Barbora Krejcikova makes Fed Cup debut as Czech take early lead in Sydney | ATP Tour
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Krejcikova makes Fed Cup debut as Czechs take early lead in Sydney
Next up is Mensik vs. Ruud
January 5, 2026
Izhar Khan/AFP via Getty Images
Barbora Krejcikova beat Malene Helgo 6-4, 6-3 in United Cup action on Monday.
Author: ATP/WTA Staff
Two-time Grand Slam singles champion Barbora Krejcikova made her Fed Cup debut on Monday, beating Norway’s Malene Helgo 6-4, 6-3 to give the Czech Republic an early 1-0 lead in Group D in Sydney.
The former world No. 2 enters 2026 on the Mercedes-Benz-powered WTA Tour, where she is ranked No. 65 in the PIF WTA rankings after suffering another injury at the end of 2025. She reached the U.S. Open quarterfinals in September, a watershed moment in a season that began in May after dealing with a recurring back injury.
Put the Czech Republic on the scoreboard 📋 pic.twitter.com/EihT4A8bFV
— United Cup (@UnitedCupTennis) January 5, 2026
Then Krejcikova unfortunately encountered physical problems again and injured her knee in the third round of the China Open against McCartney Kessler. She retired from that match and later revealed that her injury was more serious than previously thought. Krejcikova also retired at the WTA 125 event in Limoges last December.
Krejcikova’s season-opening match against world No. 532 Helgo proved to be an ideal return.
“I didn’t compete for a long time and my injury was very serious and very unfortunate,” Krejcikova said. “I’m really happy that I’m here, I can compete, I can enjoy competing, I can compete, and I’m really happy that I can finally finish a race.”
Helgo, 26, has punched above her weight in past Fed Cup competitions. In 2024, she pushed Caroline Garcia and Donna Vekic into three sets and took advantage of Krejcikova’s slow start to take an early 3-1 lead.
But then, Krejcikova, who played the 1 hour and 38 minutes of the match with a brace on her left knee, wiped out a break point opportunity in the fifth game at 5-2 and won eight of the next nine games to turn the situation around.
“The knee is much better. It took some time, but I’m improving every day and I’m very happy about it,” Krejcikova said.
In men’s singles, world No. 19 Jakub Mensik is also participating in the Fed Cup for the first time. He is expected to help the Czech team defeat Casper Ruud.
