Tennis
Who Is Record-Setting Wimbledon Finalist Marketa Vondrousova?
Mike Thomas spent 23 years on staff and 16 years as the sports editor at The Herald News in Fall River, Mass., before ing Sportscasting in 2020. Mike has a deep knowledge of and ion for the NFL and NBA, and he excels at interviewing sports celebrities to find out their Super Bowl picks. A New England Newspaper and Press Association award-winning columnist and an avid sports memorabilia collector, Mike enjoys keeping up with all the sports news and the works of former Sports Illustrated columnist Rick Reilly. You can find more of Mike's work on Muck Rack.
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Marketa Vondrousova is already in the tennis record books. She’s looking to make some serious Wimbledon history on Saturday.
The Wimbledon women’s singles final takes place Saturday, pitting sixth-seeded Ons Jabeur against the unseeded Vondrousova. Vondrousova is already the first unseeded woman in the Open era to reach the Wimbledon final. Now, she’s hoping to become the first one to win it.
Who is Marketa Vondrousova?
Marketa Vondrousova is a 24-year-old from the Czech Republic who enters the championship round after defeating Elina Svitolina on Thursday, winning 6-3, 6-3.
According to her WTA bio, Vondrousova began playing tennis as a 4-year-old. Her father introduced her to the sport, while her mother was an athlete herself, playing volleyball in the top Czech league. Vondrousova grew up playing numerous sports, including soccer, but she focused on tennis because she preferred the individual aspect of the sport.
A left-hander, Vondrousova was the top-ranked junior player in the ITF junior rankings in May 2015 at 15 years old. She was also a top-notch doubles player then, winning a pair of Grand Slam titles.
As a professional in 2017, she ranked 67th for her first top-100 finish. The following year, she also finished 67th. In 2019, she had her first top-20 finish (16th) and became the first teenager since Ana Ivanovic to reach the final at Roland Garros.
With her victory over Svitolina, Vondrousova reached her first Wimbledon final and the second Grand Slam final of her young career.
It won’t be easy for Vondrousova, who enters as a significant underdog
While Vondrousova seeks history, a milestone will be reached Saturday, no matter who wins the match. Neither Vondrousova nor Jabeur have won a Grand Slam title in their career.
Jabeur came awfully close one year ago. She reached the women’s final in 2022 as the third seed, squaring off against No. 17 Elena Rybakina. Jabeur captured the first set 6-3, but Rybakina rallied to win the next two by 6-2 scores. The victory was Rybakina’s first major singles title.
Jabeur, a 28-year-old from Tunisia, enters Saturday’s match as a -220 favorite, according to CBS Sports. Wimbledon will be her third Grand Slam final in her last five tournaments.
Jabeur got her revenge against Rybakina in the quarterfinals this year, winning 6-7, 6-4, 6-1.
