Five things to know about Marketa Vondrousova

How improbable was it that Marketa Vondrousova would play in Saturday's Wimbledon championship? Well, her husband stayed home to look after the cat instead of flying in for the semifinals, and her coach happily agreed to get a tattoo if Vondrousova somehow won the title. 

Now, both men are starting to sweat. Vondrousova's husband has some packing to do.

"[He] is coming tomorrow with my sister," Vondrousova said. "We texted the cat sitter to come to our home." 

They aren't the only ones surprised by Vondrousova's run.

She herself didn't see it coming. Vondrousova used the word "crazy" five times to describe her accomplishments Thursday during her press conference. The 24-year-old former junior No.1 has always found it difficult to deploy her game style on grass, but everything has clicked for her this year. 

On Saturday, Vondrousova will face Ons Jabeur in the Wimbledon final. The winner will become the newest first-time Grand Slam champion. 

Here are five things to know about the World No.42:

Wimbledon: Scores | Draws | Order of play

She's made history at Wimbledon

After defeating Elina Svitolina on Thursday, Vondrousova became the first unseeded Wimbledon finalist in the Open Era. 

Vondrousova stops Svitolina at Wimbledon to make second Grand Slam final

At No.42, Vondrousova is the second-lowest ranked player to reach the Wimbledon final since the WTA Rankings were introduced -- only Serena Williams in 2018 was ranked lower (No.181).

Despite owning a losing record at Wimbledon before this year, Vondrousova has been an absolute lawn-mower at the All England Club. She beat four seeds in succession just to make the semifinals. Beating No.12 Veronica Kudermetova, No.21 Donna Vekic, No.32 Marie Bouzkova and No.4 Jessica Pegula.

"When I saw the draw, it wasn't easy. I was like, 'Let's try. I beat Kudermetova, Vekic.' They are great on grass. I was like, 'OK, maybe I'll get better and I can do something here.'

"For me, it's really crazy this is happening. But I think anything can happen in tennis."

This time last year, she was in London as a tourist

If you look for Vondrousova's 2022 Wimbledon result, you won't find one. This time last year, she was still in a cast after undergoing surgery on her left wrist. But she still came to London to support her best friend, Swedish player Mirjam Bjorklund, who was playing in qualifying for the first time.

"With my sister, we went to see her in Roehampton, then we stayed for a week just to see London and stuff," Vondrousova said. "I had a cast on. It was after the surgery. Yeah, I didn't play for almost six months, so it was very tough."

Healthy and happy, Vondrousova looking dangerous again

Injuries have been the story of the Czech's career. Vondrousova was a former junior No.1 and won her first and only title on the Hologic WTA Tour as a 17-year-old in 2017. That win came on in the indoor hard courts in Biel, Switzerland, where she beat Anett Kontaveit. 

Vondrousova has posted big results since, most notably her runner-up finish at the 2019 French Open and Olympic silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics, but consistency has eluded her because of injuries. 

She was sidelined for six months three times because of her left arm. Most recently, a left wrist injury kept her out of competition after Stuttgart last year. Her first event after that came at the start of this year, in Adelaide. She was ranked No.92. 

She still has a losing record on grass

Vondrousova's run at Wimbledon hasn't come completely out of nowhere. She's been slowly building and posting increasingly solid results as the year has progressed. Even before this tournament, she notched three Top 10 wins this season. She's made the Round of 16 at three of the five WTA 1000s this year, including back-to-back at Indian Wells and Miami. 

That said, grass has never been Vondrousova's surface. Despite owning a game full of variety, touch and feel, she had a below .500 record on grass before this year. Even with her six wins, she still goes into the final with a losing record on grass at 10-11.

But two weeks before the tournament, Vondrousova quietly broke new ground on grass. She made her first quarterfinal on the surface in Berlin, beating a Top 10 player along the way. But even Vondrousova is shocked by her Wimbledon fortnight.

"I mean, here on grass, it was almost impossible [to believe I could make the final] because I didn't play many matches on grass before," she said. "My best [result] was the second round.

"For me, when it was clay or hard, maybe I would say yeah, maybe it's possible. But grass was impossible for me. It's even crazier that this is happening."

She comes from a strong tradition of Czech excellence

Another Slam, another Czech in the final. Just over a month after Karolina Muchova's effort to make her first major final at Roland Garros, Vondrousova picks up where Muchova left off.

Vondrousova is the fourth Czech woman to reach the Wimbledon final and third in the past 10 years, joining two-time champion Petra Kvitova and former No.1 Karolina Pliskova. 

"I talked with Barbora Krejcikova before the [semifinal]," Vondrousova said. "She's here. I texted also with Karolina Muchova. We are from the same club. I feel like we just support each other.

"I also talked with Karolina when she was playing Paris. I was crying so much after the final when she lost. It was really sad."

A win on Saturday and Vondrousova would become the first player to beat five seeds to win a major title since Barbora Krejcikova at Roland Garros in 2021 and the first at SW19 since Petra Kvitova won her first Wimbledon title in 2011. 

"In Czech, we have so many great players," Vondrousova said. "We also support each other. It's very nice to see."

She's undefeated against Ons Jabeur this season

Vondrousova will face Jabeur for a third time this season, this time with a Grand Slam title on the line. Vondrousova is 2-0 against Jabeur this year. She beat Jabeur at the Australian Open and Indian Wells. Overall, their head-to-head record is locked at 3-3. 

"I feel like we're the same in some things," Vondrousova said. "We're playing drop shots. We're playing slice. We were supposed to play in Eastbourne also first round, but I withdrew.

"She played finals here last year. She was playing also US Open final. She's used to playing finals in a Grand Slam. It's a final, so it's going to be tough match no matter who is there."