Markéta Vondroušová’s incredible victory at Wimbledon 2023 was a history making moment.
The tennis star, from Czechia, defeated Ons Jabeur 6-4, 6-4 on Centre Court on 15 July to become the first unseeded ladies’ singles champion at Wimbledon (open era).
The open era began in 1968.
Vondroušová had been ranked No.42 in the world – outside the top 32 tournament seeds – and headed into Wimbledon after a wrist injury meant she missed six months of the 2022 season.
She came back with a vengeance though, battling through six rounds and the championship match to come out on top.
The 24-year-old left-hander has now climbed to the No.10 spot in the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) rankings after lifting the trophy and pocketing the £2.35 million ($3.08 million) prize money.
Hers is a true underdog story, having previously won just one of her matches in her four outings at Wimbledon from 2017-19 and in 2021.
Matthew White, a sports consultant for Guinness World Records, said: “Markéta’s exhilarating yet unexpected triumph at Wimbledon has thrust another star into the women’s game, the latest in a long line of talented Czech players to grace the sport and the ninth different ladies' Grand Slam singles winner this decade alone.
"And she did it the hard way, defeating five seeds to lift the Venus Rosewater Dish on Centre Court. An injury played a huge part in her low ranking before the tournament, but she’s now back where she belongs in the Top 10. We’ll be seeing a lot more of Markéta Vondroušová – and her tattoos – in the years ahead."
Novak Djokovic (Serbia) may not have come out victorious in the men’s final – with Carlos Alcaraz lifting the trophy – but he did claim the record for most Grand Slam singles finals contested.
His record now stands at 35, breaking his previous tie with Chris Evert at 34 finals.
Taiwan's Su-Wei Hsieh (China) and Barbora Strýcová (Czechia) stormed to victory in the ladies’ doubles, earning themselves a place in the records book.
With a combined age of 74 years 303 days – both aged 37 – they are the oldest winners of a Grand Slam ladies’ doubles title (combined age).
They won the title against Storm Hunter and Elise Mertens, whose combined age is almost 20 years younger.
It was only in 2021, the year she gave birth to her son, Vincent, that Strýcová reversed her decision to retire from tennis.
Meanwhile, Diede de Groot (Netherlands) won her 11th consecutive wheelchair singles title at this year’s Wimbledon.
That means she equalled Esther Vergeer (Netherlands) for the most consecutive wheelchair singles titles (female) record.
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