Nikola Bartůňková is a twenty-year-old Czech tennis player.[1][2] On the WTA Tour she had a 1–4 record in matches against players from the top ten of the rankings before she beat Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus in the third round of the tournament in Beijing in October 2026. It was the biggest win of her career so far.[1]
She had previously played Sabalenka in June 2026 in the quarter-final of the tournament in Berlin, which she lost 6–2, 6–7 and 4–6 after leading 6–2 and 4–0.[1]
In Beijing she then beat Karolína Muchová 6–3 and 6–0 on 8 October 2026 and advanced to the semi-final.[3][2] According to iDNES, the world number 34 made 15 unforced errors in the match, Muchová 37.[2] After the match Bartůňková said: "The semi-final is a dream come true for me; before the tournament I did not expect anything like it at all."[2]
Eighteen months before October 2026 she was ranked in the 500s on the WTA list.[2] On 13 October 2026 she advanced to the second round of the tournament in Wuhan after a match lasting almost three hours.[4]
Sources
- Deník.cz — 4 October 2026
- iDNES.cz: Olomouc — 8 October 2026
- iROZHLAS — 8 October 2026
- ČTK / České noviny — 13 October 2026