From being a tourist in London with a cast to winning Wimbledon a year later: Marketa Vondrousova's incredible journey
Marketa Vondrousova became one of the most unexpected storylines of the 2023 tennis season, winning the Wimbledon Championships as an unseeded player.
Against Ons Jabeur in the final on Saturday, the Czech won 6-4, 6-4 to become the lowest-ranked women's singles champion at SW19 since the introduction of the WTA rankings.
What makes the World No. 42's journey even more incredible is that this time last year, she was a tourist in London, opting out of Wimbledon due to a wrist injury, which had kept her out for months. She was in SW19 with a cast over her wrist, watching the action from the sidelines instead.
At her presentation ceremony after the win over Jabeur, Marketa Vondrosova acknowledged the same, saying that it was amazing to think she was standing as a Wimbledon champion after the events of last year.
The 24-year-old was ecstatic that she pulled off a comeback as she thanked her team for helping her overcome the tumultuous times.
"After everything I've been through, you know, I had a cast last year this time, this is amazing that I can stand here and tennis is crazy. I don't really know (how I did it), the comebacks aren't easy and you never know what to expect," Vondrousova said.
"I was hoping I can come back in this level, and now this is happening. I want to thank my box, all of you guys are amazing. My little sister there, she is crying," she added.
2022: Watch Wimbledon as a tourist in a cast
2023: Ladies' Singles Wimbledon champion
Marketa Vondrousova's comeback is the stuff of dreams 🙏
#Wimbledon https://t.co/xfI8v0HZ1Z
It was a miletone year in Vondrousova's life in 2022, as she got married to her long-time partner Stepan Simek in July. The Czech said during her time at Wimbledon that her cast came off only a week before her marriage and that she did not start practicing until October.
"I think they took it off last year like around this time, like before my marriage, like a week before our marriage they took it off. It's a year now. I think I started practicing like in October maybe.
"Then I practiced a bit, then started to play tournaments in November," Vondrousova said in her press conference.
This is a movie.
Last year at this time, Marketa Vondrousova was a tourist in London, with her arm in a cast, sidelined from pro tennis after a 2nd wrist surgery.
Now, she's a Wimbledon champion.
"I hope I'm going to be healthy next few years" - Marketa Vondrousova
Marketa Vondrousova also touched on the diet and fitness regimen she had to maintain because of her injury struggles, remarking that it was "very tough" to deal with things outside her control.
Now that she has been taking care of her body the right way, the World No. 42 hopes her injuries would become a thing of the past and that she can finally stay healthy for the next few years.
"I mean, it was very tough with the injuries because, like, I couldn't prevent them. It was just like I had bones floating there. It wasn't about food or about anything. Yeah, but I'm doing so much fitness and everything."
"I'm just trying to take care of my body, just to do the right things. Now it's really helping, and I'm staying healthy. I hope I'm going to be healthy next few years," Marketa Vondrousova said in her Wimbledon press conference.