Ahead of the women’s final, wimbledon.com sought the expert view from media voices who have watched both Barbora Krejcikova and Jasmine Paolini on the Tour for years.
Who says the surprise final is no surprise at all? Who believes Paolini would have had a better chance against Elena Rybakina? Who thinks Krejcikova may be vulnerable to nerves? Who is the only one to see any chance for Paolini?
Jan Jaroch
Denik Sport (Czech sports newspaper)
Pick: Krejcikova in two
I didn’t expect her at all to reach the final here. She wasn’t playing well on clay and had a bad season with injuries and illness. But the beauty of her game is that she is such a huge talent, she can turn a whole season around in a minute. In the semi, she stayed more solid than Rybakina and was fighting for every ball.
I think she will defeat Paolini easily. Barbora just has so many tools to beat her. She’s more aggressive, with more variety. She will be mentally very strong because she likes to play on the big courts and loves big occasions like this one.
I don’t expect her to be nervous because she’s won so many Grand Slam doubles (10 titles) and two here, and she won the Roland-Garros singles too (2021).
But that said, I tend to underestimate Paolini. I watched her in the first round here in 2022 (when she was ranked 72) and 2023 (ranked 44), where she played Petra Kvitova each time, and both matches went to three sets. I did not expect her to win a set in either of them but she fought so hard. She was much better than I thought she would be, even back then.
Her forehand is very good, she can defend on grass, and she’s small and fast around the court. But I still pick Barbora.
Sam Smith
BBC
Pick: Can’t call it (but two sets)
We’re getting so used to surprise finals that they’re not a surprise any more. Without Serena Williams in the draw everyone’s mindset has changed, and these days we can even look among the qualifiers for a possible winner because it’s been done.
I think it could be two tight sets. They’re both great competitors. I can see a lot of nerves at the start – they’ll need to settle. It’s great they’ve both played major finals before but a Wimbledon final is different to anything else because the Centre Court is so iconic.
They both have really complete games. Paolini’s just a bit faster. Her speed will be a factor here because she is the better defender. No one gave her a shot in Paris but she gives everything.
I’ve noticed more intensity than previously from Krejcikova this Fortnight. She’s always been calm outwardly, very low-key which is great. Now she’s producing intensity at key moments.
Both are great volleyers – it’s a fabulous advert for women’s doubles. Because of all the rain in the lead-up to Wimbledon and of course during it, I feel the bounce is lower so the slice is staying lower. Paolini can play slice and cope with receiving it too, but Krejcikova has possibly the best slice backhand in the game today.
Still, anything can happen in a final. The first time I really understood that was when Jelena Ostapenko beat Simona Halep in the Roland-Garros final of 2017. I was absolutely sure Halep would win it. The same can happen here.
Christopher Clarey
Best-selling author of the Roger Federer biography The Master, founder of Tennis & Beyond
Pick: Krejcikova in two
What we know in women’s tennis now is to expect the unexpected – all kinds of crazy stuff from Emma Raducanu winning in New York to Paolini making the final in Paris, and Marketa Vondrousova here last year. So I’m not surprised that the line-up is surprising.
I thought Paolini was a candidate for the final when Emma Navarro lost so badly to her in the quarters (6-2, 6-1). That told me Paolini’s level was quite high. I don’t think I saw Krejcikova in the final right up until she beat Rybakina, even though Krejcikova is a proven quantity.
This could be a very good and attractive match to watch. As someone who likes complete tennis and all-court tennis, I love how Krejcikova plays. She has both touch and power when she needs it. All she lacks is a little quickness at times but she knows how to put first and second serve balls everywhere.
I always thought she had a great game for grass. A couple of years ago she told me: “I take pride in having a Plan A, B, C and D.” She has the tools and the game to be a major champion.
She’s one of the best students of the game there is – at the WTA Finals a couple of years ago when she was playing only doubles, she was watching the singles matches very analytically because she gets a lot from it. I think she’ll enjoy breaking down Paolini’s game.
The one thing I question is that she’s shown some nerves. She can get a little brittle mentally but she knows the Centre Court on a big day because she’s won two doubles titles here.
If Rybakina had beaten Krejcikova, I think that would have been trickier for Paolini because of her second serve being her weakness. But on grass, Krejcikova is still a cut above Paolini as an overall player.
Vanni Gibertini
Ubitennis (Italy)
Pick: Krejcikova in three… maybe
Did I think Paolini would be in the final at the beginning of the tournament? No chance. It would have been a very good result for her to fulfil her contract as No.7 seed by reaching the quarter-finals. In the semi, she just refused to lose. She would never have won that match even a year ago. Now she’s the most confident she’s ever been.
It would have been better for her to play Rybakina in the final because Rybakina has one type of game and she can lose it at times. Krejcikova is a very big tennis thinker and figured out how to beat Rybakina. She can do the same in the final.
Krejcikova is crafty and the better volleyer but Paolini has a bit more power on the forehand in the last few months. Her biggest hope is to put up a fight, as she did in the semi, to get the match into a very tight third set, and hope that Krejcikova will get either nervous or emotional.
Paolini is better at keeping her emotions in check. She’s very demonstrative on the court, but she doesn’t let the feelings swamp her game. Her effusive personality is making less of an impression on the Italian public than it is here, because it’s not that unusual to have an outgoing personality there.
I pick Krejcikova to win because she has a technical margin – unless they get down to the wire at 4-all in the third, then I’ll take Paolini on confidence and mental resilience.
