Barbora Krejcikova has released a statement after she burst into tears on court during her third-round loss to Emma Navarro. The reigning Wimbledon champion led by a set and a break but started to struggle physically and called both the trainer and the doctor.
Deep in the third set, when she was on the verge of defeat, the No. 17 seed walked to the back of the court and started crying. She played on and Navarro sealed a 2-6 6-3 6-4 victory, bringing Krejcikova’s title defence to an end.
The Czech star was also forced to pull out of the women’s doubles draw after winning two rounds with Chan Hao-ching. And Krejcikova has now revealed that she picked up an illness and was left bedbound for days after crashing out of Wimbledon.
“This one still hurts… Wimbledon will always hold a special place in my heart. Coming back after a 6-month break due to a back injury, my goal was simply to step on the grass and make it through the first round.
“I did that. And I started to feel more like myself again,” the two-time Major winner tweeted on Wednesday.
“That’s what made my third round loss so bittersweet. I felt great mentally, but during the match, my body just stopped responding. At first, I thought I ate too early but nothing helped, not even during the match.
“Later, I found out it was a viral infection that glued me to bed for days. It’s what forced me to withdraw from doubles the next day, something that was incredibly hard. I’m proud of how far I’ve come, of the fight I showed, and of the journey back.
“And I’m so grateful for the love and energy from the Wimbledon crowd and the fans. You are truly amazing. See you next year, Wimbledon.”
It was a heartbreaking defeat for Krejcikova, who spent six months sidelined with injury after reaching the WTA Finals semi-final last November. She only returned at the WTA 500 event in Strasbourg in May.
Krejcikova was also forced to withdraw from the Eastbourne Open a week before Wimbledon, hours before she was due to take the court for her quarter-final match.
After her tearful third-round exit on Saturday, the 29-year-old shared her hopes to play the full North American hard-court swing.
She said: “I’ll play Montreal, Cincinnati, US Open. I don’t know if I play something in between. Yeah, I’m going to drop on the ranking, so I think I will need to play more tournaments to gain some points and to come back.”
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