In Rome, Petra Kvitova expressed both relief and slight confusion after securing her first victory since returning to tennis at the Internazionali BNL d`Italia tournament.
“It`s somewhat strange that my first win back happened here,” she commented following her 7-5, 6-1 victory over Irina-Camelia Begu. She noted that her previous streak of consecutive wins in Rome was ten years ago (in 2015, when she reached the quarterfinals), and she felt she had “never played [her] best tennis” at this venue. Nevertheless, she confirmed, “But it feels much better than losing, that`s for sure.”
The former World No. 2 had faced a challenging start, losing her first four matches since returning (to Jodie Burrage in Austin, Varvara Gracheva in Indian Wells, Sofia Kenin in Miami, and Katie Volynets in Madrid). This winless streak wasn`t easy, but Kvitova`s return to the sport has been characterized by an unexpected sense of joy.
Recalling her mindset before her maternity leave began after the 2023 Beijing tournament, she stated, “I was 95% certain that I would never return.” She explained, “At that point, I had had enough of tennis. I felt like I couldn`t continue, so we decided to try for a baby. I didn`t announce anything definitively because I wasn`t 100% sure.”
However, after her son Petr was born last July, that remaining 5% of doubt started to fade. Kvitova, having felt frustrated by her inability to be active during her pregnancy, found herself eager to play tennis again.
She recounted, “Once I was finally able to do something after the pregnancy, I played some tennis, and it felt incredibly good.” She added with a laugh, “Every smooth shot felt like, `Wow, it`s still there.` The fitness isn`t quite there yet, but the touch in the hands is sometimes very good.”
This touch was clear in her match against Begu, where she lost her serve only once – during her initial attempt to close the first set at 5-4. She quickly recovered, winning eight of the next nine games. A particular highlight was a remarkable backhand down the line hit after chasing down a desperate lob.
She admitted, “I`m definitely not as fit as I`d like to be.” However, she noted, “But even in practices, my game has been improving.”
Although hitting the ball still brings Kvitova enjoyment, she sighed when discussing the other aspects of professional tennis.
With a somber tone, she listed the less appealing parts: “You have to train every day, you have to compete, you have to travel. Those are the things I don`t particularly enjoy… Practice, the gym, and recovery work. I found myself thinking, `Oh my god, seriously, this again?`”
Hotel rooms now feel small, especially with Petr starting to crawl everywhere and sleeping less. Kvitova and her husband/coach, Jiri Vanek, now prefer renting apartments for the space and homelike feel for their son to play. Currently, the pleasure she finds in playing tennis outweighs the demanding routine. Consequently, Kvitova is not setting specific goals or time limits for this phase of her career.
She stated firmly, “I`ll continue for however long I enjoy it.”
Kvitova`s next opponent will be the 27th seed, Ons Jabeur, in the second round. Kvitova holds a 4-2 advantage in their previous encounters, but this will be their first match on clay.
Rupert Caldwell