Moments after leaving Centre Court as Wimbledon champion last year, Barbora Krejcikova was guided towards the Honours board at the All England Club. Of the many names listed throughout the history of The Championships, there was one in particular that AELTC Chair Deborah Jevans CBE wished to point out.

Jana Novotna provided one of the most memorable stories from these hallowed Grounds in the 1990s. After letting a substantial lead slip through her fingers against Steffi Graf in the 1993 final, the Czech was so upset that she cried on the shoulder of the Duchess of Kent during the trophy presentation ceremony.

It was a scene that endeared her to millions around the world, but more heartbreak was to follow in 1997 when she lost from a set up against Switzerland’s Martina Hingis, before she finally lifted the Venus Rosewater Dish a year later with a hugely popular victory over France’s Nathalie Tauziat.

Krejcikova had such an affinity with Novotna that the sight of her name reduced her to tears. Seven years earlier in 2017, Novotna had died from ovarian cancer at the age of 49, and is sorely missed by her countrywoman who followed in her footsteps on to Centre Court.

“The only thing that was going through my head was that I miss Jana a lot,” Krejcikova said. “It was just very, very emotional. An emotional moment to see me on a board right next to her.”

One of the most significant stops in Krejcikova’s long journey to Wimbledon glory came on Novotna’s doorstep in 2014. At a crossroads in her developing career after the end of her time on the junior circuit, Krejcikova was in need of some advice. While it is not unusual for younger players to seek out the wisdom of those who have gone before, Krejcikova took the rare step of personally delivering a handwritten letter to her fellow Brno resident.

“I wrote something that I’m playing tennis, I’m 18, I just finished juniors and I don’t know what to do right now,” Krejcikova said. “So [asking] if she could look at me and maybe help me, guide me, tell me which direction should I go.”

Novotna was clearly impressed. “I think after the letter it was maybe a week before we actually went to hit,” Krejcikova recalled. “Pretty much after that, we were basically in touch a lot. I don’t know how long it took, but it was quite quick when she started helping me, working with me and giving her time to me.”

For three years, Novotna guided Krejcikova through a key transitional phase in the early stages of her professional career. Krejcikova was close to entering the world’s top 100 when Novotna died and there was understandably a long period of ups and downs before she fulfilled her mentor’s prediction by winning the singles title at Roland-Garros in 2021.

“Knocking on her door, it changed my life,” Krejcikova said. “She was the one who told me I had the potential, [that] I should definitely turn professional. Before she passed away she told me I can win a Grand Slam. I achieved that in Paris in 2021.”

Novotna also told Krejcikova that she had the skills to succeed on the Wimbledon grass, but this proved something of a tough nut to crack. In three straight appearances from 2021 to 2023 she had gone no further than the fourth round.

In 2024, Krejcikova was not part of the conversation around contenders. Despite being the No.31 seed it had been a challenging first half of the season, featuring a bout of Covid, a bacterial infection and a back injury. Coming into the Fortnight, her win-loss record for the year was 7-9.

A tough first round battle set the tone for what was to follow in a hard-fought campaign. Krejcikova won a tight third set against Veronika Kudermetova before coming through two tie-break sets in the second round against American qualifier Katie Volynets. The second set retirement of her third round opponent Jessica Bouzas Maneiro provided a bit of respite going into the second week.

Victories against Danielle Collins and Jelena Ostapenko were not as comfortable as straight-sets scorelines might suggest, and she had to battle back from a set down in the semi-finals to see off the 2022 champion Elena Rybakina. A 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 win against Jasmine Paolini in the final completed an Open era record in which Krejcikova’s 175 games were the most contested by any competitor in the ladies’ singles.

“I have no idea why this tournament,” Krejcikova said. “I had a really tough draw from the very first match. I was just going match by match. I was just feeling better and getting better. Here I am. I don’t know how that happened. But, yes, I’m a winner of this edition.”

No doubt that Krejcikova’s doubles prowess helped her on the grass. The faster, low-bouncing surface requires more feel and touch than hard court and clay – key components of the sport’s pairs formats. Krejcikova has these in abundance, having won 10 doubles Grand Slams prior to last year’s triumph, including two at Wimbledon. She is one of the very few women to have won a Grand Slam title across the three disciplines of singles, doubles and mixed doubles.

Hailing from a tennis nation that largely grows up on clay courts, Krejcikova understandably had Roland-Garros firmly in her sights at a young age. But Novotna’s victory at Wimbledon, which followed on from the Martina Navratilova dynasty, helped inspire a long line of Czech success, with Petra Kvitova taking the title in 2011 and 2014, Marketa Vondrousova in 2023 and Krejcikova in 2024.

“Things shifted a little bit when I actually met Jana and when she was telling me all the stories about Wimbledon, about the grass, how difficult it was for her to win the title and how emotional she was when she actually made it,” Krejcikova said. “I think since then I started to see Wimbledon like the biggest tournament in the world.”

After her victory, Krejcikova revealed that her mentor’s advice is still close at hand. “I am dreaming about her a lot,” she said. “In the dreams we are talking. It’s very personal.

“I think I would turn it around,” said Krejcikova when asked what she would say to Novotna now. “I would like to hear what she would tell me. I think she would tell me that she is very proud of me and that she’s super happy.”

Krejcikova can now look forward to experiencing the honour enjoyed by Novotna in 1999 when she opened play on Day 2 on Centre Court as the reigning champion. A title defence will be challenging after suffering a back injury at the start of the season, and she is sailing against the wind of recent history given there have been seven consecutive first-time champions in the ladies’ singles. But the odds were also not in her favour here 12 months ago, and look how that ended.