Tennis Panorama

Tennis News and Information, Tournament Coverage and Features

Barbora Krejcikova

Wimbledon Day 3 – Gauff Survives to Advance, Krejcikova Upsets Andreeva

· ·

LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 01: Coco Gauff of United States celebrates match point against Solana Sierra of Argentina during their Ladies’ Singles second round match on day three of The Championships Wimbledon 2026 at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 01, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images)

(July 1, 2026) Survive and advance – No. 7 Coco Gauff beat Solana Sierra 6-3, 3-6, 7-6, coming from a break down in the third set and a deficit in the match tiebreaker. Gauff, who moves into the third round of Wimbledon, was two points away from defeat.

“When she had to serve for the match I just reminded myself that I’m a great returner as well,” Gauff said after the match. “I was just trying to be positive and I think that showed.”

Playing on Court No. 1, Gauff talking about her memories from 2019 when she had her breakthrough beating Venus Williams in the first round as a 15-year-old.

“It was kind of my breakout moment, and playing against one of my idols was insane,” Gauff said after match. “Every time I walk down this hallway I get déjà vu and I just remind myself, like, if I could do that [seven] years ago, I’m definitely a better player since then. So I definitely can do it now.”

Last year, Sierra became the first “lucky loser” to reach the fourth round of the women’s tournament at the All England Club.

Czech Republic’s Barbora Krejcikova reacts after winning a point against Russia’s Mirra Andreeva during their women’s singles second round tennis match on the third day of the 2026 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, on July 1, 2026. (Photo by Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP via Getty Images) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE

Barbora Krejcikova from a set down to stop current French Open champion No. 5 Mirra Andreeva  4-6, 7-5, 6-4 in the second round Wednesday. The Czech needed seven match points to clinch the win.

“What a match,” the 2024 Wimbledon champion Krejcikova said. “What a match.”

“It’s such a special feeling to be walking on a Centre Court at Wimbledon,” Krejcikova said to media. “Every time I was able to get this opportunity, I feel very excited and very just pleased. It’s a bit of an unreal moment that it’s really happening, because to get so far from a little kid, the chances that a little kid gets here are very, very little.”

 “I didn’t serve very well, didn’t win a lot of free points with my serve as I usually do,” noted the Russian teen. “I felt like yes, it could have been a turning point.”

“As you can see, it didn’t work and it wasn’t the turning point in the end.”

Share

Defending Champion Coco Gauff is ousted at Roland Garros

· ·

PARIS, FRANCE – MAY 30: Coco Gauff of the United States reacts during her match against Anastasia Potapova of Austria in the third round on Day Seven of the 2026 French Open at Roland Garros on May 30, 2026 in Paris, France (Photo by Robert Prange/Getty Images)

(May 30, 2026) Anastasia Potapova knocked out defending champion and No. 4 Coco Gauff 4-6, 7-6 (1), 6-4 in the third round of the French Open on Saturday. It’s the third straight time the Austrian has beaten the American in their head-to-head meetings.

“She was able to finish the points and I wasn’t,” Gauff said. “Just not capitalizing on certain shots.”

The 30th seed Potapova was born in Russia but now represents Austria. The Austrian is coming off a clay court season reaching a final in Linz, Austria, and the final four of the Madrid Open as a qualifier.

Gauff is coming off an Italian Open final where she had to deal with very long rallies.

“I lost the same way in Rome as I did here,” Gauff said. “You never want to lose the same way back-to-back times.”

“Coco is such a champion. I respect her so much,” Potapova said. “I’ve been fighting for the last point and here I am.”

For Potapova, this is just her second time reaching the Round of 16 at a major tennis championship for the second time in her career.

This was Gauff’s first loss at the French Open to anyone other than Iga Swiatek, with the exception of when she lost to champion Barbora Krejcikova in 202,

“It [was] such a fight from both of us,” Potapova said after the match. “I mean, we left it all out there, and I’m happy that I stayed until the last moment that I’ve been fighting for every point and that I got through.”

“I think I feel like I lost the same way in Rome as I did here, which is not good,” she said. “I don’t know. You never want to lose the same way back-to-back times, and I did, and I feel like also in Madrid, it was a similar thing, losing the same way.

“It’s one thing to lose, but I think today I didn’t – I mean, I competed, like, I fought my hardest, but I don’t think I played the way I wanted to in the crucial moments.”

Potopova will be playing No. 22 Anna Kalinskaya for a spot in the quarterfinals.

Share

US Open Tennis: No. 4 Pegula is First to Reach Semifinals with Straight Sets

· ·

Jessica Pegula in action during a women’s singles quarterfinal match at the 2025 US Open on Tuesday, Sep. 2, 2025 in Flushing, NY. (Garrett Ellwood/USTA)

(September 2, 2025) FLUSHING, NY – Last year’s US Open finalist is the first to book her spot in the final four in Flushing Meadows. No. 4 Jessica Pegula defeated unseeded Barbora Krejcikova 6-3, 6- to reach the semifinals. It’s her second straight year reaching the semis in New York, and her second overall at major tournaments.

She has yet to lose a set in the tournament.

“I thought I played a really solid match again,” said the American. “I thought I came off, or started really hot and kind of was able to keep the momentum, even with a couple of, you know, shifts there in both sets, but I felt like I didn’t quite let her get too comfortable today.

“I thought I started off playing pretty aggressive, making her move a lot, and just kind of pressuring her serve as well. You know, luckily was able to kind of execute that throughout the whole match.”

“I think I’ve gotten somewhat of a favorable draw leading up to today, she added. “I think I haven’t really had to play anyone like matchup-wise as well that has really bothered me a ton, so I think that’s helped.

“But at the same time, I’ve been able to kind of go into those matches and really take care of business. I think that’s also what’s given me a lot of confidence is I’ve had — you know, I’ve played good players, but convincing wins over those players.

“Then today, you know, we know Barbora can play how she plays and she’s super dangerous. There were even moments in the match where she hit some really good shots where I felt like the momentum could have shifted and stuff like that, but I did a good job, again, of playing the score really well, recognizing those moments, the momentum shifts, and I think that’s something I’ve done well throughout every single match, which is kind of giving me the confidence that I’ve needed to work my way all the way to the semis.”

For the Buffalo native, it’s her 43rd match win this year, the 4th fourth player to register 40+ wins in 2025 after Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina.

Has won 3 WTA singles titles this season, at Austin (hard-court), Charleston (clay), and Bad

Homburg (grass) – she is tied with Sabalenka for the most tour titles this year.

Barbora Krejcikova in action during a women’s singles quarterfinal match at the 2025 US Open on Tuesday, Sep. 2, 2025 in Flushing, NY. (Garrett Ellwood/USTA)

Pegula on possibly playing Aryna Sabalenka, the woman she lost to in last year’s US Open final:

“I mean, I think it would be cool to be able to get revenge, obviously. I didn’t even remember the score. I think I saw — was it, like, 5-5 last year? I didn’t even think — I didn’t even remember it being that close, which was kind of funny, because I think after the final I was just so, like, wow, we should be in a third set right now.

“I was very, like — there’s so many things. I was, like, I didn’t serve well. I could have done better. I wasn’t very, Oh, you know, what a great match, I’m happy to be in the finals.

“I literally walked off the court and told my coach, I didn’t serve that well. My serve needs to get better. I didn’t do this well, or I didn’t do that well.

“That’s just the mentality that I have is I tend to look how I can get better so quickly, which is good, but also, in a way, I think coming into this year, seeing the feedback from all the fans and how much support I’ve gotten, I was, like, Wow, actually last year was pretty incredible, and I won’t a crazy run, and I played some girl that just happened to be playing — have an even 5% crazier return than me, winning Cincinnati, beating me in the finals, and then going on to win the US Open. And it was 5-5. I didn’t even know the score, and I was, like, Wow, I was right there.

“So I think this year I’ve come back with a different perspective, knowing that I wasn’t playing well, to really enjoy the fact that, like, this is pretty cool and that I’ve had really good results here, and I have so much support. So that’s been really nice.

“I think going into it if I was playing Aryna again, I would probably have that mentality instead of maybe being so focused on, like, what I have to do so strongly instead of competing and, like, enjoying the crowd a little bit more and enjoying the fact that I’m in this position again to possibly be in another final and I’m playing the best player in the world.”

On possibly playing Marketa Vondrousova next:

“Marketa has been playing some amazing tennis. And, again, it’s so funny with the Czechs. They just kind of like pop in, and they’re just, like, Yeah, we’re just going to, like, go deep this week. Then you don’t see them for like months and then they come back.

“They’re all so nonchalant and, like, so dangerous. I think that’s how I always feel with Marketa. She’s always playing really good tennis, has beaten a lot of really good players already, beaten seeds. Served amazing against Rybakina the other night. So, I mean, she’s shown that she can also beat Aryna. She beat her before at Wimbledon.

“She’s just dangerous, and I think she’s tricky. She’s a lefty. We had a really close match at the French. Haven’t played on hard probably in a while, so I mean, that would be different and kind of interesting. But, again, we’ve had a lot of really tough, close matches. I would take it the same way. Like, it’s not easy, basically.”

More to follow….

Related articles:

US Open Tennis: Krejcikova Stops Townsend’s Run, Saves 8 Match Points in Comeback Victory to Reach the Quarterfinals

US Open Tennis: As Townsend Prepares for Singles Fourth Round, Ostapenko Issues a General but Not Direct Apology for Outburst at the Net

S Open: Taylor Townsend Says “Welcome to the Show” as She Stuns No. 5 Seed Mirra Andreeva

Krejcikova Stops Mboko to Reach Second Round of US Open

Swiatek – Ruud Team Knockout Top Seeds Pegula – Draper to Reach US Open Mixed Doubles Final Against Defending Champions Errani – Vavassori

Share

US Open Tennis: Krejcikova Stops Townsend’s Run, Saves 8 Match Points in Comeback Victory to Reach the Quarterfinals

· ·

Barbora Krejcikova and Taylor Townsend hug at the net after fourth round match. Photo from US Open social media

(August 31, 2025) FLUSHING, NY – In a dramatic match in Louis Armstrong Stadium on Sunday afternoon, two-time major winner Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic, saved 8 match points to defeat American Taylor Townsend 1-6, 7-6 (13), 6-3 at the US Open.

The Czech saved one match point in the tenth game of the second set and seven in the second set tiebreaker. Had Townsend won she would have reached her first major quarterfinal.

The match lasted 3 hours and four minutes. Total points won: Krejcikova 111, Townsend 121.

Townsend started strong, breaking the Czech’s serve three times to win the first set 6-1 in 28 minutes. The American played flawlessly, going up 6-1, 3-1. Krejcikova showed why she is a French Open and Wimbledon champion in her comeback.

Townsend hugged Krejcikova at the net, then went to sit in her sideline chair and began to cry before leaving the court with a towel at her face, with a standing ovation from the fans. She had become a fan favorite this fortnight at the US Open.

“Very tough match,” Krejcikova said during her media conference. “Very intense match. Very up-and-down match. Very happy at the end for me match.”

“Definitely at all those match points, I was just very, I mean, brave as well, but also lucky at certain points, because we had great rallies, and I was facing them when I was serving, then when I was returning,” the Czech continued.

“With all that, Taylor is a great player. She’s playing some great tennis, she’s serving really well, she can come to the net, she can do any magic she wants.

“So it was really tough to kind of, like, know what is going to happen or what to expect. So basically what I was doing, yeah, I was just trying to put the ball on her side, in that space, and hoping that, yeah, I’m going to save it.”

She last reached the fourth round of the US Open in 2019, losing to the eventual champion Bianca Andreescu in her only other fourth-round appearance.

Townsend talked to media about what she had learned during her run to the fourth round of singles:

“I’m exactly where I need to be. I said it in D.C., you know, I was kind of inching there, but I’m exactly where I need to be.

“That’s it. I’m playing the tennis I need to play be inside the top 20, top 10 to win a Grand Slam. She’s a two-time Grand Slam champion. I have beaten a Grand Slam champion this tournament.

“So I have everything that I need, and, you know, it’s just about now just keep getting the reps, keep putting myself in these types of positions. This hurts, but it’s part of competition, it’s part of sports, but I’m right where I need to be.”

“It’s a part of sports,” the American said of the loss. “For me, honestly, I was showering, I’m, like, damn, when is the next time I’m going to play a singles match? I’m the kind of person that motivated me and I’m ready to go back again.

“So, you know, I’m not done here. I have doubles tomorrow. I’m going to do everything that I can to hoist the trophy here. With that, I know I can do it, me and my partner have done it before. This is just motivating me to keep doing the things that I know I can do to be a champion.

“That’s the cool thing about tennis. Doesn’t matter what happened the day before. If you’ve got another match, you have to turn it around and get back on the saddle and keep going.”

“I was holding my breath, just like you guys,” in terms of the match points, Townsend said. “But yeah, it was intense, for sure. But, I mean, it was high-level tennis. I mean, it was high-level tennis.

“I can’t get mad. Like you said, fractions of a centimeter of an inch. The backhand down the line on the match point where it barely clipped the line, what do you do in those moments?

“Yeah, I mean, I felt the pressure, but I also was really proud of the way that I handled that, because I didn’t allow it to affect, like, what I wanted to do. You know, she just played more free and better in those moments, and that happens, right?

“Swing for the fence, I’m down match point, I’m going to go for it. Sometimes it goes in. And today, they went in, they hit the lines. She hit some amazing shots, and I can do nothing but clap it up and move on to the next. And that’s what I tried to do in those moments.

“Too good, move on to the next point. I think my mannerism showed that as well. I mean, it was high pressure, but I also tried not to focus on that too, because if you do, you can psych yourself out almost in a way. So I just wanted to stay free and play my game, and I did the best that I could today.”

Taylor Townsend in action during a women’s singles match at the 2025 US Open on Monday, Aug. 25, 2025 in Flushing, NY. (Rhea Nall/USTA)

“I’m going to use what happened today to just fuel me in to be able to even work on some of the things that I wish I did better in the singles match, I’m going to take that and try and implement those things in the doubles.”

Townsend, the No. 1 player in doubles, is still in the doubles with partner Katerina Siniakova.

Krejcikova will play No. 4 seed Jessica Pegula in the quarterfinals. Pegula dismissed countrywoman Ann Li 6-1, 6-2.

Pegula needed only 54 minutes to complete the match.

“Very good match I think for me today,” Pegula said. “Probably the best match, honestly, I’ve played since, like, before Wimbledon I feel like from the start to finish. So that was encouraging.

“Yeah, I was just hitting the ball, doing everything well, executing my strategy very well and, yeah, got through it pretty quick.”

On playing Krejcikova:

“Barbora, she’s so hard to play. I was watching her match against Emma the other night, and it’s, like, she disguises her shots to well. She’s really crafty. She changes the direction of the ball. She can serve well.

“She does everything really well, and sometimes she can be a little I think up and down in matches. Like you see kind of these stretches where she’ll just reel off multiple games and then she kind of goes down.

“It’s really hard to play people like that, but it feels a little bit this year like she’s kind of doing what she’s done in the past when she’s gone deep. She’s managing the three sets really well and winning and kind of figuring out ways to win.

“I think that’s when she’s her most dangerous, because I saw she was down 3-0 the other night. I looked at the score, and I was, like, that means absolutely nothing with Barbora, because I know that she can just string winners off, like, left and right.

“I think her game is very unorthodox. That’s why she’s beaten a lot of top players as well when she’s playing well, because you just don’t know what to expect, and she disguises the ball very well.

“So to me, she’s been always very frustrating to play. I know I’ve beaten her a few times, but she’s also beaten me the last few times. It can just, yeah, frustrate you, because you’re not really sure what to expect. There’s not a lot of patterns, I guess you could say, I feel like when I play her.”

Krejcikova talked about the crowd on Armstrong.

“To be honest, it was excellent. I mean, I really enjoyed the crowd. Even though they were cheering for Taylor, which, I mean, I knew since beginning. I mean, that’s just the way, how it is.

“I actually like it. I mean, I like when there is a crowd. I like when they are cheering. I like when the atmosphere gets, I mean, you can, like, start cutting it. It’s perfect. I enjoyed it. I’m really happy that I had opportunity to play on the Louis Armstrong court, and I had opportunity to play American, and the crowd was wild.

“Yeah, that’s something that I like. I just enjoyed it very much. It was just, you know, very intensive match and very challenging, as well. I’m happy I could experience it.”

She’ll be experiencing that crowd again when she [plays Pegula for a spot in the semifinals.

Share

US Open Tennis: As Townsend Prepares for Singles Fourth Round, Ostapenko Issues a General but Not Direct Apology for Outburst at the Net

· ·

“I understand how the words I used could have offended many people beyond the tennis court,” wrote Ostapenko, a former French Open champion (IG/@jelena.ostapenko).

(August 30, 2025) FLUSHING, NY – Jelena Ostapenko apologized on social media on Saturday for telling Taylor Townsend she had “no education” after losing to her at the US Open earlier in the week, explaining that she intended to call out Townsend for what Ostapenko perceived as poor tennis etiquette. The Latvian player posted the apology on her Instagram account.

US Open: Townsend and Ostapenko Get into Argument at the Net After Townsend Wins

Taylor Townsend spoke to the media after winning her second-round doubles match and only at this news conference that she found out about the apology. Ostapenko is yet to contact her directly.

“No, that’s why I was, like, y’all have news for me. So I was hoping someone would tell me,” she said to media.

“No, I didn’t know that. I mean, the fact of the matter is, like I said the other day, I’m still playing. So I don’t have time to be tapped in on what she’s got going on and what she says.

“I had a job to do today. Got it done in the doubles. Like I said, this is part of it, right, being able to disconnect from whatever is happening on the outside, because I have a goal while I’m here. I said it last night, just keeping the main thing the main thing, which is I’m here to continue to grow and grow as a player and play my best tennis and put that on display. Anything that gets in the way of that has got to go.

“So I haven’t seen anything. I didn’t know, I don’t know what she said. But I’m still here. So I’m glad that she has the time to be able to do that.”

After an ESPN.com reporter read the Instagram post to Townsend, she responded:

“No, that’s nice that she did that, that she apologized. I mean, that’s fine. That’s cool.”

“At the end of the day, I think that it’s a learning lesson for her. Again, like I said when everything first happened, you cannot push your expectations on other people. That’s ultimately what happened.

“She expected for me to react a certain type of way, and I didn’t, and it infuriated her. Which led her to say things that are hurtful, that are belligerent, that are offensive, not only to me, but, you know, to the sport and to a whole culture of people that I try to do my best to represent the best that I can.

“So for me, it’s nice that she apologized. You know, this isn’t the first, second, third, fourth time. There have been incidents where she gets upset about a net cord so it’s not a surprising thing that she acted this way.

“Also, we just have to keep in mind that it’s competition, we’re playing a sport. You know, you can’t get upset if someone doesn’t do something that you want them to do. Like, who are you? I can’t get mad that you don’t do something that maybe I expect for you to do.

“Ultimately, when we get our emotions wrapped up in things is where we get our feelings hurt. I think that’s ultimately what happened. It’s great she went to social media and apologized. I really hope from this she can take that, hey, you can’t control people and it’s better just to focus on yourself.”

Townsend is more focused on her fourth-round match in singles on Sunday, when she plays two-time major winner Barbora Krejcikova for chance to reach her first major singles quarterfinal in singles.

“I’m excited,” she said. “I’m really excited. A.J. (her son) just got here, so I’m really pumped for him to be able to be here. He hasn’t been to the US Open since he was, like, one-and-a-half. So I’m excited for him to be back here with me and for him just to be able to see me play. I love it.

“So I’m excited for the match. I’m looking forward to the challenge. Barbora has been playing some really great tennis, she’s a two-time Grand Slam champion. I have a ton of respect for her. Really nice person.

“It’s going to be a battle and it’s going to be a fight, and I’m looking forward to that. I’m looking forward to being able to continue to show up as my best self and make a commitment to myself to show up as me and just be Taylor. That’s enough.”

Speaking about her son, Townsend, No. 1 in doubles, relayed a story from when her son met Carlos Alcaraz:

“It was funny, because in Cincinnati I asked Carlos Alcaraz to take a picture with him, he was so nice. Yeah, of course.”

“I was just like, A.J., Carlos. I forgot he’s not No. 1. I was like, Carlos is No. 1 too. A.J. goes, You’re No. 1? Just like my mom. Carlos was like, I’m kind of close. He played it off.

“So it was funny, too, because he just doesn’t even have any concept of who Carlos Alcaraz is and how amazing he is. It’s really cool just to see him be able to experience me in this space. It’s also nice for me to be able to have him, even if it’s for short amount of times, this helps me disconnect. You know, it helps me to be able to balance all of the crazy.

“It’s an innate thing where as soon as he’s around and as soon as I’m off the court and the job is done, like, I just go into mom mode where I’m like, Did you drink water today? Do you have to pee?

Just go into mom mode. It’s nice, because it completely takes your mind off whatever happened on the court.

“You know, in tennis, because of the environment and how everything is structured, especially here in New York, everything is crazy and fast, it’s easy for you to kind of like get wrapped up and continue and carry things on, you know, and allow things to keep moving and keep going.

“You drag one day into the next or you weren’t doing certain things well in this match and it could carry over into your warm-up or your practice the next day.

“So for me, it’s nice that, first off, with everything that’s happened, that I didn’t allow those things to happen, but then also, my son being here, it really kind of gives me a hard boundary where I can just completely turn off from tennis and just be a mom.”

Related articles:

US Open: Taylor Townsend Says “Welcome to the Show” as She Stuns No. 5 Seed Mirra Andreeva

US Open: Aftermath of Townsend-Ostapenko

US Open: Townsend and Ostapenko Get into Argument at the Net After Townsend Wins

Share
© by TennisPanorama 2014 and beyond