Krejcikova pulls out of Roland Garros doubles title defence due to COVID-19

Barbora Krejcikova will not be defending her Roland Garros doubles title this year after contracting coronavirus during the tournament.

Krejickova achieved one of the very unique feats in professional tennis when she won the 2021 French Open singles and doubles titles in the same fortnight.

But 2022 has been a far cry from last year's exploits, largely because of an elbow injury that forced her out of action from late February until this month, when she competed in the singles tournament at the clay-court major.

Her title defense in singles ended dismally, as she lost in the first round to French wild card Diane Parry in three sets. Although Krejcikova was the higher-ranked player and had enormous experience, she lacked sufficient match sharpness because of her long absence.

The Czech did not play a single warm-up tournament on clay, and that was evident as her level fell off significantly during the match. During the pros-match press conference, Krejcikova noted that she "collapsed physically" in that demoralizing defeat.

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On Wednesday, she announced on her Instagram stories that she wouldn't be competing in the doubles tournament with countrywoman Katerina Siniakova because of illness, not a physical injury.

She admitted that she tested positive for COVID-19 upon waking up and is "extremely sad" that she had to forfeit her doubles title. Krejcikova, therefore, becomes the second Czech player to test positive for the deadly disease at this tournament after Marie Bouzkova.

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