I was dumped by Nike and had surgery in the last year – now I’m the most tattooed Wimbledon champ ever
CZECH ace Marketa Vondrousova became the most tattooed Wimbledon champ in history with her stunning defeat of Ons Jabeur.
The Prague battler has so many inkings on her body that she has lost count of the total number.
When she lost as a teenager to Ash Barty in the 2019 French Open final – she beat Britain’s Jo Konta in the semi-finals – there were hardly any visible tattoos apart from a small star on her left wrist.
In the last four years, her bodywork has grown significantly and she has made regular visits to the tattoo parlours in her home city.
On her right elbow is the slogan ‘no rain, no flowers’ – which means to enjoy the good periods, you first need the adversity.
Other random drawings include the number 777, two dice, the letter F and two sit-down fairies on her left arm.
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Vondrousova, 24, said before Saturday's final: “How many do I have? I don’t know.
“For me, it’s also art. I just like it. I appreciate the people that do this."
“I have a bet with my coach. If I win a Grand Slam, he’s going to get one himself – so I hope I will win. We’ll see what happens and what I’ll do.”
Vondrousova – the first unseeded Wimbledon women’s winner for 60 years – hails from a proud Eastern European sporting family.
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Her maternal grandfather was a national pentathlon champion and her mother played volleyball in the country’ top domestic league.
The world No 42 – who prefers clay to grass – was unceremoniously dumped by sponsors Nike at the start of the year and she will appear in the big match of her life without any associated brands.
This time last year she visited the UK as a tourist after undergoing wrist surgery and then the cast came off for her wedding.
Her husband Stepan and sister have made the journey to London after they found someone to watch their cat Frankie.
Now after beating Tunisian Ons Jabeur in straight sets, 6-4 6-4, she has followed in the great tradition of other Czech lefties like Martina Navratilova – the nine-time singles champion who later competed for the US – and two-time winner Petra Kvitova.
Vondrousova said: “What Martina did here was crazy. I think everybody knows about that back home.
“It’s just an amazing thing. It’s so, so tough to do it one time. She did it many times. I feel like you can just look up to them.
“In the Czech Republic, we have so many great players. We also support each other. It’s very nice to see."
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