On Saturday, February 25, 2023, Barbara Krejcikova joined an elite list of female tennis players who defeated the top three players in the world at the same tournament.
She is only the fifth player to ever accomplish this feat.
Here they are from the most recent to the oldest.
1. Barbara Krejcikova, Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, 2023
Barbara Krejcikova is looking forward to face Iga Swiatek in the Dubai final 🤝 pic.twitter.com/3hhrkMUneg
— FirstSportz Tennis (@FS_Tennis1) February 25, 2023
Krejcikova defeated No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka and No. 3 Jessica Pegula on her path to the final before defeating No. 1 Iga Swiatek in the final.
Prior to that match, Krejcikova was eager to play Swiatek because she wanted to see where her level was.
Her level was outstanding because Swiatek has been practically impossible to win a game off of in the past few weeks.
2. Aryna Sabalenka, WTA Finals, 2022
Before capturing her first Grand Slam at the Australian Open in 2023, Aryna Sabalenka defeated the top seeds in the 2022 WTA Finals.
They were Iga Swiatek, No. 1, Ons Jabeur, No. 2, and Jessica Pegula, No. 3.
Sabalenka lost in the finals to Caroline Garcia.
She is the only one of the five players to lose the tournament after defeating the Top 3 players in the world.
3. Venus Williams, WTA Championships, 2008
Venus was ranked sixth in the tournament and worked her way through the draw by beating Dinara Safina, the No. 2 seed, then she beat her sister Serena, the No. 3 seed, and finally she defeated the No. 1 seed, Ana Jankovic in the semifinals.
She went on to win the tournament by defeating Vera Zvonareva in the finals.
4. Serena Williams, Miami Open, 2002
Six years before Venus accomplished this feat, Serena did it at the 2002 Miami Open.
She beat No. 3 Martina Hingis, No. 2 Venus, and No. 1 Jennifer Capriati in the quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals respectively to capture the title.
5. Steffi Graf, French Open, 1999
Steffi Graf met the top three seeds in the second week of the Roland Garros Grand Slam.
She defeated No. 2 Lindsey Davenport in the quarterfinals, No. 3 Monica Seles in the semifinals, and No. 1 Martina Hingis in the finals.
It was the last Grand Slam title of her career, and she retired from the sport a few months later at the age of 30 with 22 Grand Slams and the Golden Slam on her impressive resume.
Who will be the next female tennis player to join this elite list of players?
Will it happen again in 2023 or next year or in five years?
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