Barbora Krejcikova is back at Wimbledon hoping to defend the title that she won 12 months ago.
The Czech Wimbledon title holder won the 2024 Ladies Singles tournament after defeating Italian superstar Jasmine Paolini in the final, winning 6-2 2-6 6-4.
The former French Open champion faces young Filipina superstar Alexandra Eala, who posted an emotional Instagram message after her Eastbourne Open final loss to Maya Joint.
Before their Wimbledon first-round clash, Krejcikova discussed the prospect of playing Eala.
Barbora Krejcikova says she is ‘looking forward’ to playing the young generation at Wimbledon
Speaking at her press conference before the first round, Krejcikova said of Eala: “Well to be honest I don’t really know that much about her yet because she’s obviously a young player, an upcoming player and one of the players of the new generation I would say.
“But I saw some (inaudible), I saw some matches. I know that she was doing quite well at the first half of the year so I’m looking forward.
“It’s going to be a great, great matchup and I’m looking forward to playing against her and to see what the young generation is.”
Eala, who started playing tennis at the age of four, has emerged as one of the brightest young talents on the WTA Tour.
The 20-year-old shocked the WTA Tour in March by reaching the semi-finals of the Miami Open. During the week, she knocked out three Grand Slam champions – Jelena Ostapenko, Madison Keys and Iga Swiatek.
Eala ultimately lost to Jessica Pegula in the semi-final. However, the mark she made on the WTA Tour has had a lasting effect.
The young star will be one to watch at Wimbledon, especially if she can cause a shock in her opening match against Krejcikova.
Barbora Krejcikova says she liked the ‘traditional style’ of line calling
At the same Wimbledon press conference, Krejcikova was asked for her opinion on the landmark line calling change at this year’s championships.
Wimbledon will end its 147-year history of using line judges, opting for electronic line calling.
When asked about the monumental change, Krejcikova said: “To be honest I like the old traditional style. I liked it the old way.
“But you know like with the new system it’s just yeah, it’s just the way it is.”
