Sara Bejlek, the small giant of Czech tennis, first drew attention as a rising junior with a celebratory embrace with her father after her first-ever Grand Slam qualifying run at the 2022 US Open.
At just 159cm, she was long overshadowed by younger compatriots like Tereza Valentova and Nikola Bartunkova, but broke through by winning her first WTA title at the 2026 Abu Dhabi Open after coming through qualifying.
She drew further attention by beating World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the fourth round of the Cincinnati 1000, knocking her from the top ranking spot.
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Czech Sara Bejlek
Born on January 31, 2006 in Znojmo, Czech Republic — a region famous for its wine — she is a left-handed player with a two-handed backhand. She showed talent for tennis from a young age, and first drew notice in 2020 at age 14 by winning the Czech junior championship, the Pardubice Juniorka.
She turned pro in 2021, and in July of that year captured her first ITF title, dominating Paula Ormaechea 6-0, 6-0 in a double-bagel final at the ITS Cup W60 event in Olomouc, Czech Republic. In 2022, she became the youngest player to reach a Grand Slam main draw after qualifying for the US Open.
At that US Open, an intense embrace with her father and coach actually became a source of controversy before anything else, drawing early attention to her.
A Left-Handed Small Giant
In 2023, she made her debut at the Australian Open and French Open, and in November of that year won her first WTA 125 title at the Copa Colsanitas in Chile. In 2024, she qualified for the Madrid Open, making her WTA 1000 debut, and in the main draw defeated Anna Blinkova, 24th seed Anna Kalinskaya, and Ashlyn Krueger in succession to reach the fourth round, pushing her ranking up to No. 114 in the world.
In 2025, she beat top seed Yulia Starodubtseva in French Open qualifying to reach the main draw, then upset 26th seed Marta Kostyuk in the first round for her first-ever Grand Slam main-draw win. That same year, she reached her first tour-level quarterfinal at the Prague Open.
She went on to add further WTA 125 titles at the Makarska Open, the Internazionali di Calabria in Lenzé, and the Querétaro Open, breaking into the world’s top 100 for the first time in her career. Up to this point, though, her small frame and lack of power kept her at a distance from the top ranks, and younger compatriots like Tereza Valentova and Nikola Bartunkova were drawing more attention.
Her serve is fairly consistent but not overpowering, sitting around 170 km/h — enough that big aces aren’t really expected from her — so instead she relies on the natural angle a lefty serve creates, along with a slice serve around 110 km/h, to throw off her opponents’ timing. Her signature weapon is her left-handed forehand, which she uses to push opponents around on clay at speeds approaching 125 km/h (80 mph).
Sara Bejlek, Breaking Down Opponents with Varied Tactics
Starting 2026 ranked No. 101 in the world, she entered the WTA 500 Abu Dhabi Open through qualifying and beat 7th seed Jelena Ostapenko, Sonay Kartal, 3rd seed Clara Tauson, and 2nd seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in the final to claim her first-ever WTA Tour title.
It was the first title by a Czech player in Abu Dhabi Open history, and her ranking jumped more than 60 spots, putting her in the top 40 for the first time in her career. In August, in the fourth round of the WTA 1000 Cincinnati Open, she beat World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka 7-6, 6-4 for her first career win over a reigning world No. 1. She then beat 2019 Cincinnati Open champion Madison Keys 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 in the quarterfinals to reach her first-ever WTA 1000 semifinal.
While her small frame still limits her raw power, the confidence gained from her Abu Dhabi title, combined with her tricky lefty shots, has fueled her rapid growth as a court tactician. Her role model is clay-court king Rafael Nadal, and she is evolving into a rally-based player in a similar mold.
▶159cm Czech Player Sara Bejlek Beats 182cm Sabalenka◀
Sara Bejlek’s Titles & Ranking
WTA Tour Titles (1)
- February 2026 – Abu Dhabi Open (WTA 500, hard court) – defeated Ekaterina Alexandrova 7-6(5), 6-1
WTA 125 Titles (4)
- November 2023 – Copa Colsanitas, Chile (clay) – def. Diane Parry
- June 2025 – Makarska Open, Croatia (clay) – def. Victoria Jiménez Kasintseva
- October 2025 – Internazionali di Calabria, Lenzé, Italy (clay) – def. Lola Radivojević
- October 2025 – Querétaro Open, Mexico (clay) – def. Katrina Scott
ITF Circuit Titles (7 singles, 1 doubles)
- July 2021 – ITS Cup Olomouc W60 (clay) – def. Paula Ormaechea
- May 2022 – ITF Santa Margherita di Pula W25 (clay) – def. Veronika Falková
- June 2022 – Maha Lake Open W60 (clay) – def. Jesika Malečková
- July 2022 – ITS Cup Olomouc W60 (clay) – def. Lina Đorđević
- July 2023 – ITF Pärnu W25 (clay) – def. Lucija Ćirić Bagarić
- October 2023 – ITF Santa Margherita di Pula W25 (clay) – def. Kaisa Hennemann
- September 2024 – Šibenik Open W75 (clay) – def. Darja Semeništaja
- June 2021 – ITF Antalya W15 doubles (clay) – won with Doa Türkmen
Major International Results
- 2022 French Open Girls’ Doubles champion (with Lucie Havlíčková)
- 2022 French Open Girls’ Singles semifinalist
▶Career Grand Slam Results by Tournament◀
- Australian Open: First-round exit four straight years, 2023–2026; career record 0–4, 0% win rate
- French Open: Reached the second round in 2025 and 2026; career record 2–3, 40% win rate
- Wimbledon: Reached the first round in 2026; career record 0–1, 0% win rate
- US Open: Reached the first round in 2022; career record 0–1, 0% win rate
- Grand Slam career total: 2–9, 18% win rate
▶Career Win Rate by Surface◀
- Hard court: 14–13, 52% win rate
- Clay court: 6–8, 43% win rate
- Grass court: 1–3, 25% win rate
- Overall career: 21–24, 47% win rate
▶WTA 1000 Results by Tournament◀
- Dubai Championships: Reached the second round in 2026; career record 1–0, 100% win rate
- Miami Open: Reached the first round in 2026; career record 0–1, 0% win rate
- Madrid Open: Reached the fourth round in 2024; career record 3–1, 75% win rate
- Italian Open: Reached the first round in 2026; career record 0–1, 0% win rate
- Canadian Open: Reached the second round in 2026; career record 1–1, 50% win rate
- WTA 1000 career total: 5–4, 56% win rate
Sara Bejlek’s Racket
Tennis racket: Babolat Pure Aero 100
Strings: Black string on the mains, natural gut on the crosses
Tennis Sara Bejlek Bio
- English: Sara Bejlek | Full name: Sára Bejlek
- Date of birth: January 31, 2006 (age 20)
- Hometown: Znojmo, Czech Republic | Nationality: Czech
- Residence: Hrušovany nad Jevišovkou, Czech Republic
- Height: 160 cm | Weight: — | Blood type: — | Religion: —
- Education: —
- Family: Unmarried, parents
- Personal SNS: Instagram
- Pro debut: 2021
- Ranking: World No. 38 (as of July 27, 2026), career-high World No. 34 (April 6, 2026)
