Inspired By A Legend, Tennis Star Barbora Krejčíková Continues Her Winning Ways
FCI Staff Writer Sacramento 
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December 30, 2023,
The memory of Jana Novotna lives on through the stellar play of Barbora Krejcikova.
Jana was an incredible player to watch as she fearlessly crashed the net.
Jana was a Czech professional tennis player who played a serve and volley game, an increasingly rare style of play among women during her career.
Our luminary won the women’s singles title at Wimbledon in 1998, and was runner-up in three other majors. She reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 2 in 1997.
It is widely known Jana was a coach and mentor to our current star, Barbora Krejcikova.
Barbora is now making a name for herself.
As reported on September 16, 2023, by espn.com, “Barbora Krejcikova beat Sofia Kenin 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 on Saturday in the San Diego Open for her second title of the year and seventh on the WTA Tour.”
As the players know, given the massive talent level, winning those titles has become increasingly hard.
Have you followed Barbora’s career? She is making some successful noise.
Time for a focus.
Barbora is a Czech professional tennis player who reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 2, achieved on February 28, 2022.
She has won one Grand Slam singles title, the 2021 French Open, and ten major doubles titles, including the career Super Slam in women’s doubles.
Barbora has also won 14 singles titles on the ITF Circuit.
Influenced by Jana, let’s look at her playing style.
Our Czech super star is an aggressive player, with an all-court game.
She is known for her strong serve, powerful groundstrokes, and wholly complete net game (we appreciate that Jana).
She has been noted for her ability to play with “contained aggression”, and to spontaneously inject pace into rallies without notice. As a result, she is capable of generating and redirecting power both crosscourt and down-the-line with both her groundstrokes, allowing her to hit winners, or induce unforced errors from opponents, with a high degree of accuracy.
Think about your backhand. For most of us amateur players it is a major challenge.
Barbora’s two-handed backhand is arguably her strongest groundstroke, with her being able to generate extreme angles with her backhand, and hit winners from any position on the court.
She can strategically apply slice to her backhand, continually breaking up the pace of rallies, allowing her to construct points intelligently.
Then there is her widely feared forehand.
Her forehand is also strong, being applied with heavy topspin, pushing opponents far behind the baseline, and allowing her to dictate rallies. She also frequently deploys the sliced forehand, a rare shot in modern tennis, to surprise opponents and aid point construction.
Despite her aggressive playing style, Barbora possesses excellent movement, speed, stamina, footwork, and court coverage, allowing her to defend to an exceptionally high standard, and she is an effective counterpuncher, extending rallies until she creates the opportunity to hit a winner. Her first serve is strong, peaking at 110 mph, allowing her to serve aces and dictate play from the first stroke.
Are we starting to paint a picture?
We can see why she once reached number two in the world.
Fairly quietly.
Time to visit the village that helped raise her.
Brno is a city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic.
Located at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers, Brno has about 390,000 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in the Czech Republic after the capital, Prague, and one of the 100 largest cities of the EU.
The Brno metropolitan area has almost 700,000 inhabitants.
The most visited sights of the city include the Špilberk Castle and fortress and the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul on Petrov hill, two medieval buildings that dominate the cityscape and are often depicted as its traditional symbols.
Historic, yes. It certainly can be an enjoyable place as well.
The world travelers at Lonely Planet share, “Moravia’s capital city just keeps getting better and better. The thousands of university students here have always ensured a lively club and entertainment scene, but a wave of next-gen cafes, restaurants and cocktail bars in the past few years has put the city on the map and even invited positive comparisons with Prague.”
Cities filled with young people seem to have a more energetic vibe.
The legendary globe trotters at Trip Advisor add, “The charms of the Czech Republic’s second-largest city may not be immediate, but spend a few days in this Moravian town and Brno’s vibrant, authentic Czech ambiance will win you over. It’s a fine way to experience Czech life without the teeming herds of tourists that visit Prague.”
So true. The leafy parks that gently grace the city landscape is a testament to that.
Don’t forget the food. We sure haven’t.
Czech cuisine has both influenced and been influenced by the cuisines of surrounding countries and nations.
Many of the cakes and pastries that are popular in Central Europe originated within the Czech lands. Contemporary Czech cuisine is more meat-based than in previous periods.
Talk about a guilty pleasure.
The current abundance of farmable meat has enriched its presence in regional cuisine.
In the Czech cuisine, thick soups and many kinds of sauces, both based on stewed or cooked vegetables and meats, often with cream, as well as baked meats with natural sauces (gravies), are popular dishes usually accompanied with beer, especially Pilsner, that Czechs consume the most in the world.
Czech cuisine is also very strong in sweet main courses and desserts, a unique feature in European cuisines.
Sounds delicious.
As we leave the subject of food and travel, news of Barbora’s great accomplishments on the court are well-traveled.
Especially in high corporate places.
Barbora signed an endorsement deal in 2022 with Fila for clothing, footwear, and apparel.
She is endorsed by Head for racquets, specifically using the Head Extreme racquet.
She is also sponsored by Roko-Motor, the Czech division of Jaguar Land Rover.
Very impressive. Life is good. Especially her financial one.
In addition to her sponsorships, the WTA lists Barbora’s career earnings at $10,851,903.
So, that was her past and present, a glorious one, but life is very much about the future.
Our super star had a very disappointing 2023 US Open, exiting in the first round, but we are absolutely looking for her to make a strong comeback at the 2024 Australian Open.
Given her incredible all-court game and the legendary player she was greatly influenced by, look for Barbora to continue to make her presence known with power, grace and style.
Especially at the net.
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OPENING PHOTO Shutterstock-Mai-Groves-photo-credit-Editorial-use- fcielitecompetitor.com, fciwomenswrestling2.com, femcompetitor.com, grapplingstars.com fcielitecompetitor.com
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbora_Krej%C4%8D%C3%ADkov%C3%A1
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jana_Novotn%C3%A1
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brno
https://www.lonelyplanet.com/czech-republic/moravia/brno
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g274714-Brno_South_Moravian_Region_Moravia-Vacations.html
https://www.wtatennis.com/players/318314/barbora-krejcikova
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Czech_cuisine
https://www.fciwomenswrestling2.com
https://www.fcielitecompetitor.com/
https://fciwomenswrestling.com/
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