Barbora Krejčíková: The Underdog of the Australian Open

She is the tenth player in the world, during the draw she was lucky to get famous names of opponents, yet Barbora Krejčíková is not among the main favorites to win before the first Grand Slam of the new year. According to tennis analysts, there is only a little over one percent chance that the player from Ivančice will eventually lift the trophy for the champion.

As is usual with Krejčíková, she tuned up her pre-season training in sun-drenched Dubai. She even boasted a stellar sparring partner on social networks when she played against world number six Tunisian Uns Jabirova.

But the transition to the courts was no longer so sunny. The third Czech in the top ten of the ranking lost the very first singles battle of the year. In Adelaide, she was not enough for the Russian qualifier Anna Kalinska, but she had words of praise for her.

“Barbora is a fighter, she kept making things difficult for me, it was a great match,” said the Russian after the three-set triumph.

However, Krejčíková has not received so much praise on social networks. Under the report of the Portuguese tennis reporter José Morgado on the X network, a lively debate broke out over the potential of the Czech tennis player.

“She’s such a special tennis player that she can come back in 14 days and easily win the Australian Open, you never know with her,” wrote user Michael Epps.

Another of the debaters reminded that the Czech has been struggling with the stability of her form since last spring, when she lamented that experts and fans do not rank her in the big three of world tennis.

“I also want to be mentioned, I want to be recognized because I think I deserve it. I have a lot of success behind me, but I don’t get credit for it from the media,” she said at the time. But then she was again plagued by health problems.

Even though at the end of last season she once again reached the tenth place among the elite, she still did not earn the label of the favorite of the first Grand Slam, not even close.

The statistical tennis server tennisabstract.com calculated that the chances of Krejčíková’s overall triumph in Melbourne are 1.3 percent. The sovereign candidate for victory is the Polish world number one Iga Šwiateková with 34.8 percent.

And the former French Open winner had a favorable lot. For starters, she will face the Japanese Mai Hontama, currently the 122nd player in the world. If she advances, someone from the pair of Tamara Korpatschová from Germany and Jodie Burrageová from Great Britain awaits her in the next round.

Krejčíková will have the chance to change the percentage predictions already on Sunday, when she should start the season’s first Grand Slam.