Czech Republic's Barbora Krejčíková secured her first Wimbledon women's singles title on Saturday, triumphing over Italy's Jasmine Paolini in the final.
Krejčíková, who overcame former champion Elena Rybakina in the semi-finals, defeated Paolini 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 to claim her second Grand Slam title, having previously won the French Open singles title in 2021.
Her victory comes 26 years after her mentor, Jana Novotná, who passed away in 2017, claimed the Wimbledon title.
The result meant that the seventh-seeded Paolini had lost two Grand Slam finals consecutively, having come off second best to Iga Świątek at the French Open last month.
Krejcikova set the tone straight away by breaking the Italian in the opening game and reinforcing the advantage with a love hold.
Paolini had to save two break points in the third game, but she faltered under pressure once more as the composed Czech surged ahead with a double break to lead 4-1.
Krejcikova advanced to three set points in the eighth game and only needed one as Paolini hit a backhand return into the net.
The nerve-wracked Italian claimed just four points on the Czech's serve in the 35-minute opener. Krejcikova hit 10 winners to the Italian's five.
Paolini dashed off Centre Court for a bathroom break and returned re-energised.
She had also dropped the first set in her marathon semi-final triumph over Donna Vekic, and on Saturday, she launched another second set fightback.
Breaks in the second and eighth games levelled the final after a set in which Krejcikova made 14 unforced errors to seven by her opponent, taking her double-fault count to a tournament-high of 33.
The Czech managed just four winners in the set as she went spectacularly off the boil.
However, momentum shifted dramatically back in her favour in the decider when Paolini double-faulted, surrendering a break and falling 3-4 behind.
Krejcikova held to love for 5-3 but endured a nervy conclusion, requiring three championship points and saving two break points in the 10th game to seal the title.
