Barbora Strycova gets emotional home-soil send off in Prague

FLASHBACK: Barbora Strycova announced her retirement in 2021, but returned after the birth of her son for one final ride on tour.

Barbora Strycova's farewell continued Wednesday at the Livesport Prague Open, her home tournament. The Czech veteran was eliminated in the first round of the singles draw by India's Ankita Raina, and then was treated to an on-court ceremony in her honor.

The tournament played a video montage on its video screens, which highlighted many of her career accomplishments including her two Wimbledon doubles titles, and the six Billie Jean King Cup titles for the Czech Republic that she was a part of. Joined on court by her young son, Vincent, Strycova then addressed the fans in her native Czech.

Many of Strycova's compatriots, including Marie Bouzkova and Barbora Krejcikova, also recorded a video tribute to her, which was posted to the tournament's official social media channels.

Raina, a 30-year-old ranked No. 159, also had kind words for Strycova after the match.

"Congratulations on such a splendid career. For me, the most inspiring thing is that she had a kid and she came back," Raina said. "I think being a mom is challenging, and still, to follow your passion, that's absolutely great and motivating for all the players on the tour."

The 37-year-old Strycova, who gave birth to Vincent in the fall of 2021, made her return to tennis for a final ride at the Mutua Madrid Open, saying at the time that she wanted a proper retirement tour at all of her favorite tournaments.

Last month, she and Hsieh Su-wei, with whom she rose to world No. 1 in doubles in her career's first chapter, won their second title in doubles at Wimbledon in Cinderella-style.

"I couldn't ask for a better finish, right?" she said on Centre Court, in her final appearance at the All England Club.

Strycova intends to play the US Open later this month as her final professional tournament.