Nikola Bartunkova is a 20-year-old Czech who reached the Wimbledon girls’ singles final in 2023, spent seven months of 2024 suspended in an anti-doping case that the International Tennis Integrity Agency traced to a contaminated supplement, and made her Grand Slam debut as a qualifier at the 2026 Australian Open. She beat the No. 10 seed there. Eight months later she beat world No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 6-3 in the third round of the China Open in Beijing.
She was born on Feb. 25, 2006, plays right-handed and has not yet won a WTA singles title. Her ranking reached a career-high No. 34 in 2026, according to the WTA.
Junior Years and a First Tour Win
Bartunkova made her WTA main-draw debut as a wild card in Istanbul in 2022 and lost to Anastasia Potapova. That year she reached the Roland Garros girls’ doubles final, and in 2023 she reached the girls’ singles final at Wimbledon, where she finished runner-up.
Her first tour-level match win came in 2023 in Cluj-Napoca, where she had a wild card and beat Dayana Yastremska before losing in the next round.
The Suspension
Bartunkova tested positive for trimetazidine at an ITF W50 event in Trnava, Slovakia, in February 2024 and at an ITF W75 event in Maribor, Slovenia, in March 2024. The ITIA sent her a pre-charge notice on April 16, 2024, and she was provisionally suspended from that date. She was 18 and had reached a career-high ranking of No. 226 that month, according to the ITIA.
On Oct. 27, 2024, her side told the ITIA it had identified a contaminated supplement as the source. The agency had the supplement tested at the WADA-accredited Sports Medicine Research and Testing Laboratory in Utah, and an independent scientific expert verified the scenario as plausible. The ITIA accepted that the positive tests were caused by contamination of a supplement containing milk thistle extract, that the violation was not intentional and that she bore no significant fault or negligence.
She accepted a six-month suspension. Her results between the first positive test on Feb. 28, 2024, and the provisional suspension were disqualified, except for a first-round result at a W75 event in Ricany, Czechia, where she returned a negative sample. Time served under the provisional suspension was credited, and she was free to play from Nov. 11, 2024. How tennis suspends a player before any hearing is covered in our ITIA provisional suspension explainer.
The WTA has reported that her family spent months on the work that identified the supplement, while Bartunkova finished high school. She has called the period “a dark time,” according to the WTA. She returned to competition at the start of 2025.
The Climb in 2025
Bartunkova went 54-19 in 2025, according to the WTA. She had won six ITF singles titles by the end of the year, reached her first WTA 125 final in Samsun, and reached the semifinals of the WTA 500 event in Guadalajara, where she lost to the eventual champion, Iva Jovic. The Guadalajara run took her into the Top 200 for the first time, and she finished the season at a then career-high No. 129.
2026 — Melbourne, Rome, Monterrey and Beijing
Bartunkova came through qualifying at the 2026 Australian Open for her first Grand Slam main draw. She beat Daria Kasatkina 7-6(7), 0-6, 6-3 in the first round and then the No. 10 seed, Belinda Bencic, 6-3, 0-6, 6-4, ending a 12-match winning streak for Bencic. It was her first win over a Top 10 player. Elise Mertens ended her run in the third round.
In Rome she reached the round of 16 of a WTA 1000 event for the first time and lost to the eventual champion, Elina Svitolina. She reached a second WTA 125 final, in Birmingham, and took the first set from Sabalenka in Berlin before Sabalenka came back to win. She reached the third round at Wimbledon and again at the US Open.
Her best tour-level result before Beijing came at the WTA 500 event in Monterrey in August, where she came from a set and a break down in one of her wins on the way to the semifinals, according to the WTA. Mertens beat her there 1-6, 6-4, 6-2.
In Beijing, seeded 26th, she beat Magdalena Frech 6-2, 6-2 and then Sabalenka. She broke Sabalenka in the first game, saved all five break points she faced in the sixth game, and did not face another. It was her second win over a Top 10 player and her second appearance in the round of 16 at a WTA 1000 event.
How She Plays
The WTA has described her game style as unusual. Sabalenka’s assessment after Beijing focused on the serve and the movement. “She is very talented, and moves well on court,” Sabalenka said. “She also serves well so you have to convert your chances against her.”
Team
Bartunkova is coached by Pavel Bartunek, Matej Liptak and Petr Vanicek, according to her WTA biography.
Grand Slam Best Results
- Australian Open: third round (2026)
- Roland Garros: first round (2026)
- Wimbledon: third round (2026)
- US Open: third round (2026)
- Juniors: Wimbledon girls’ singles runner-up (2023); Roland Garros girls’ doubles runner-up (2022)
Season Snapshot — October 4, 2026
- Ranking: No. 34, a career high
- Current event: China Open, Beijing, seeded 26th; into the round of 16 against Sinja Kraus after beating Magdalena Frech and Aryna Sabalenka
- Wins this season: 22, her most in a season on tour, according to the WTA
- Best 2026 results: Monterrey semifinal (WTA 500); Birmingham final (WTA 125); Rome round of 16 (WTA 1000); third round at three Grand Slams
- Top 10 wins: Belinda Bencic (Australian Open 2026), Aryna Sabalenka (Beijing 2026)
- Coaches: Pavel Bartunek, Matej Liptak, Petr Vanicek
This snapshot is dated and will change. The career record above does not.
