Barbora Krejcikova at risk of huge rankings drop amid Wimbledon title defence. Here’s why
Twelve months ago, Barbora Krejcikova stunned the tennis world by capturing the Wimbledon title.
Now, the Czech returns to defend her crown, though her preparation has been far from ideal.
A former world No 2 and the 2021 Roland Garros champion, injuries contributed to Krejcikova being outside the top 30 last year at the All England Club, the 29-year-old the 31st seed in 2024.
However, she has not been able to overcome those physical issues since then, and has played just 10 tournaments in the past 12 months.
She has played just four events in 2025 and none until the Strasbourg International in May, with a notable withdrawal from her Eastbourne Open quarter-final just last week.
“I mean, I had to have couple days off where I didn’t really play any tennis, but I did some off-court stuff,” commented Krejcikova in her pre-Wimbledon press conference.
“I’ve been feeling every day a little bit better, so I’m really happy with that.
I hope by Tuesday everything’s going to be fine. Yeah, I hope I’m going to have a nice match and a great tournament.”
As the 17th seed at the All England Club, Krejcikova is the lowest-seeded defending women’s singles champion at Wimbledon in the Open Era.
The Czech has a staggering 2,000 ranking points to defend, and with just 2,724 points on her ranking overall, she would suffer a huge drop should she lose early.
Without her Wimbledon ranking points from 2024 on her ranking, Krejcikova falls a staggering 76 places in the WTA Live Rankings to world No 92, as of the end of play on Monday.
If Krejcikova were to win her opening round match, she would still only move up to around 80th in the WTA Live Rankings with 794 points, depending on other results.
To avoid a huge rankings drop, she would likely need to go deep into the tournament, a scenario that does not look too likely considering her recent struggles.
The Czech knows all too well what it is like to fall early as a reigning Grand Slam champion, having lost in the opening round of her French Open title defence in 2022.
Despite her recent battles with injuries, there is obvious excitement heading into her title defence.
She added: It feels great. Definitely I grew up since then, so I feel good.
“I feel very happy and really, let’s say, privileged that I can be at this position and that I can go from this position into the tournament.
“It’s actually very, very nice to be here and very nice to play, even after all the time I was out.
“So I’m enjoying it. I’m happy to be here. I find it tough, complicated, but I don’t find it difficult. Yeah, I’m looking forward very much to playing on Tuesday.”
The draw gods have provided Krejcikova with an interesting opening-round test on Centre Court, with the reigning champion taking on rising star Alex Eala.
Twenty-year-old Eala first attracted attention with her historic run at the Miami Open back in March, and then made her first WTA final in Eastbourne last week.
It is by no means an easy opener for Krejcikova, whose section of the draw also features seventh seed Mirra Andreeva.
However, she is understandably not looking too far past her round-one opponent yet.
“Well, to be honest, I don’t really know that much about her [Eala] 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 rallies. I saw some matches. I know that she was doing quite well at the first half of the year, so I’m looking forward.
“I mean, it’s going to be, I think, a great, great matchup. I’m looking forward to, yeah, playing against her and to see where the young generation is.”
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