Markéta Vondroušová facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Markéta Vondroušová

Vondroušová at the 2023 US Open
Country (sports)	Czech Republic
Residence	Prague, Czech Republic
Born	(1999-06-28) 28 June 1999 (age 25) Sokolov, Czech Republic
Height	1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Plays	Left-handed (two-handed backhand)
Coach	Jiří Hřebec Jan Hernych
Prize money	$10,438,436
Singles
Career record	276–121 (69.52%)
Career titles	2
Highest ranking	No. 6 (11 September 2023)
Current ranking	No. 39 (6 January 2025)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	4R (2021)
French Open	F (2019)
Wimbledon	W (2023)
US Open	QF (2023)
Other tournaments
Tour Finals	RR (2023)
Olympic Games	F (2021)
Doubles
Career record	85–42 (66.93%)
Career titles	0
Highest ranking	No. 38 (11 September 2023)
Current ranking	No. 153 (6 January 2025)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open	SF (2019)
French Open	2R (2019, 2023)
Wimbledon	QF (2017)
US Open	3R (2023)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Wimbledon	2R (2021)
Team competitions
Fed Cup	SF (2017), record 13–2
Medal record Representing  Czech Republic Olympic Games Silver 2020 Tokyo Singles

Markéta Vondroušová (born 28 June 1999) is a professional tennis player from the Czech Republic. She is known for her amazing skills on the court. Markéta reached a high ranking of No. 6 in the world.

She made history by winning Wimbledon in 2023. She was the first unseeded woman ever to win the singles title there! Before that, she was also a finalist at the 2019 French Open. She was the first teenager to reach a major final since 2017.

Markéta has won two singles titles on the WTA Tour. She also won a silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. As a junior player, she was once the world's No. 1. She also won two major doubles titles. Markéta quickly became famous on the WTA Tour. She won the 2017 Ladies Open Biel Bienne at just 17 years old. This helped her get into the top 100 players before she turned 18. Her special shot is called the drop shot. She is also one of the best players at returning serves.

Early Life and Background

Markéta Vondroušová was born on June 28, 1999. Her parents are David Vondrouš and Jindřiška Anderlová. She was born in Sokolov, a small town in the Czech Republic. Her father, who played tennis for fun, introduced her to the sport when she was four. Her mother played volleyball for a top team.

Markéta's parents divorced when she was three. But they both supported her tennis journey. When she was young, Markéta tried many sports. These included skiing, football, table tennis, and floorball. She was good at all of them! She started focusing on tennis early. In 2006, she played in a national mini-tennis tournament in Prague. She finished third and qualified for an international event in Umag, Croatia. There, she lost her first match but won the smaller "consolation" tournament. She was only eight years old, playing against mostly nine-year-olds.

After the Prague tournament, Markéta trained at the I. ČLTK Prague. She trained five days a week. On two of those days, she traveled from her hometown to Prague to train and stay overnight. At age 12, she won the Nike Junior Tour International Masters in the United States. This was like an unofficial world championship for players under 12. When she was 15, she moved to Prague to train more often.

Markéta's family has a strong sports background on her mother's side. Her grandfather, František Frk, was a national pentathlon champion in 1935.

Junior Career Highlights

Markéta Vondroušová was once the world's top-ranked junior tennis player. She started playing on the ITF Junior Circuit at 13. In April 2013, she won both singles and doubles at her first tournament in Malta. Later that year, she won a singles event in Poland. She also won a doubles event in the Czech Republic.

In January 2014, Markéta reached the semifinals at a higher-level tournament. She then played in her first junior Grand Slam events in May. She did very well, reaching the semifinals at both the French Open and Wimbledon. She lost to the players who eventually won those tournaments. In doubles at the French Open, she was a runner-up with her partner CiCi Bellis. They lost in a close match. Markéta ended 2014 by winning the doubles title at the Orange Bowl with Bellis.

Markéta continued to shine in doubles in 2015. She won her only two junior Grand Slam titles that year. She won the doubles title at the Australian Open with Miriam Kolodziejová. They didn't lose a single set! Markéta then won both singles and doubles at the Trofeo Bonfiglio. She partnered with Kolodziejová again. With these wins, Markéta became the No. 1 junior player in the world. She reached the semifinals at the French Open for the second year. She also won her second Grand Slam doubles title with Kolodziejová, again without losing a set.

Towards the end of 2015, Markéta played for the Czech Republic in the Junior Fed Cup. She won all her matches. She helped her team win the title by beating the US team 2–1 in the final. In 2016, Markéta played only one junior tournament.

Professional Career

Early Years: First WTA Title at 17

Markéta Vondroušová at the 2017 Birmingham Classic

Markéta started playing on the ITF Women's Circuit in May 2014 when she was 14. She reached her first singles final in March 2015. She also won her first professional doubles title there. Her first singles titles came in May and June. She made her WTA Tour doubles debut in April 2015. A year later, she made her WTA Tour singles debut at the Prague Open. She won her first match but then lost to a top player. Markéta stopped playing after May 2016 because of an elbow injury.

She returned to the tour in January 2017. She won her first two ITF singles events back. This helped her get into the top 300 players by the end of February.

In April, Markéta had a big moment at the Ladies Open Biel Bienne. She won her first WTA Tour title at just 17 years old! This was only her second WTA singles event. She had to play through qualifying rounds to get into the main tournament. In the semifinals, she beat the top player, Barbora Strýcová. Then she won the final against Anett Kontaveit. This win moved her up to No. 117 in the world. She was also the lowest-ranked finalist on the WTA Tour since 2010. The next month, she won another big title on the ITF Circuit. This helped her enter the top 100 for the first time. She was the youngest player in the top 100 at that point.

Markéta played in her first Grand Slam tournament at the French Open. She got through qualifying and won her first main draw match. She then played at Wimbledon but lost her first match. Later, she won another ITF title, which moved her to No. 68 in the world. At the US Open, she lost her first match in a very close game. She finished her season in September.

2018–2019: French Open Finalist and Top 15 Ranking

Markéta Vondroušová at the 2019 French Open

Markéta had a slow start to 2018. She didn't win many matches in her first five tournaments. But she still climbed to No. 50 in the rankings. This was after she reached the fourth round at the Indian Wells Open. There, she beat a top player, Johanna Konta. Her ranking dropped when she couldn't defend the points from her first title. She lost early at the French Open and Wimbledon. In August, she was outside the top 100. But at the US Open, she had her best result of the year. She beat a strong player, Kiki Bertens. This brought her back to No. 71 in the world. She finished the year at No. 67.

Markéta started 2019 very well. At the Australian Open, she reached the doubles semifinals. After that, she reached the quarterfinals or better in her next six singles events. This included three finals. She was a runner-up at the Hungarian Ladies Open. At the Indian Wells Open, Markéta beat Simona Halep, who was ranked No. 2. This was the highest-ranked player she had ever defeated. With good results there and at the Miami Open, she returned to the top 50. She reached another final at the İstanbul Cup. She also beat Halep again at the Italian Open.

Markéta's best performance of 2019 was at the French Open. She reached the final without losing a single set! She was not a seeded player, but she beat four seeded players. These included Anastasija Sevastova and Johanna Konta. She also beat Petra Martić for the first time. In the final, she lost to Ashleigh Barty. But she became the first teenager to reach the French Open final since 2007. She also became a top 20 player for the first time. Despite this success, she lost in the first round at Wimbledon. This was her last match of the year. She had surgery in September for a left wrist injury and missed the rest of the season. She reached a career-high ranking of No. 14.

2021: Olympic Silver Medal

In 2021, Markéta played in her first WTA 1000-level doubles final at the Italian Open. She and her partner, Kristina Mladenovic, beat some strong teams. They lost in the final to Giuliana Olmos and Sharon Fichman.

At the Tokyo Olympics, Markéta had an amazing run. She beat Kiki Bertens and Mihaela Buzărnescu. Then, she surprised everyone by beating the second-seeded player, Naomi Osaka, in straight sets. In the quarterfinals, she won when Paula Badosa retired. In the semifinals, she beat Elina Svitolina. This meant she reached the final and was guaranteed a medal! She lost to Belinda Bencic in a close three-set match. Markéta proudly won the silver medal for her country.

2023: Unseeded Wimbledon Champion and World No. 6

Markéta Vondroušová at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships

In 2023, Markéta reached the third round of the Australian Open. She beat Alison Riske and the second-seeded Ons Jabeur. At Indian Wells, she reached the fourth round for the fourth time. She beat Ons Jabeur again there. At the Miami Open, she reached the fourth round again. She beat Tatjana Maria, Veronika Kudermetova, and her fellow Czech player Karolína Plíšková.

At Wimbledon, Markéta reached the fourth round for the first time. She beat Peyton Stearns, Veronika Kudermetova, and Donna Vekić. This meant she had now reached the fourth round at all major tournaments! In the fourth round, she beat Marie Bouzková. This put her in the quarterfinals of a major for the first time since the 2019 French Open. In the quarterfinals, she came back from being down in the third set to beat Jessica Pegula. This was her first Wimbledon semifinal. She became only the third woman in the Open Era to beat four seeded players to reach the Wimbledon semifinals. She then beat Elina Svitolina in straight sets to reach her first Wimbledon final.

On July 15, she defeated Ons Jabeur in the final. She became the first unseeded woman to win the Wimbledon singles title in the Open Era! Ranked No. 42, she was also the lowest-ranked Wimbledon champion ever in the Open Era. On July 17, 2023, she entered the top 10 in the WTA rankings.

After reaching the quarterfinals at the US Open for the first time, she reached a new career-high ranking of world No. 6 on September 11, 2023. In December 2023, Markéta was named "Sportsperson of the year" in the Czech Republic.

2024: French Open Quarterfinal and Injury

At the 2024 French Open, Markéta reached the quarterfinals. She lost to the eventual champion, Iga Świątek. This was her best result at the French Open since her final appearance in 2019.

At Wimbledon, Markéta was upset in the first round by Jéssica Bouzas Maneiro. This was only the second time in the Open Era that a reigning Wimbledon women's singles champion lost in the first round.

On July 22, Markéta announced she had to withdraw from the Paris Olympics due to a hand injury. This injury also caused her to miss the US Open.

2025: Return to Tour

Six months after her last match, Markéta returned to the WTA Tour at the Adelaide International. She won her first match against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. However, she had to retire from her second-round match due to injury. Markéta then withdrew from the Australian Open.

National Representation

Billie Jean King Cup

Markéta won the Junior Fed Cup in 2015. She then made her debut for the senior Czech Republic team in 2017. She played in the semifinals against the United States. She lost her first match but then won her second. The Czech team lost the deciding doubles match and was out of the competition. Markéta played again in the Fed Cup in 2019. She won two singles matches, helping the Czech Republic win and stay in the World Group.

Olympics

She also represented her country at the 2020 Olympics. There, she famously beat home favorite Naomi Osaka. She reached the final, beating Paula Badosa and Elina Svitolina. This was the first time a Czech Republic player reached an Olympic singles final. She lost to Belinda Bencic in three sets and won the silver medal.

Playing Style

Markéta Vondroušová hitting a backhand

Markéta Vondroušová's special shot is the drop shot. She has a clever way of playing and uses many different shots. She learned this style from one of her first coaches, Jan Fuchs. Her matches often have long, smart rallies. She uses her left-handed topspin forehand very well. Markéta says, "I'm just trying to play aggressive and maybe, like, mix the points." She also wants to "serve well and move well."

Her favorite surface to play on is clay, which is what she grew up on. She also likes hard courts because they suit her playing style. Markéta is better at returning serves than at serving herself. In 2019, she was one of the best players at winning points when returning the first serve. She also led the tour in winning return games and return points overall.

Coaches

As a junior, Markéta was coached by Jan Fuchs. Her stepfather, Tomáš Anderle, who is a hockey coach, helped her with physical training. Later, she was coached by Zdeněk Kubík for three years. In 2015, she started working with Jiří Hřebec and Dušan Karol. Jiří Hřebec was a professional tennis player himself.

In April 2018, Markéta changed coaches to Martin Fassati. After not much success, she switched again a few months later to Jan Hernych. He is another former Czech professional player. She also started working with Jiří Hřebec again. Jan Hernych is her main coach who travels with her to tournaments.

Personal Life

In July 2022, Markéta married her longtime partner Štěpán Šimek. They had been engaged since the 2020 Olympics. They divorced in 2024. A few months after her divorce, Markéta confirmed she was in a relationship with Czech tennis player Andrew Paulson.

In 2024, the Czech edition of Forbes magazine included Markéta in their "30 under 30" list. This list features 30 of the most talented Czechs under 30 years old.

Career Statistics Summary

Markéta Vondroušová has played in many important tournaments. She has a strong record in both singles and doubles.

Grand Slam Singles Performance

• Australian Open: Reached the 4th round in 2021.
• French Open: Was a finalist in 2019 and reached the quarterfinals in 2024.
• Wimbledon: Won the title in 2023!
• US Open: Reached the quarterfinals in 2023.

She has won 41 matches and lost 24 in Grand Slam singles tournaments.

Grand Slam Doubles Performance

• Australian Open: Reached the semifinals in 2019.
• Wimbledon: Reached the quarterfinals in 2017.

She has won 19 matches and lost 14 in Grand Slam doubles tournaments.

Grand Slam Finals

Markéta has played in two Grand Slam singles finals:

• 2019 French Open: She was the runner-up, losing to Ashleigh Barty.
• 2023 Wimbledon: She won the title, beating Ons Jabeur.

Olympic Games Final

• 2020 Tokyo Olympics (played in 2021): She won a silver medal in singles, losing to Belinda Bencic in the final.

Images for kids

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  Vondroušová at the 2023 US Open

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  Vondroušová at the 2017 Birmingham Classic

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  Vondroušová at the 2019 French Open

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  Vondroušová at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships

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  Vondroušová hitting a backhand

See also

In Spanish: Markéta Vondroušová para niños