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Barbora Strycova’s rise to No.1: ‘I showed I could overcome myself’

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Barbora Strycova had her eye set on the Doubles No.1 ranking when her 2019 season got underway, but she never dreamt her path to the top would unfold the way it did at Wimbledon. 

Playing in what she told reporters could be her final Wimbledon, the 33-year-old from Plzen went on to defeat four seeded players to make her first major semifinal in singles and then won her first major doubles title with Hsieh Su-Wei. Strycova and Hsieh became the first team since Serena and Venus Williams to win Wimbledon without the loss of a set, and the title launched Strycova to No.1 in the world for the first time.

In the last 12 months, Strycova has won seven titles with two partners, including three of the biggest titles on tour. Teamed up with her good friend Andrea Hlavackova last season, the Czech duo won New Haven, Tokyo, and their biggest title together in Beijing. After starting the season with strong run to the Australian Open semifinals with Marketa Vondrousova, Strycova re-teamed with Hsieh Su-Wei – the two won 2018 Indian Wells together – with near-immediate success. 

Strycova and Hsieh won their second tournament after reuniting, the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, before winning Madrid, Birmingham, and Wimbledon. Their four titles in just nine tournaments played lead the tour this season. As a result, the team sits at No.1 on the Porsche Race to Shenzhen as the North American hard court season begins.

WTA Insider spoke to Strycova at Wimbledon after her doubles triumph. 

WTA Insider: Your first Slam singles semifinal, at your favorite tournament no less, your first major Slam doubles title, and the No.1 doubles ranking. What has your two weeks at Wimbledon meant to you?
Strycova:
It means everything I dreamed off. It means something that I really couldn’t imagine, but in the back of my head I was dreaming about, and when I was getting older I felt like it can happen. And it just happened!

I am extremely proud of myself and proud of the team I have behind my back. And it’s something really special.

WTA Insider: The doubles final just finished and in about an hour you’re about to head to the Wimbledon Champion’s Dinner. Have you even had the time to process everything that’s happened?
Strycova:
It is mind-blowing, but I can’t really realize it yet because I was so focused these two weeks. So focused on being relaxed, enjoying every moment, that I really didn’t want to realize what was going on because then my head would go somewhere else. 

So I think when I come back home and I will sleep some in my bed I will enjoy a little bit myself, then I will realize what really happened. Because it’s big! 

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