Barbora Strýcová

3.1. Early Years and Tour Debut (2002-2008)

Strýcová turned professional in 2003, having already established a world ranking within the top 300 due to strong performances in ITF Women's Circuit events during 2002. She continued to primarily compete in ITF events throughout 2003 and made her Grand Slam debut at the 2003 Wimbledon Championships, where she qualified for the main draw but was defeated in the first round by Tatiana Perebiynis in a close match with a score of 4-6, 7-5, 9-11.

In 2004, Strýcová made significant progress. She qualified for the 2004 Australian Open and reached the fourth round of the WTA tournament in Indian Wells, defeating seeded player Eleni Daniilidou before falling to Justine Henin. This result propelled her into the top 100 for the first time. She recorded another notable victory over Anna Smashnova in Amelia Island and secured her first two Grand Slam main-draw wins at the Australian Open and 2004 French Open. Despite a period of struggle in the middle of the season, she concluded the year strongly by reaching her first WTA Tour semifinal in Guangzhou and winning an ITF event in Saint-Raphaël, France, finishing the year ranked world No. 56.

Her progress stalled in 2005, as she dropped out of the top 100, winning only 17 matches that season. However, she found success in doubles, reaching four WTA Tour doubles finals and winning two titles. The beginning of 2006 also saw struggles in singles, leading to her dropping out of the top 200 by April, though she partially recovered with good results in ITF events. Between the 2006 and 2007 seasons, she married her coach, Jakub Záhlava, and subsequently began competing under the name Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová. In 2007, she primarily played on the ITF Circuit again, reaching several semifinals but remaining outside the top 100.

By 2008, her persistence on the ITF circuit began to yield results. She won titles in Fort Walton Beach and Redding, both in the United States, and in Szczecin, Poland. She also reached the second round of WTA events in Amelia Island and Charleston. She qualified for the 2008 Wimbledon Championships and reached the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time, enabling her return to the top 100, where she finished the year for the second time in her career.

3.2. First WTA Singles Title and Doping Ban (2009-2013)

In 2009, Záhlavová-Strýcová struggled in her initial tournaments, including a first-round loss at the 2009 Australian Open. However, she found success in Mexico, reaching the semifinals at Acapulco and the quarterfinals in Monterrey, where she defeated top-20 player Flavia Pennetta. After this, she again faced a series of early exits in most tournaments until July, causing her to fall out of the top 100 after a first-round loss at Wimbledon. Her results improved in the latter half of the year, with a quarterfinal appearance at the WTA event in Bad Gastein and reaching the doubles final in Prague. She then advanced to the semifinals of a $25K event in Trnava, Slovakia, before qualifying for and winning her first-round match at the US Open, losing to Victoria Azarenka in the second round. She further built on these performances by winning a $100K+H event in Ortisei, Italy, and a $50K+H event in Ismaning, Germany, enabling her return to the top 100 by year-end. In doubles, she secured two consecutive WTA titles in Quebec City and Luxembourg, marking her fourth and fifth WTA doubles championships.

In 2010, at the 2010 Australian Open, Záhlavová-Strýcová won her first-round match against Regina Kulikova in a historic four-hour and nineteen-minute encounter, setting a record for the longest match in women's Grand Slam history at the time. She lost in the second round to Dinara Safina. In February and March, she captured three doubles titles in Paris, Acapulco, and Monterrey, bringing her total doubles tournament wins to eight. At the 2010 French Open, she lost in the first round, but then reached the third round of a Grand Slam for the second time at the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, where she defeated Elena Vesnina and Daniela Hantuchová before losing to Maria Sharapova. Her Wimbledon performance boosted her confidence, leading her to reach her first career singles final at the I.ČLTK Prague Open, where she lost to Ágnes Szávay. This strong run elevated her into the top 50 in singles for the first time. She continued her doubles success, winning the biggest title of her career at the Premier 5 tournament in Tokyo with Iveta Benešová and then winning in Linz with Renata Voráčová, helping her finish the season in the top 20 of the doubles rankings. In singles, she struggled to maintain her momentum, dropping to world No. 69 by year-end. In 2011, Záhlavová-Strýcová claimed her first WTA singles title by defeating Marina Erakovic in the final of the Quebec City tournament.

In February 2013, Záhlavová-Strýcová received a six-month ban, backdated from 16 October 2012 to 15 April 2013, after testing positive for the stimulant sibutramine. She asserted that the substance entered her system accidentally through a supplement, ACAI Berry Thin. The ITF, while not disputing her account and concluding that she "bore no significant fault," imposed the ban due to negligence, which resulted in the disqualification of all her results and the return of all prize money won during the ban period. Upon her return, Záhlavová-Strýcová competed at the Porsche Grand Prix in Stuttgart, where she lost in the first round of qualifying in singles and the first round of doubles. In May, she secured her first tournament victory since her ban, winning the 2013 Empire Slovak Open, a $75K event.

3.3. Grand Slam Breakthrough and Olympic Medal (2014-2016)

At the 2014 Wimbledon Championships, Strýcová achieved a breakthrough by defeating reigning Australian Open champion Li Na in the third round, which turned out to be Li Na's last professional match. She then overcame Caroline Wozniacki in the fourth round in straight sets, after saving four match points in the second set. This marked her first time reaching a Grand Slam singles quarterfinal, where she was ultimately defeated in straight sets by her compatriot and eventual champion, Petra Kvitová. At the 2014 US Open, she reached her career-best Grand Slam doubles result at the time, reaching the semifinals with partner Kimiko Date. She also reached the doubles semifinals at the 2015 Australian Open with Michaëlla Krajicek.

Strýcová began 2015 strongly with a semifinal finish at the Auckland Open and a quarterfinal appearance at the Sydney International, losing to Caroline Wozniacki and Tsvetana Pironkova, respectively. As the 25th seed at the Australian Open, she was defeated in the third round by two-time champion Victoria Azarenka. She reached the semifinals of the Diamond Games Antwerp as an unseeded player, losing to eventual winner Andrea Petkovic. She also reached the second round in Dubai and Doha, losing to Karolína Plíšková and Venus Williams, respectively, after failing to convert a match point against Williams. On 2 March 2015, she achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 20. This marked the first time in the Open Era that the world's top 20 featured four Czech women, including Petra Kvitová (No. 4), Lucie Šafářová (No. 11), and Karolína Plíšková (No. 15). In 2015, she divorced Jakub Záhlava and reverted to using her maiden name, Barbora Strýcová.

In 2016, after early losses in Auckland and Brisbane, Strýcová reached the round of 16 at the Australian Open, where she was defeated by Victoria Azarenka. In February, she was the runner-up at the 2016 Dubai Tennis Championships, losing to Sara Errani, which brought her back into the top 40. At the Indian Wells Open, she advanced to the fourth round, defeating Aliaksandra Sasnovich, seeded Andrea Petkovic, and Kurumi Nara, before retiring in the second set against Simona Halep due to a respiratory infection. She won her first-round match at the Miami Open before losing to Angelique Kerber. In the Fed Cup semifinal against Switzerland, she had a dominant win over Timea Bacsinszky.

Her clay-court season began at the Prague Open, where she reached the quarterfinals, losing to Samantha Stosur. At the Madrid Open, she upset then-world No. 3 Angelique Kerber before losing to Madison Keys in the second round. She then reached the quarterfinals at the Rome tournament, her best result there, again losing to Madison Keys. Despite not having won a main-draw match at the French Open in a decade, she reached the third round of the 2016 French Open, defeating Lucie Hradecká and Polona Hercog, before losing to then-world No. 2 Agnieszka Radwańska in three sets.

She commenced her grass-court season in Birmingham, reaching the final despite facing numerous rain delays. En route, she defeated Karolína Plíšková, Heather Watson, Tsvetana Pironkova, and CoCo Vandeweghe. In the final, she lost to Madison Keys. As the 24th seed at Wimbledon, she reached the third round before falling to Ekaterina Makarova. At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Strýcová won her first Olympic medal, a bronze in women's doubles, partnering with Lucie Šafářová. They defeated fellow Czech pair Andrea Hlaváčková and Lucie Hradecká in the bronze medal match with a score of 7-5, 6-1. At the Cincinnati Open, she won the women's doubles title with her new partner Sania Mirza, defeating Martina Hingis and CoCo Vandeweghe in the final. Following this tournament, she reached a new career-high singles ranking of world No. 19. She also won the Tokyo Open doubles title with Sania Mirza, defeating Liang Chen and Yang Zhaoxuan 6-1, 6-1.

3.4. Ascent to World No. 1 in Doubles and Wimbledon Titles (2017-2020)

In October 2017, Strýcová won the Linz Open, defeating Magdaléna Rybáriková in the final to claim her second WTA Tour singles title. In 2018, she reached the third round of the Australian Open before losing to Karolína Plíšková. At the Indian Wells, she lost early in singles but won the doubles final with Hsieh Su-wei against Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina. Strýcová also reached the doubles finals in Rome, Tokyo, and Wuhan in 2018. She won the New Haven and Beijing titles, partnering with Andrea Sestini Hlaváčková. In singles, she reached the semifinals in Birmingham and the quarterfinals in Tokyo.

In January 2019, Strýcová and her doubles partner Markéta Vondroušová reached the semifinals of the 2019 Australian Open, where they were defeated by Samantha Stosur and Zhang Shuai. In July, Strýcová had her career-best Grand Slam performance at Wimbledon in both singles and doubles. In singles, she reached the semifinals of the 2019 Wimbledon Championships, defeating four seeded players, including Kiki Bertens and Johanna Konta, before being defeated by 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams. Partnering with Hsieh Su-wei, she won her first Grand Slam doubles title at the 2019 Wimbledon Championships. This victory propelled her to the world No. 1 ranking in doubles for the first time in July 2019, a position she held for a total of 27 weeks.

Strýcová started her 2020 season at the Brisbane International, where she upset seventh seed Johanna Konta in the first round before losing in the second round to Alison Riske. In doubles, she and Hsieh Su-wei won the title, defeating Ashleigh Barty and Kiki Bertens in the final. At the inaugural Adelaide International, she fell in the first round to qualifier Bernarda Pera. As the 32nd seed at the Australian Open, she was defeated in the first round by Sorana Cîrstea.

3.5. Initial Retirement, Comeback, and Final Farewell (2021-2023)

Strýcová began her 2021 season in February at the inaugural Grampians Trophy, losing in the first round to Bethanie Mattek-Sands. At the Australian Open, she was defeated in the first round by Svetlana Kuznetsova. On 4 May 2021, Strýcová announced her retirement from tennis, though she expressed a desire for a potential farewell match at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships or a tournament in the Czech Republic. However, she did not compete at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships.

On 22 March 2023, Strýcová made a surprising announcement of her return to the professional circuit for one final season. In April, she entered the singles and doubles events of the 2023 Mutua Madrid Open, using a protected ranking, and partnered with her previous successful partner, Hsieh Su-wei.

In July, Strýcová and Hsieh won their second Wimbledon doubles title, defeating Storm Hunter and Elise Mertens in the final. This victory propelled Strýcová up 248 positions to world No. 35 in the doubles rankings. She played her last professional tournament at the 2023 US Open. In women's doubles, partnering with compatriot Markéta Vondroušová, they defeated the top-seeded Czech pair of Barbora Krejčíková and Kateřina Siniaková in the second round. Her definitive last professional match was a mixed doubles quarterfinal with Santiago González.

5.1. Singles Finals

Strýcová competed in eight WTA Tour singles finals, winning two titles and finishing as runner-up six times.

5.2. Doubles Finals

Strýcová reached 39 doubles finals, winning 23 titles and finishing as runner-up 16 times, including two Grand Slam titles and one Grand Slam runner-up finish.

5.3. Olympic Medal Matches

Strýcová participated in one Olympic medal match, securing a bronze medal.

6.1. Grand Slam performance timelines

This section provides a year-by-year overview of Barbora Strýcová's performance in singles and doubles main draws at the four Grand Slam tournaments.