“Barbora Strýcová Makes Comeback in Madrid: Plays Singles and Doubles”

Soon after the native of Pilsen gave birth to her son Vincent, she told her fans that she wanted to say goodbye to her career on the court, and not just by announcing that she was expecting a child.

That time has just come. She has been training for months leading up to the clay spring and will use the protected ranking for the first time in Madrid. And not only in doubles, but also in singles.

“After a few months of combining the role of a mother with the role of an athlete, I smelled the competitive atmosphere again. It was difficult, but I’m super excited,” Strýcová wrote on Twitter on the eve of the opening match.

Although in her singles career she never belonged to the narrowest world top, she was the best world sixteen, the tennis world considers her comeback in Madrid to be one of the strongest stories of the tournament.

For example, Australian Paul McNamee, the former best player in the world in doubles, wished her good luck on the networks, and Belarusian tennis player Viktoria Azarenková, in turn, gushed over her photo with her son, whom the Czech took with her to Spain.

The name Strýcové caused a stir immediately after the lottery. In the beginning, she avoids a seeded opponent and will wage a battle of two generations with Italian Elisabetta Cocciaretta, who is 15 years younger. The match is scheduled for Tuesday before noon, and the newspaper Aktuálně.cz will report it online.

Although Cocciaretta shines as high as number 50 in the rankings, she came to Madrid strengthened by the euphoria she gained with a converted match point in the battle against the Slovaks for the final of the Billie Jean King Cup.

There is an even bigger uproar around the return of Strycova to the doubles. She renewed her cooperation with her proven partner Sie Shu-wei from Taiwan, with whom she dominated Wimbledon and rose to the top of the world rankings.

“It’s like Destiny’s Child got back together,” apparently one of the former girl group’s fans wrote on Twitter. “The dream team is back,” wrote another.

It is also a big comeback for the tennis player from Taiwan at the age of 37, because, like Strýcová, she disappeared from the circuit the season before last. She wanted to heal the injury. In the end, she is only now returning with her Czech friend.

Seven Czechs, including both Fruhvirt sisters, will play in the main singles competition in Madrid. Markéta Vondroušová is still fighting for participation in the qualification. Among men, Czech tennis is represented only in Jiří Leheček.