Unlike many athletes, she did not call after the success of the Olympics, she prefers to write text messages. One of the first recipients was her mother and boyfriend.
She appreciated the group of Czech athletes in Tokyo. She was pleased that a number of colleagues were waiting for her in the Olympic Village, even though she arrived at half past two in the morning there. “They were waiting in the common areas we had as Czechs,” she said, adding that she was surprised by the late time.
She was relieved at the tournament especially after a successful semifinal with Ukrainian tennis player Elina Svitolinová. “I already knew that I had a certain medal, so I was relieved. We both (with the Swiss Belinda Bencicová) went to enjoy the final. I think we showed a good performance,” said Vondroušová. She lost to the world twelve in the battle for gold 5-7 6-2 3-6.
On the contrary, she was most nervous in the first round with Kiki Bertens, who then ended her career. “Then it somehow dropped out of me and I already thought that every round is a success,” said a native of Sokolov. After the subsequent victory over one of the favorites, the Japanese Naomi Osaka, she gained confidence, no longer thinking about her opponents and focused on her game.
She qualified for Tokyo thanks to the so-called frozen rankings. Before the Olympics, which was postponed a year ago, she was only the fifth Czech to follow Karolína Muchová, for whom there was no ticket left. She admitted that she was saddened by the reactions before she left. “Such a result is a beautiful answer. I think I gave it back to everyone with this, and I’m very happy that I did it that way,” she added.
The president of the Czech Tennis Association, Ivo Kaderka, specified that the nomination was sent by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and was not changeable. “All that went away was speculation. I spoke to the ITF president personally and tried to negotiate an exception so that Mucha could still be there,” he said. The Czechia did not receive an exception, so the 23rd player in the rankings could not fly to Tokyo.
Vondroušová did not have her favorite blueberry dumplings after returning to the Czech Republic. “Probably for lunch tomorrow. I’m going to see my grandmothers in Sokolov, it’s getting ready there,” the 22-year-old tennis player was looking forward to.
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