Petra Kvitova scores first win after maternity comeback at the Italian Open

ITALY: Former Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova is finally back to winning form after a challenging return to the sport following her maternity leave. 

The 35-year-old Czech athlete previously had a hard time returning to tennis, losing all four of her matches since February. However, she bounced back with an impressive performance at the first round of the Italian Open, where she defeated Romania’s Irina-Camelia Begu with a final score of 7-5, 6-1. 

With her victory, the athlete expressed: “It’s kind of weird that my first win came here in Rome because I never played the best here!… I’m very glad. Even in the practices, I felt like my game was going a little bit up and I was playing a little bit better.”

Having doubts of returning

Kvitova, a two-time Wimbledon champion and former World No. 2, admitted that she had doubts on whether to return and compete on the professional tour. 

She said: “I was 95% that I would never come back… I had enough of tennis at that time. I was like, ‘I can’t do it any more,’ so we decided to try for a baby.” 

The athlete added: “When I could do some things finally after pregnancy and postpartum, I played some tennis, and it felt so good and I really enjoyed it… That was really the thing. I was laughing, and every shot I hit smoothly I was like, ‘Wow! It’s still there.’ It’s not in the legs that much, but in the hands; sometimes it’s very good. That was the key, why I came back.”

Now, she is set to face Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur in the next round and further declared that she is not placing any pressure on herself. Kvitova remarked: “I’ll play as long as I enjoy it, and we’ll see how everything goes… My parents are proud that I’m still trying… even though it’s not going that well sometimes.”

In a social media post, Kvitova shared this special moment with the caption: “A special kind of win — the first one as a mom. ❤️👶”

Netizens showed their support and commented: “Big congralutions, Petra. The first one is always the most difficult one too. Hopefully there will be more”, “Inspirational! Congratulations Petra! 🙌”, “Yesssss! The Queen is back 🔥”, “So happy for you ❤️😍”, “So great to see you back and playing so well. Congrats!🙌🔥”, and “You’re one of my all-time favorites. Pjod, Petra!”