Latest News

Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova back on top after a roller-coaster three years

Published

2 years ago

2024/07/14

Priyan

Barbora Krejcikova's two major titles could each be categorized as a surprise victory. (ESPN)

Even Barbora Krejcikova didn’t think she would win the singles title at Wimbeldon.

Her late mentor, Jana Novotna, had won in 1998 and, before Novotna died of cancer in 2017, she had told Krejcikova to win a Grand Slam. When Krejcikova did just that at the French Open four years later, she was sure it was because Novotna was looking out for her from above.

But Krejcikova still didn’t think she would repeat the feat at the All England Club. That was just too much of a miracle. “I never dreamed that I would win the same trophy as Jana did in 1998,” she said Saturday.

And with the season she was having, few believed she had a chance this year. She’d had a back injury, an illness that sidelined her, a winless season on clay and a plummeting ranking.

But at Wimbledon, the 28-year-old Krejcikova’s self-belief grew with every match she played. And on Saturday, she exceeded her wildest dreams and won the Wimbledon title with a 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 victory over No. 7 seed Jasmine Paolini in the final. But while she called it “the best day” of her career and life on the court, Krejcikova didn’t seem to be thinking about any larger implications.

“I still feel the same,” Krejcikova said. “It’s great that I’m a two-time major champion. It’s something unbelievable. I mean, on the other hand, 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.

AS A 12-YEAR-OLD, Krejcikova wrote down her ultimate goal: to win the French Open. Hoisting the trophy on the red clay at Roland Garros was what motivated her during her early days and what she pictured when she closed her eyes at the end of the day.

But meeting Novotna changed things, and she started to think about what it would be like to win Wimbledon. They had started working together when Krejcikova was 18 and had just finished her junior career. Krejcikova was unsure if she should turn professional, and her parents encouraged her to write a letter to Novotna, a former world No. 2 and fellow Czech, asking for advice. Novotna responded a week later and the two began working together soon after. Novotna told Krejcikova she had potential and encouraged her to turn pro.

They quickly grew close and Krejcikova valued her guidance and friendship. Novotna told her stories about Wimbledon. What the grass was like. How hard it was to become the champion.

“I think since then I started to see Wimbledon [as] the biggest tournament in the world,” Krejcikova said on Saturday.

But it was at the French Open in 2021 where she would win that first major title she had dreamed about.

Playing in just the fifth major main draw of her career, and as an unseeded player, Krejcikova formally introduced herself to the tennis world with a dynamic run to the title, defeating Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-1, 2-6, 6-4, in the final. She had already won the doubles titles at the French Open and Wimbledon (both with fellow countrywoman Katerina siniakova and three mixed doubles titles at the Australian Open, but had largely been a nonfactor in singles play.

Since her breakthrough in Paris, she has continued to play doubles and find success. She and Siniakova won the French Open doubles title the day after she earned the singles trophy, and together went on to claim four more Grand Slam doubles titles and Olympic gold in Tokyo before splitting as a team at the end of the 2023 season.

But consistent results in singles have proven tougher. Krejcikova made her debut in the main draw at both Wimbledon and the US Open after her triumph in Paris in 2021. By the end of the summer, after reaching the fourth round and the quarterfinals respectively, Krejcikova had cracked the top five.

She opened the 2022 season with a quarterfinal appearance at the Australian Open and reached the world No. 2 ranking by February. But then things took a turn. An arm injury kept her sidelined for months and she returned just in time for the French Open. She lost in the first round. She then had to withdraw from doubles the following day after testing positive for COVID.

There was a turnaround at the start of 2023. Krejcikova reached the fourth round at the Australian Open and then won the 1000-level title at Dubai after defeating four top-10 players, including No. 1 Iga Swiatek in the final. She hoped it would finally put her in the conversation among the top players in the game.

“When I read something on social media, it’s about Iga, Aryna [Sabalenka], and Elena [Rybakina] — I’m not really there,” Krejcikova told WTA Insider a few weeks later. “What else should I do? How should I prove it again? … I want to be mentioned as well. I want to be recognized as well because I think I deserve it. I’ve had a lot of success on the tour and I just don’t get the credit.”

But she couldn’t back up her words with her play. She lost in the first round of the 2023 French Open and had to retire from her second-round match at Wimbledon with an ankle injury. She went 0-2 in the hard-court tournaments ahead of the US Open and then lost her opener in New York. She salvaged her season by winning in singles and doubles at San Diego soon after, but by the end of the season she had split with her longtime coach and with Siniakova in doubles — and went back to the drawing board in the brief offseason.

Krejcikova opened 2024 with a quarterfinal appearance at the Australian Open, but a back injury kept her out for much of the hard-court season. She returned in time for the clay portion of the schedule but she went 0-4, including at the French Open. Grass wasn’t looking like it would be much better. She won two matches in Birmingham but then lost in the first round in Eastbourne. Her ranking dropped to No. 32.

She was optimistic — but even she wasn’t expecting to do this well at Wimbledon.

Match by match she raised her level and found ways to dispatch higher-cranked opponents, including No. 11 seed Danielle Collins in the fourth round and No. 13 seed Jelena Ostapenko in the quarterfinals. But it was her 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 comeback victory in the semifinals over Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon champion and remaining favorite, that truly showed everyone just how good she could be when at her best.

“During the season it was very difficult. I have had many difficult periods,” Krejcikova said after her semifinal victory. “I never really imagined that in four weeks I could reach a Wimbledon final, that I can be a different player. But I’m super happy that I am [and] that I was able to fight through everything.”

She has been more relaxed this tournament as well, especially when compared to her run at the French Open three years ago. On the court, she’s visibly more composed and celebratory And off the court, it’s clear she’s enjoying herself. Starting during a rain delay ahead of a doubles match (she reached the quarterfinals with Laura Siegemund), Krejcikova began doing a Twitter Q&A with fans. It’s something she has continued, including during her off day on Friday. She has touched on everything from baking to music to Legos.

“Before the tournament, I had a tough period,” Krejcikova said on Thursday. “I just told myself that I will try to enjoy everything more. … In the end so far I think I [am] very, very successful in doing that. I’m definitely enjoying this moment much more than I did in Paris, which was more stressful for me.”

Krejcikova leaves Wimbledon now ranked No. 10 in the world, but perhaps most importantly, she seems content with her play and how she’s perceived by others.

While she may or may not be considered at the same level as Swiatek and the rest of the top-ranked players, she is in the same category as Novotna: Wimbledon champions. She stopped to look at her newly engraved name on the list of winners shortly after her victory on Saturday.

“[It was a] very emotional moment to see me on a board right next to [Novotna],” she said. “I think she would be proud. I think she would be really excited that I’m on a same board as she is because Wimbledon was super special for her.”

(ESPN)

All News Advertisement

Latest News

Gold winner Tharanga gets brand-new Honda Vezel from SLAAJ ‎

Published

2 hours ago

2026/09/30

Priyan

‎by Reemus Fernando
‎
‎The Sri Lanka Automobile Association in Japan (SLAAJ) has awarded a brand-new Honda Vezel to gold medallist Rumesh Tharanga at a felicitation ceremony for the Sri Lankan team that competed at the Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan.

‎The gift was announced at the ceremony, held on the eve of the team’s departure from Nagoya.

‎”We decided to reward every Sri Lankan athlete who wins a gold medal with a brand-new vehicle. We invited all the Sri Lankan athletes taking part in the Games to the felicitation, and at the time of the event, only Tharanga had won gold,”

Nishantha Meegalla, Vice President of the Nagoya Prefecture of the Sri Lanka Business Council of Japan, told ‘The Island’.

‎Tharanga, the world’s top-ranked javelin thrower this season, won Sri Lanka’s first-ever javelin medal at the Asian Games on Monday, sealing the historic victory with a throw of 88.55 metres.

Latest News

Implementation of Revised National Curriculum Framework under the Education Reforms

Published

16 hours ago

2026/09/29

Priyan

Approval has been granted at the cabinet meeting held on 01-03-2023 for the National Curriculum Framework and the methodology for implementing the aforementioned framework, which was initiated by the National Institute of Education in 2019 under the education reform process.

However, considering the modules relevant to Grades 1, 6, and 10 that have been prepared by the National Institute of Education for the implementation of the new education reforms by the time the new government comes into power in 2024, it was planned to implement the new National Curriculum Framework only for Grades 1 and 6 in 2026, ensuring appropriate adjustments to the new government’s policies.

Further, it has also been planned to introduce vocational subjects from grade 10 onwards.

Accordingly, the concept paper required for ‘Transformational Change in Sri Lanka’s General Education’, which has been prepared to inform and make relevant parties aware of the proposed adjustments, has also been submitted to the Parliamentary Subcommittee on Education Reforms on 22-10-2025.

Subsequently, as decided at the Cabinet Meeting held on 13-01-2026, steps have been taken to postpone the implementation of education reforms for grade 6, which had been planned under the first phase of the comprehensive reform agenda for general
education, up to the year 2027, and only to implement new curriculum reforms for grade 1 in the year 2026.

Subsequently, the Ministry of Education, Higher Education, and Vocational Education has followed these steps.

• preparing a new concept paper with policy recommendations after reviewing the concept paper prepared related to bringing about transformational change in Sri Lanka’s general education
by the National Education Commission.

• Having reviewed the revised concept paper by the National Steering Committee established as per the cabinet decision dated 23-03-2026 and subcommittees established under 5 pillars
relevant to the education reforms-namely Curriculum Reform, Human Resource Development, Education Administrative Reforms & Infrastructure Development, Evaluation & Assessment, and Public Awareness & Promotion-and obtaining further observations and recommendations.

• Based on those observations and recommendations, further revising the National Curriculum Framework prepared by the National Institute of Education in 2023 and obtaining approval
from the Academic Affairs Board of the National Institute of Education.

• Obtaining approval from the Council of the National Institute of Education for the National Curriculum Framework approved by its Academic Affairs Board.

• Obtaining concurrence from the National Steering Committee for New Education Reforms on 2026-08-13 for the National Curriculum Framework approved by the Council of the National Institute of Education.

• Printing and preparing activity books and teacher guides for all 3 terms of Grade 1 and Grade 2 for the year 2027, so as to continue carrying forward the primary education reforms
commenced in the year 2026.

• Preparing Grade 6 modules for Terms I, II, and III, as well as teacher guides for all 3 terms.

• Master trainers have been trained by the National Institute of Education for all primary and secondary subjects, and all plans related to teacher training at the provincial level have been
prepared.

• Formulating the policy guidelines on school-based evaluation and assessment—prepared for practical implementation while managing available resources within the school system by the
Evaluation and Assessment Sub-Committee and obtaining the approval of the National Steering Committee.

Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the resolution furnished by the Hon. Prime Minister in her capacity as the Minister of Education, Higher Education, and Vocational Education to further implement the education reform process for grade 1, which has been initiated in the year 2026,
and to further initiate the education reform process for grade 2 and grade 6 in the year 2027, based on the concept paper prepared by the National Education Commission, the National Curriculum Framework approved by the National Steering Committee for New Education Reforms, and the School-Based
Evaluation and Assessment Guideline.

Latest News

Sri Lanka to face India in semi-finals after washout

Published

23 hours ago

2026/09/29

Priyan

Rain has been a constant for the past few days (Cricinfo)

Sri Lanka will face India in the semi-finals of Asian Games men’s tournament after their quarter-final clash against Nepal was abandoned without a ball being bowled in Nisshin, Japan. The game was called off prior to the toss, with rain having begun hours prior to the scheduled 9am local start and not looking like abating.

Sri Lanka’s progression was assured by virtue of their higher seeding in terms of the ICC T20I rankings – Sri Lanka, alongside India, Pakistan and Bangladesh are the four seeded teams in the tournament. On Monday, India had qualified over Afghanistan after another washout, again by virtue of their higher. Similarly, Pakistan’s qualification was assured following a rain abandonment in their quarter-final against Hong Kong.

In the 2022 Asian Games, Sri Lanka had been eliminated at the quarter fial stages by Afghanistan. Another washout in the semis against, India though, will see the latter qualify for the final.

A few hours later, the fourth quarter-final between Bangladesh and Malaysia was also washed out. Bangladesh will now face Pakistan in the first semi-final on October 1, followed by India vs Sri Lanka later on the same day

(Cricinfo)