Markéta Vondroušová
The Czech lefty with a wicked drop shot who staged a stunning, unseeded run to Wimbledon glory, rewriting the tournament's history books.
Born 1999 (age 27)·Czech tennis player·Birthday: June 28·Generation Z
Biography
Markéta Vondroušová's tennis is a blend of artistry and grit, a style full of spins, slices, and sudden drops that feels both classic and disorientingly modern. Her career has been a narrative of spectacular peaks and challenging valleys, defined by a resilient comeback from major surgery. She first captivated the sport as a teenage finalist at the 2019 French Open, her junk-balling lefty game flummoxing opponents on the clay. Then, a wrist injury and operation sidelined her, forcing a long and uncertain rebuild. She returned not just intact, but transcendent. In 2023, ranked outside the top 40 and unseeded, she embarked on a magical fortnight at Wimbledon, a surface once considered her weakest. With breathtaking variety and unshakable calm, she sliced through the draw to become the first unseeded woman to ever lift the Venus Rosewater Dish. This victory was no fluke, but the culmination of a quiet, determined journey back to the top, proving her unique game could conquer any stage.
Generation Z
1997–2012
Born into smartphones, social media, and school shootings. The most diverse generation in history. Pragmatic about money, fluid about identity, anxious about the climate. They do not remember a world before the internet.
Markéta was born in 1999, placing them squarely in the Generation Z. The events that shaped this generation — social media, climate anxiety, and a pandemic — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Markéta Was Born
The biggest hits of 1999
#1 Movie
Star Wars: Episode I
Best Picture
American Beauty
#1 TV Show
ER
Markéta's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1999Born
Columbine shooting; Y2K panic builds
Gas: $1.17/galHome: $113,900Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Believe" — CherBest Picture: American Beauty
2004Started school
Indian Ocean tsunami kills over 230,000
Gas: $1.88/galHome: $157,300Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Yeah!" — UsherBest Picture: Million Dollar Baby
2012Became a teenager
Curiosity rover lands on Mars; Sandy Hook shooting
Gas: $3.64/galHome: $143,200Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Somebody That I Used to Know" — GotyeBest Picture: Argo
2015Could drive
Paris climate agreement; same-sex marriage legalized in the US
Gas: $2.43/galHome: $171,900Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Uptown Funk" — Mark Ronson ft. Bruno MarsBest Picture: Spotlight
2017Could vote
#MeToo movement; solar eclipse crosses the US
Gas: $2.42/galHome: $195,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Shape of You" — Ed SheeranBest Picture: The Shape of Water
2020Turned 21
COVID-19 pandemic shuts down the world
Gas: $2.17/galHome: $248,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Blinding Lights" — The WeekndBest Picture: Nomadland
2026Age 27 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Won the 2023 Wimbledon Championships as an unseeded player, the first woman in the Open Era to do so.
- Won the Olympic silver medal in women's singles at the Tokyo 2020 Games (held in 2021).
- Reached the final of the 2019 French Open as a 19-year-old, announcing herself as a major threat.
- Achieved a career-high ranking of World No. 6 following her Wimbledon triumph.
Did You Know?
She is an avid painter and has said she would likely have pursued art if not for tennis.
Her Wimbledon victory in 2023 was only her fourth career tournament on grass.
She has a distinctive tattoo of a rose on her arm.
She underwent surgery on her left wrist in 2020, which required a significant recovery period.
“I think I can play on any surface. I have the game for it.”
