“I miss her so much” – Krejcikova hopes to see Wimbledon whisperer Jana Novotna in her dreams

It’s been ten years since Barbora Krejcikova reached out to Jana Novotna, writing a heartfelt letter to the former Wimbledon champion in 2014 to ask her for advice as she was beginning a professional career.

What was in that ice-breaking letter from a young Krejcikova?

“I wrote something that I’m playing tennis, that I’m 18, I just finished juniors, and that I don’t know what to do right now,” Krejcikova told reporters after winning her maiden Wimbledon title on Saturday, 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 over Jasmine Paolini.

Krejcikova said she was hoping that Novotna, who famously won her lone Wimbledon title in 1998, five years after an infamous loss to Steffi Graf in the 1993 final, would “look at me and maybe help me, guide me, tell me which direction should I go.”

Novotna, who passed away in 2017 from cancer at the age of 49, did more than that. She took Krejcikova under her wing and instilled the Wimbledon dream in her during the time they spent together.

The pair created a bond that is so durable that it spans the generations. Seven years after Novotna, a former world No 2 who won 12 major doubles titles and another four in mixed, is still guiding her. She may not be among the living, but there is no denying that Novotna is with Krejcikova, wherever she goes, and especially at Wimbledon.

Dreaming of Novotna

After her triumph, Krejcikova spoke of the pair’s bond beautifully on court, then sauntered into the wall of honour to look at her name listed with all the other former Wimbledon women’s singles champions. One name, naturally, stood out: Novotna.

In tears, Krejcikova took it all in.

“That it’s unbelievable that I’m on the same board as she is, and that I miss her so much, and wish she was here,” she said.

In her press conference, Krejcikova says she often has dreams of Novotna.

“I’m dreaming about her a lot,” Krejcikova admitted.

In an interview with Chris Evert and Chris McKendry on the ESPN set, Krejcikova elaborated, saying it would be amazing to hear what Novotna thought of her Wimbledon success. She hopes that, maybe, Novotna will come to her in a dream.

“I would love to hear from her,” she said. “I would love to hear what she would tell me. That would be something that I would like to experience. I hope, maybe in my dreams this can happen.” 

Dreaming of Wimbledon

If it wasn’t for Novotna’s influence, Krejcikova may never have won the Wimbledon title. She certainly wouldn’t have appreciated the tournament the same way. When she was young she dreamed of winning Roland-Garros, and it wasn’t until she met Novotna that she started to fully appreciate Wimbledon’s heritage.

“I wouldn’t really say it was my dream when I was very little,” Krejcikova said of her feelings about Wimbledon. “I have like a little notebook that I wrote when I was, like, 12. Maybe like three, four months ago I was listing through that notebook.

“I wrote that in the future I would like to win the French Open. So it was quite a big dream for me to win the French Open.”

But things shifted in Krejcikova’s mind after she learned Novotna’s story.

“To be honest, maybe things shifted a little bit when I actually met Jana and when she was telling me all the stories about Wimbledon, about the grass, how difficult it was for her to win the title and how emotional she was when she actually made it.

“I think since then I started to see the Wimbledon like the biggest tournament in the world.”

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