Former Czech tennis player Petra Kvitova bid adieu to the sport after her first-round exit from the US Open. Kvitova, who had already announced that the US Open would be her last tournament, wanted to come to New York and call it quits from a Grand Slam despite not being at her best physically.
35-year-old Czech tennis star Petra Kvitova couldn’t hold herself back from getting emotional as he bid adieu to the sport, bringing an end to an illustrious career spanning over 19 years. Kvitova was visibly struggling to push her French opponent back in her first round clash in the US Open and ended up losing in straight sets 6-1, 6-0. Kvitova, who had already announced that the US Open would be her last tournament, wanted to come to New York and call it quits from a Grand Slam despite not being at her best physically.
The two-time Wimbledon champion revealed that she contracted COVID-19 three weeks ago and admitted that she wasn’t in the best shape physically. “Yeah, my physicality wasn’t great,” the 35-year-old told reporters after the game.
“My lungs are not really working yet, but I hope it will be OK when I’m not practising now. I wanted to be playing here, to finish the season, like, with a grand slam and not because Covid caught me,” Kvitova added as she had considered not playing in the US Open but wanted to finish off with the last Grand Slam of the season.
Having made her professional debut in 2006 on the ITF Circuit, Kvitova scripted history in 2011 when she became the first 1990s-born player to win the Women’s singles Grand Slam as she breezed past Maria Sharapova in straight sets. Kvitova replicated her feat, winning Wimbledon for the second time in 2014, beating Eugenie Bouchard.
Having won as many as 31 WTA Tour singles titles, Kvitova’s final title came in 2023 on grass in Berlin. The 35-year-old mentioned that she couldn’t attain the World No. 1 ranking in her career, but ranked the two Wimbledon titles above it. Kvitova also holds an Olympic bronze medal from the 2016 Rio Games.
“I think I would be proudest of many things,” she said. “I think especially, as I already mentioned, the mental side, I think. All the seasons, pretty long seasons already before, and I was quite OK to handle it even with some injuries and sickness and kind of this stuff.
“I’m very proud of how I handled the pressure, how many times I have been in the top 10. It was very, very special for me. I’ve never been world No. 1, but I think still those two grand slam wins is above the world No. 1. So that’s how I’m going to take it, especially the Wimbledon ones. Yeah, I’m proud of many, many things,” the left-hander further added while acknowledging that she will miss the sport, which ultimately helped her learn a lot about herself and life in general.
“What I am going to miss, it will be the tennis itself. It’s a beautiful sport. Everything you do on the court, it’s your fault or your win. I think that’s the beauty of the sport, as well.”