very much herself--with upgrades. 

Swiatek has now raised her ranking to number 3 in the world, and Anisimova enters the top 10 for the first time, as number 7. My educated guess is that the psychological boost of winning Wimbledon when she thought--for so long--that she couldn't (other than as a junior), will re-set Swiatek's already remarkable career, and make her more dangerous than ever.

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Saturday, July 12, 2025

Swiatek opens new bakery in London, complete with large plate

At Wimbledon, people eat strawberries and cream. Except for Iga Swiatek--Iga eats strawberries with pasta. However, strawberries on a bagel may be the next trend: At long last, the now-six time major champion opened one of her famous bakeries in London. Probably no one was prepared, however, for the flashy significance of this act--Swiatek won the Wimbledon final by defeating her opponent, Amanda Anisimova, 6-0, 6-0. 

Not since Steffi Graf defeated Natasha Zvereva 6-0, 6-0 in the 1988 French Open final, has a woman served a double-bagel match in a major final. Zvereva, seeded 13th, had upset 2nd seed Martina Navratiilova in the round of 16. Anisimova, seeded 13th, had upset world number 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals. This demonstrates not only that context is important, but also that--in tennis--the past is the past. Whoever you defeated in the last match or whatever point you just played are now history.

Winning long, challenging matches in a draw is a double-edged sword. A player gains a lot of confidence from such a win (or wins), but the player's body, including her mental resources, can also just fade away--I've seen this happen several heartbreaking times. It was clear, from the beginning of the championship match, that Anisimova's resources were not what they had been earlier in the tournament. Add to that the fact that this was her first major final, which has to be very stressful. And add to that the fact that her opponent was on a tear such as we haven't seen from her in a while. 

The match lasted under an hour, and, during that time, Swiatek could do almost no wrong, while Anisimova could do little that was right. Anisimova had first and second serve win percentages of 26 and 35, which says it all. She also made 28 unforced errors and hit only six winners. It didn't even appear to be Anisimova on the court, but rather, a slim shadow of the woman who had knocked out Linda Noskova, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and world number 1 Aryna Sabalenka. 

Swiatek, as is her way, dictated play from the first moment, and her newly improved serve was on display throughout the match. The Polish star got 78% of her first serves in, and 72% of those were winning serves. Swiatek's victory gives her six wins in six major finals; she is the first tennis player from Poland to win a major singles championship. And to make all this even more dramatic, today's final marked Swiatek's 100th major match victory.

For several years, it's been clear to both Swiatek and tennis observers that the four-time French Open champion likes the clay because it gives her time to set up her shots. Swiatek won Wimbledon as a junior, but--as she pointed out in press the other day--by the time the juniors took to the court, the grass had worn down considerably--it was a surface that she liked. And while many wrote her off as a potential Wimbledon champion, Swiatek was on a mission. She hired coach Wim Fissette, who set about making some adjustments, which included improving Swiatek's serve (which hadn't been bad at all).

After the match, Swiatek told ESPN that people should "leave me alone," when it comes to her career goals and progress. Amen, sister. 

As for Anisimova--who was also smart enough not to listen to other people, and who chose the only path that she knew would save her career--does have some takeaways other than the terrible scoreline of the champoionship match. For one thing, she electrified the crowed throughout the tournament, and for another--she'll enter the top 10 next week.

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