– French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova said on Saturday that she would never have passed up the opportunity to represent the Czech Republic at next week’s Billie Jean King Cup despite the WTA Finals being just around the corner.
World number four Krejcikova will be the highest-ranked player at the event in Prague, and the only one to have qualified for next month’s season-ending WTA Finals that get underway in Guadalajara from Nov. 10.
The top three in the world — Australian Ash Barty, Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus and Czech Karolina Pliskova — will not feature for their teams in Prague.
“I always wanted to represent Czech Republic, especially when we are at home. It was sure from the beginning that I wanted to play… playing at home and representing the country. That’s the biggest thing for an athlete,” Krejcikova told reporters.
I’m really looking forward to leading this team. We have a very good team and very good chemistry. I think it’s going to be a perfect week for us. I cannot wait to play in front of the Czech crowd,” added the 25-year-old.
The Czechs have won the Billie Jean King Cup — formerly the Fed Cup — six times since 2011.
(Reporting by Dhruv Munjal in Bengaluru, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
