‘No rain, no flowers’ World No. 42 ‘Wimbledon Queen’ smiles from ear to ear

Czech Republic’s Bondrowsova wins women’s singles title
First time an unseeded player has ever won the title after overcoming two wrist surgeries
No sponsorship and playing in old equipment
Another major final defeat for Jaber

She was unseeded and unsponsored, but she did take home £2.35 million in prize money. That’s the story of Marketa Bondrowsova (24, Czech Republic, World No. 42), who won the women’s singles title at the 2023 Wimbledon tennis tournament. The 24-year-old defeated last year’s runner-up, Ons Jaber (29-Tunisia, No. 6), 2-0 (6-4, 6-4) in the women’s singles final at the All England Club near London, England, on Friday to record her first career major title. Jaber, on the other hand, has reached three major finals and lost all three.

Bondrowsova is the first unseeded player to be crowned “Wimbledon Queen” since 1968 (the Open Era), when professional players were allowed to compete in all four majors (Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open). With her win, Wozniacki also set a new record for the lowest-ranked player to win a Wimbledon women’s singles title. The previous record was held by Venus Williams (43-USA), who won the title in 2007 at No. 31.

It was the second time Bondrowsova had reached a major final, the first being the 2019 French Open. At the time, she had an apparel sponsorship with Nike. The problem was that the left-handed player had been on the operating table twice due to a nagging left wrist injury, and her world number 14 ranking after the 2019 French Open dropped to 124 in October last year. At the end of her four-year contract last year, Nike did not offer her an extension. Vondrowsova competed in the tournament wearing her old Nike gear.

At Wimbledon last year, she had to watch from the stands with a cast on her left hand. “I was actually a tourist then,” she says. “Even if I won a major, I didn’t think it would be possible at Wimbledon,” she says, “because I didn’t know if I would ever find my game again. This year, I came out with the mindset of ‘let’s win a few matches’, and I won, which is unbelievable.” Prior to this tournament, Bondrowsova had a career grass-court winning percentage of just 26.7 percent (4-11).

Prior to the 2019 French Open, Bondrowsova had the words “no rain, no flowers” tattooed on her right forearm. At the time, it was the only tattoo on his arm that stood out, but it wasn’t until Wimbledon that the phrase caught on as he covered both arms in tattoos. It summarizes Bondrowsova’s career as she battles back from injury to return to the top.

“My coach told me, ‘If you win a major, I’ll get a tattoo,'” she said, “and then it happened, so I’m thinking about it. I’m thinking about it. 고스톱 I’m going to get the same tattoo as my coach.” The Wimbledon website speculated that Bondrowsova might now get a tattoo that reads ‘no seeding, no problem’.