Desirae Krawczyk became the first American woman to repeat as Wimbledon mixed doubles champion since Billie Jean King nearly 50 years ago when she and Neal Skupski of Great Britain posted a 6-4, 6-3 victory over the Australian duo of Matthew Edben and Samantha Stosur on Friday in London.
King and Australia’s Owen Davidson won the mixed doubles title in 1973 and 1974. Krawczyk also partnered with Skupski when she won the 2021 title.
Krawczyk and Skupski, who were seeded second, are the first repeat winners since the Czech Republic brother-sister act of Cyril Suk and Helena Sukova in 1996 and 1997.
“This has been such a special moment,” Krawczyk said after she and Skupski won in 87 minutes. “Two in a row, baby, at Wimbledon.”
Overall, it was the fourth Grand Slam mixed doubles crown for Krawczyk. Three of the titles came in 2021. She teamed with Joe Salisbury to win the French and U.S. Open crowns.
The 28-year-old Krawczyk couldn’t offer an explanation for why she and Skupski mix so well at Wimbledon.
“I think you have to go out there and just play,” Krawczyk said. “Every match is so tough. I think we just stuck it in and went match-by-match and here we are.”
Krawczyk also is in the running for her first Grand Slam doubles crown. She and partner Danielle Collins play in Friday’s semifinals against top-seeded Elise Mertens of Belgium and Shuai Zhang of China.
–Field Level Media
