Petra Kvitova says she is not chasing after any specific goal when she returns to the Tour this week following a 17-month absence.
The former world No.2 hasn’t played a competitive match since losing in the second round of the 2023 China Open. Kvitova took time away from the sport to give birth to her first child, a baby boy called Petr who was born via c-section last July. Due to the procedure she underwent, the Czech wasn’t allowed to return to the court for another three or four months after.
Kvitova is making her comeback at the ATX Open, which is a WTA 250 event held in Texas. She is the only former Grand Slam singles champion in the draw which is headlined by world No.4 Jessica Pegula and Russia’s Diana Shnaider. Her opening match will be against Great Britain’s Jodie Burrage who has entered the tournament with the use of her protected ranking.
“I don’t expect anything, basically,” 34-year-old Kvitova said of her return. “I’m here — that’s already a big deal for me. Sometimes I’m really surprised by myself. Like, why I did it [the comeback]? But I think I would have regretted it if I didn’t come back
“I’m not putting any goals on myself, I will never play as good as I was playing when I was winning tournaments. Yeah, we’ll see. I want to enjoy myself playing tennis, and I think it will take time.”
Kvitova has won 31 WTA titles so far in her career with the most recent of those being at the German Open in June 2023. Besides her duo of Wimbledon titles, she is also a former Australian Open finalist and two-time French Open semi-finalist.
Despite her many achievements, Kvitova says her motivation for coming back is her love for the sport.
“I tried to explain to everybody that I came back because I love it,” she said. “I miss tennis, I love tennis itself since I was four. So I think the love for the sport took me back to tennis. I missed the hard work, the sweat, that’s why I’m here.
“I don’t know for how long, or how long I’m going to enjoy it or how my body’s going to feel. I think it will be very tough in the beginning. But we’ll see how I manage everything. We’ll see how it goes.”
Coached by her husband Jiri Vanek, Kvitova is adjusting to life travelling as a mother with the support of her brother Libor who is helping with child care. She is the latest WTA player to resume their career after giving birth. Although, Kvitova acknowledges that she is at a different stage of her life compared to Belinda Bencic or Naomi Osaka.
“Those girls are pretty young still — of course, I would say my age is different,” Kvitova said. “But we are used to working hard. Even after pregnancy and giving birth we know what to do — and we’re willing to do it. When you already played well before, you want to be back where you belong, basically.”
Kvitova is scheduled to play her first match against Burrage on Tuesday.
