Getting to know… Barbora Stefkova

Photo by Jiří Miklas

Born in Olomouc in the Czech republic, Barbora Štefková, who is currently playing in Torino, has very nicely taken some of her time to answer some questions for this blog. If Petra Kvitova won in Wimbledon, Barbora Štefková also had some great success recently by winning 3 ITF titles in a row. This interview is a good opportunity to get to know a bit more this other very promising and talented Czech player.

First of all, how did you get into tennis ?
My mom was tennis player and tennis coach so she teached me everything. I started to play tennis when I was 6. She was my coach till I was 15 years old. Now I have an other coach but she still travel with me on tournaments sometimes.

How would you describe your playing style and what are your strengths ?
I try to play fast balls, make my opponent moves and put her under the pressure. I think in this way you make some mistakes for sure but you can also make many points. Now I am working on my serve.

You recently won 6 titles in a row (3 in singles and 3 in doubles)… it doesn’t happen everyday. What was your feeling about this achievement ?
I mean it´s something really special for me because i won 3 tounaments in a row. When I won the first tournament in Israel I was so happy but I had no time to celebrate it because two days later I started the second tournament… And one week later I was singles champion again :). After tournaments in Israel where I won two doubles titles as well I was one week at home. I wasn´t sure if I wanna go to the next tournament because I needed some rest but my mum told me I should try it. So we went to Bosnia. Now I am so much happy because I won 15 matches and won 3rd singles title in a row. I think it´s definitely something amazing. Now I know that everything is possible. But you must be working very very hard. You must stay positive and keep fighting every single point. Go for it and you can do it.

What are your goals at present ?
The most important thing for player is stay healthly. No injuries. About my ranking at the end of the year… If I was in the top 350 it would be great. But my next step is to play good matches against better player on bigger tournaments.

The Czech Fed Cup and Davis Cup team are doing really great these past years… I guess it’s something very motivating for a young Czech player ?
Its really motivating for young player that our country has the best teams in the world.

Who were your tennis idols when you were growing up, and why ?
I don´t know if I had some idols when I was small kid but know I like Sharapova´s game. She play very aggressive tennis. I like her style. And she is big fighter too.

What’s your favorite surface, tournament and city ?
I won two 10.000 on hard and two 10.000 on clay so I think I can´t say exactly what is my favourite surface. I have few favorite places from juniors tournaments. One of them is Potchemstroom in South Africa. The best memories are from safari, we met little lions and play with them. My next favorite place is Osaka in Japan. It´s paradise for sushi lovers 🙂

What do you like to do to relax in your spare time ?
When I come back from tournament I definitely need to see my friends. So we go to the city for coffee or we also go for some shopping. Right now I have one week off so I am with my family at our cottage. It´s really relaxing here for my mind 🙂

How far did you go in your education ?
Next year I will graduate high school and we will see what next. Probably some extramural school.

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If you want to follow Barbora here is her official Facebook page