From Shrewsbury SY1 to Wimbledon SW19
Marketa Vondrousova proudly holds the iconic Venus Rosewater Dish having won the Wimbledon Ladies Singles. Photo courtesy of Getty Images
Marketa Vondrousova has been crowned Wimbledon ladies’ singles champion just eight months after winning both the singles and doubles titles at the ITF World Tennis Tour event here at The Shrewsbury Club. The Czech Republic star enjoyed her visit to Shropshire last November as she impressed local tennis fans with her excellent performances in the Budgen Motors W100 tournament.
Now Vondrousova has made headlines all around the world by becoming the first unseeded player to win the ladies’ singles title at SW19 following her 6-4, 6-4 victory over Tunisian sixth seed Ons Jabeur. It was the first singles final Vondrousova had reached since getting the better of Eva Lys 7-5, 6-2 in front of a capacity crowd at The Shrewsbury Club.
Vondrousova, 24, is the first Shrewsbury champion to go on and win a singles title at Wimbledon, although Angelique Kerber, the Wimbledon champion in 2018, did play at the club in 2009, when she lost in the quarter-finals. Two more players who have played - and made second round exits - in Shrewsbury, Sabine Lisicki and Karolina Pliskova, lost in Wimbledon finals in 2013 and 2021 respectively.
Dave Courteen, The Shrewsbury Club’s managing director, said: “We are delighted for Marketa and her success is very well deserved. It’s wonderful she has won the Wimbledon title so soon after entertaining Shropshire tennis fans with her brilliant performances in Shrewsbury.
“We were pleased to welcome her to The Shrewsbury Club and, having already been both a French Open finalist and Olympic finalist earlier in her career, it was very clear from watching her in Shrewsbury just what an outstanding player she is. That she won both the singles and doubles titles at The Shrewsbury Club was all the more impressive considering it was only her second tournament back competing following wrist surgery earlier last year.
“It’s been fantastic to follow her progress at Wimbledon. I sent a good luck message on behalf of the Club to Marketa, via her coach, ahead of Saturday’s final and received a lovely message back saying what a great time they had in Shrewsbury and how important tournaments like the one we are so proud to host are for players.
"Her Wimbledon victory again underlines the quality of the players we attract to Shrewsbury, especially as Marketa will now have a career high ranking of 10th in the world.
"Only last month we saw Karolina Muchova, who lost in the second round in Shrewsbury last November, reach the French Open final, so we are really excited to see who will be heading to Shropshire to play when we hold the W100 tournament again in October."
This year’s Wimbledon line-up, meanwhile, featured many more players who have played in tournaments at The Shrewsbury Club, including Maia Lumsden, the winner of the singles title in Shrewsbury in 2018. Lumsden and her doubles partner Naiktha Bains became the first British women's pair to reach the quarter-finals of the ladies’ doubles at Wimbledon since 1983.
Handed wildcards to compete on the grass courts, they enjoyed an excellent run to the last eight before eventually losing to Elise Mertens and Storm Hunter.
The IFT World Tennis Tour, set to feature British and international stars, returns to The Shrewsbury Club between October 15-22. It is the biggest women’s tennis tournament, outside of the grass court season, to be played in the UK this year.