Petra Kvitová bows out with emotional US Open farewell
Czech tennis player Petra Kvitová, one of the country’s most successful athletes, has officially ended her career. Over nearly two decades, she won dozens of titles, including two Wimbledon trophies and an Olympic bronze in singles at Rio 2016.
The two-time Wimbledon champion bowed out in the first round of the US Open, losing 1-6, 0-6 to France’s Diane Parry. After the match, she embraced her coach and husband, Jiří Vaněk, and could not hold back her tears.
“Thank you, New York, for an amazing Grand Slam. I'm very happy to be here for my last dance. Thank you to my husband and coach in one person. Thank you to my agent, to my family back home, to my parents who sacrificed so much for me in the beginning. And to my former coaches as well. Thank you. It’s been a long and amazing journey. Thank you very much,” Kvitová said.
Kvitová announced her planned retirement shortly before Wimbledon, only a few months after returning to the courts from maternity leave. That comeback was not successful. She played nine matches and managed just one win, against Irina Begu on clay in Rome.
As part of her farewell, she could not miss her favourite tournament at Wimbledon, where she lifted the trophy in 2011 and 2014.
Of the four majors, the only one she did not say goodbye to was the Australian Open. It was in Melbourne Park in 2019 that she reached the last of her three Grand Slam finals. There, against Naomi Osaka, she was just one set away from climbing to world number one.
Over her 19-year career, the 35-year-old from Fulnek won 31 singles titles. In addition to her two Wimbledon crowns, she claimed Olympic bronze in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and helped the Czech team to six Billie Jean King Cup victories, formerly the Fed Cup.
Speaking to Czech Radio after her final match, Kvitová ruled out a full comeback. Still, she said tennis would remain part of her life.
“I’d still love to play at Wimbledon with Martina Navrátilová. We’ll see if it works out. It would be beautiful and would mean a lot to me.”
“Otherwise, I don’t know yet, but I’ll definitely go play tennis somewhere. I enjoy it. It’s a beautiful sport, and you can play it all the way into retirement.”
When asked about the most significant moments of her career, she recalled her comeback after the knife attack in 2017 that left her with serious hand injuries.
“I had about a five percent chance of being able to play tennis again. I squeezed absolutely everything out of it. I could have finished with tennis a long time ago.”
“And the successes I’ve collected since 2017 have been so many. In a way, I value them even more than what came before, because this was something terrible, and I don’t even want to remember it anymore.”
For now, Petra Kvitová is looking forward most to her role as a mother to her year-old-son Petr.
