Barbora Krejcikova stepped onto the court in Limoges with the quiet hope that this would be the day everything finally turned. Months of rehab behind her, a right knee injury slowly healing, and the memory of her retirement in Beijing now far enough away to feel like history. Her return was supposed to be the first steady step toward a new season. Instead, it turned out to be another phase of recovery.

Against Anastasija Sevastova, she appeared serious, almost pleased to be back in competition. There were glimpses of the Wimbledon champion she used to be, of the moments when her timing was right, when the ball was sliding off her strings like she had always known how. The initial set was 6-3 to Sevastova, but then Barbora Krejcikova took a lead 4-1 in the second, and the tide turned again.

As the match entered the final set, the warning signs reappeared. Every movement felt tighter, each step heavier, the strain impossible to hide. Down 0–1 and facing 0-40, she finally paused. Approaching the net, she retired. A comeback months in the making ended in a heartbeat, leaving one question: has her injury truly returned?

Sevastova advanced and now awaits either Tiantsoa Rakotomanga Rajaonah or Jessica Ponchet in the next round, while Barbora Krejcikova faces yet another recovery chapter she never hoped to repeat. But this curse started ever since she won Wimbledon 2024.

Barbora Krejcikova’s fight against a season of setbacks

Winning Wimbledon should have been the beginning of a long, golden stretch for Barbora Krejcikova. It was her second major singles title after Roland Garros. Instead, it almost felt as if the moment she lifted the trophy, the tide turned. Late in 2024, just months after her triumph, a stubborn back injury surfaced during the final events of the season. It refused to settle, followed her into the new year, and eventually forced her out of the Australian Open.

Her ranking slipped to its lowest point in five years, and the glow of her championship run slowly turned into a shadow of uncertainty. As 2025 unfolded, the pattern only continued. She tried to rebuild on grass, but a right thigh problem struck during Eastbourne, forcing her to withdraw after reaching the quarterfinals. Even her return to Wimbledon felt like she was carrying old weight.

Barbora Krejcikova fought through the first rounds, but against Emma Navarro in the third, her body faltered again in a three-set battle where she needed medical help mid‑match. The defending champion walked off having given everything, but the physical struggle was written in every movement she made. Still, Krejcikova pushed forward, a determination that culminated in her run to the US Open quarterfinals against Taylor Townsend..

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For a brief time, it looked like her luck was turning. But during the Asian swing, the cycle repeated itself. A knee injury forced her to retire against McCartney Kessler at the China Open, and she later admitted it was worse than she first believed.

For nearly one season straight, every stride she took was met with another setback. It almost felt as though the moment she reached her highest peak, something shifted around her, leaving her fighting not just opponents, but a streak of misfortune she never asked for.