In Rome, Petra Kvitova expressed both relief and a touch of confusion after securing her first victory since returning to the sport at the Internazionali BNL d`Italia tournament.
“It`s kind of weird that my first one came here,” she said after defeating Irina-Camelia Begu with a score of 7-5, 6-1. “I`ve never played my best tennis here. But it certainly feels much better than losing, that`s for sure.”
Kvitova`s last sequence of back-to-back wins in Rome dated back to 2015, a decade prior, when she made it to the quarterfinals.
The former World No. 2 had a challenging start to her return, losing in her first four tournaments to Jodie Burrage in Austin, Varvara Gracheva in Indian Wells, Sofia Kenin in Miami, and Katie Volynets in Madrid. While these results were tough, Kvitova`s comeback has surprisingly been marked by a sense of joy.
Reflecting on her thoughts before her maternity leave, she stated, “I was 95% that I would never come back.” She played her last tournament in Beijing in 2023 and felt she “had enough of tennis at that time,” thinking, “I can`t do it any more,” so they decided to have a baby. She added, “I didn`t say anything because it wasn`t 100%.”
After her son, Petr, was born last July, that small 5% of doubt about returning began to fade. Kvitova, who felt restricted during her pregnancy, was keen to get back on the court.
She described the feeling of playing again: “When I could do something finally after pregnancy, I played some tennis — and it felt so good.” She found herself “laughing” and reacting to her shots, “Every shot I hit smoothly, I was like, `Wowwww — it`s still there.` It`s not in the legs — but in the hands, it`s sometimes very good.”
Her skill was apparent against Begu, where she only lost her serve once, during her initial attempt to serve out the first set at 5-4. Kvitova quickly regained control, winning eight of the final nine games. A particular highlight was an impressive backhand down the line hit after retrieving a difficult lob.
Admitting her physical condition isn`t ideal, she said, “I`m not as fit as I wanted to be, for sure.” However, she noted positive progress in her game, “But even in practices my game was going up.”
While hitting the ball still brings her happiness, Kvitova expressed weariness regarding other aspects of professional tennis.
With a touch of melancholy, she listed the less enjoyable parts: “You have to train every day, you have to fight, you have to travel.” These are “all the things that are not my favorites … Practicing and gym and recovery stuff. I was like, `Oh my god, really, this again?`”
Hotel rooms now feel cramped, especially since her son Petr is starting to crawl everywhere and sleeps less. Kvitova and her husband/coach, Jiri Vanek, now prefer renting apartments for more space and a homelier feel. Despite the logistical challenges, the enjoyment of playing tennis currently surpasses the demands of the profession. Kvitova is deliberately avoiding setting specific goals or timelines for this phase of her career.
She intends to continue playing “However long I`m going to enjoy it,” she said.
Kvitova`s next opponent in the second round will be the No. 27 seed, Ons Jabeur. Kvitova holds a 4-2 advantage in their previous matches, though this will be their first encounter on clay.
Rupert Caldwell