No win, no regrets: Krejcikova came to Strasbourg seeking rhythm over results

Barbora Krejcikova was thrilled to be in her happy place -- Strasbourg, France -- where four years ago it all began.

When she took the court Sunday against Magda Linette, it was her first Hologic WTA Tour match in more than six months.

“It was very difficult times last year with all that happened, all the ups and downs,” Krejcikova told wtatennis.com. “Feeling good. Happy to be back.”

She was the No. 7 seed at the Internationaux de Strasbourg, a WTA 500 tournament with a purse of $1 million-plus. There are three Top 10 players in the field, No. 4 Jessica Pegula, who accepted a wild card, No. 8 Emma Navarro and No. 9 Paula Badosa, who like Krejcikova returns after a long absence with back issues.

But the comeback didn’t start with a win. There were flashes of Krejcikova’s typically smooth-swinging style, but in the end she lost 6-3, 6-3 to Linette, a “fraction flat,” according to the World Feed broadcast. Her movement, understandably so, was not at its fluid best, her footwork a tad sluggish at times.

Krejcikova is expected to play doubles with Linda Noskova on Monday.

The day before, when Krejcikova was asked what a good week would look like in Strasbourg, she paused.

“If I finish the week and I’m pain-free with my back,” she said, “that’s my main goal.”

The 29-year-old Krejcikova recounted the odyssey she faced, the debilitating back injury and the slow, grueling recovery process. The pain in her lower back, an inflammation around the spine, arrived sometime in the spring; some days it was better, some days worse. 

“First two, three months, I was in pain like in regular life, on a daily basis,” she said. 

Krejcikova made the difficult decision to play through it. She lost all four clay matches she played -- in Stuttgart, Madrid, Strasbourg and Roland Garros. But then came alive on the grass, winning the title at Wimbledon, defeating Jasmine Paolini in the final.

“And then it got worse,” Krejcikova said. “In Asia, I could feel it and had to retire [in Ningbo]. After that, I was able to get it a little bit fixed for [the PIF WTA Finals in] Riyadh.

“Then I had to stop and solve the problem -- and that’s what I was doing for the last six months.”

When it comes to mental toughness, there might be no better competitor than Krejcikova -- look up her success rate on match points. But for six months, the stress of the unknown, the vulnerability was supremely frustrating.

“It was very tricky times because I thought [the recovery] was going to be shorter,” Krejcikova said. “I was kind of just waiting to settle down and to feel better. I told myself, `I’m not going to play until I get pain-free and can play without the pain.”

Early in March, doctors told her she could start training again in her hometown of Brno. There was still a bit of pain and stiffness, but she began by hitting only twice a week for an hour at a time -- on a scaled-down court with “baby” balls. One month ago, Krejcikova felt ready to play some proper points when a virus sidelined her.

“Difficult,” she said, “because I was feeling quite well practicing my shots. But, yeah, I had to postpone that. So I only started playing points two weeks ago. 

“So not very long, but I was practicing for a long period and I wanted to give it a shot. I want to play in Paris, so that’s why I’m here.”

Four years ago, Krejcikova arrived in Strasbourg at No. 38 in the PIF WTA Rankings -- and she left with her first tour-level title. Krejcikova remembers all of the players she beat, including Sorana Cirstea in the final.

She had no idea she was about to go to Paris and run the table there, too.

“No,” Krejcikova said, laughing, “definitely not.

“I mean, I had expectations. But it was very unknown situation, only my third time in the main draw, so I didn’t expect to go that far. And with the matches, it just went naturally, match by match. 

“Yeah, I got to the second week and at the end of the second week, I was lifting up the trophy.”

The last two matches, against Maria Sakkari and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, both went the distance. And Krejcikova -- who had seen great success in doubles with Katerina Siniakova -- was now a major singles champion.

Krejcikova is one of only six active women with two Grand Slams singles titles. She’s not under any illusions that it will happen for her this year, anyway, at Roland Garros.

That’s why Strasbourg still mattered, irrespective of her result. Because of her history here, Krejcikova loves Strasbourg. She’s already spent time in the city and enjoyed a few of her favorite restaurants.

“I only have nice memories from Strasbourg,” she said. “I’m happy to be back and happy to try again and get back to the level To try come back and fight for the trophies again.”