Petra Kvitova

Petra Kvitova is a Czech tennis player, who has won 30 career singles titles, including two major titles at Wimbledon in 2011 and in 2014.

Petra Kvitova was born on March 8, 1990, in Bílovec, Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic). She started in tennis at an early age and trained in her Moravian hometown, Fulnek, until the age of 16, and was then encouraged by an instructor to pursue a professional career in tennis, after becoming Czech Junior champion.

Petra Kvitova made her professional debut in 2006. She made a fly start winning the ITF Circuit titles at the $10,000 Szeged / Erste Women’s Open (Hungary) and $25,000 Valasske Mezirici (Czech Republic).

In 2007, she continue winning ITF and Junior titles, but also debuted at the WTA Tour. She played in the main scheme of the WTA 250 Swedish Open, losing in the first round. At the ITF Circuit, she won the titles at the $10,000 Stuttgart (Germany), $25,000 Prague-Pruhonice (Czech Republic), $25,000 Prerov (Czech Republic), and $25,000 Valasske Mezirici (Czech Republic). Also, she was the runner-up at $50,000 Zlin (Czech Republic) and $100,000 Bratislava (Slovakia).

After showing her great talent, Petra Kvitova started playing on the WTA Tour already in 2008. She debuted at the Grand Slam during the same year, making a breakthrough at the French Open / Roland Garros and reaching the fourth round. She also played in the quarter-finals of the WTA 250 Budapest Grand Prix and the WTA 500 Zurich Open. After her great performance, she entered in the world’s Top 50.

Petra Kvitova won her first WTA trophy already at the beginning of 2009. She won the title at the WTA 250 Hobart International. During the season, she reached the third round of the WTA 1000 Indian Wells Open and the fourth round of the US Open. She also played a final at the WTA 250 Upper Austria Ladies Linz, but lost to Yanina Wickmayer (Belgium).

In 2010, Petra Kvitova continue gaining experience and improving her skills. She reached the semi-finals of the WTA 250 Memphis Open in the beginning of the season. In June, she made a great performance at Wimbledon, reaching the semi-finals, while in August reached the third rounds of the US Open and WTA 1000 China Open. During the season she climbed to the world’s No 29 but ended the season as the world’s No 34.

Petra Kvitova made her best season in 2011. She started the year by winning WTA 250 Brisbane International. At the Australian Open, she reached the quarter-finals, before winning another title at the WTA 500 Open GDF SUEZ. After a poor performance at the Masters’ tournaments in Dubai, Indian Wells and Miami, she won her third title for the season at the WTA 1000 Madrid Open. Petra Kvitova reached the fourth round of the French Open / Roland Garros and the final of the WTA 500 Rothesay International Eastbourne. In June she won her first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon. In September she reached the semi-finals of the WTA 1000 Toray Pan Pacific Open Tennis and won the title at the WTA 250 Upper Austria Ladies Linz. Petra Kvitova ended the season as the world’s No 2, giving her a place at the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Year End Championships in Istanbul, which she won.

In 2012, she continue being one of the top female tennis players. She reached the semi-finals of the WTA 500 Sydney International, the following Australian Open, the French Open / Roland Garros, as well as the quarter-finals of the Wimbledon and the London 2012 Olympics, before winning the WTA 1000 Rogers Cup (Canadian Open) and WTA 500 Connecticut Open. She also played in the semi-finals of the WTA 1000 Western & Southern Open. She finished the season as the world’s No 8 and again played at the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Year End Championships in Istanbul, but lost in the first round.

Petra Kvitova started the season 2013 hesitantly. She failed to make some significant achievements in the starting tournaments of the year. However, in February she won the prestigious WTA 1000 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships and reached the quarter-finals of the WTA 1000 Indian Wells Open. She was the runner-up at the WTA 250 BNP Paribas Katowice Open and reached the quarter-finals of the Wimbledon. At the end of the season, she was the runner-up at the WTA 500 Connecticut Open, won the title of the WTA 1000 Toray Pan Pacific Open Tennis, and reached the semi-finals of the WTA 1000 China Open, which helped her to return back into the world’s Top 10 and to play in the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Year End Championships in Istanbul, where reached the semi-finals.

In 2014, Petra Kvitova won her second Grand Slam title at the Wimbledon. During the season she also won the titles at the WTA 500 Connecticut Open and WTA 1000 Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open, was the runner-up at the WTA 1000 China Open, and reached the semi-final of the WTA 1000 Madrid Open. She ended the season as world’s No 4 but lost in the first stage of the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore.

Petra Kvitova made another great season in 2015. She won the titles at the WTA 500 Sydney International, WTA 1000 Madrid Open, and WTA 500 Connecticut Open, and reached the final of the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore. At the Grand Slam, she played in the quarter-finals of the US Open, the fourth round of the French Open / Roland Garros, and the third rounds of the Wimbledon and Australian Open.

In 2016, Petra Kvitova went out of the WTA Top 10 for the first time in several years. She started the season pretty hesitantly. Her first achievement was reaching the quarter-finals of the WTA 1000 Indian Wells Open in March. At the Rio 2016 Olympics, she reached the semi-finals and won bronze. Only at the end of the season she won the title of the WTA 1000 Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open and reached the final of the WTA 250 BGL BNP Paribas Luxembourg Open. Luckily, she received an invitation for the Year End Championships tournamentHengqin Life WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai, which she won.

Petra Kvitova missed half of the 2017 season after being attacked by a knife during a robbery in her home. She suffered some cuts to her dominant left hand, resulting in injuries to the tendons and nerves. She returned to the court in June and quickly get into form, winning the WTA 500 Rothesay Classic Birmingham. Later during the season, she reached the quarter-finals of the US Open and the semi-finals of the WTA 1000 China Open.

In 2018, Petra Kvitova won the titles at the WTA 500 St Petersburg Ladies Trophy, WTA 1000 Qatar TotalEnergies Open, WTA 250 Livesport Prague Open, WTA 1000 Madrid Open, and WTA 500 Rothesay Classic Birmingham, but also reached the semi-finals of the WTA 1000 Western & Southern Open. Following such good results, she returned again in the world’s Top 10 and was invited to play at the Year End Championships tournament BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore, where lost in the first stage.

Petra Kvitova continue with her great performance in 2019 – 10 years after her first WTA title. She won trophies at the WTA 500 Sydney International and WTA 500 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart. She also was the runner-up at the Australian Open and WTA 1000 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, reached the quarter-finals of the WTA 1000 Miami Open, WTA 1000 Madrid Open, WTA 1000 China Open, as well as the semi-finals of the WTA 1000 Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open. She played at the Year End Championships tournament for the 8th time in her career. This time at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore she lost in the first stage.

In 2020, Petra Kvitova made a great performance at the Grand Slam, but without winning any title. She reached the semi-finals of the French Open / Roland Garros, the quarter-finals of the Australian Open, and the fourth round of the US Open. She was also the runner-up at the WTA 1000 Qatar TotalEnergies Open. The season was short due to the coronavirus pandemic, which seriously disturbed the WTA calendar.

In 2021, Petra Kvitova competed at her third Olympics but lost in the second round. During the season, she won the WTA 500 Qatar TotalEnergies Open and reached the quarter-final of the WTA 1000 Madrid Open and WTA 1000 Western & Southern Open. She dropped out of the Top 10 and finished the season as the world’s No 17.

Petra Kvitova had another hesitant start to the season in 2022. She reached the quarter-finals of the WTA 500 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships and WTA 1000 Miami Open, before winning the title at the WTA 500 Rothesay International Eastbourne and reaching the final of the WTA 1000 Western & Southern Open. She climbed back to the world’s No 16 at the end of the season.

In 2023, Petra Kvitova returned to the Top 10 of women’s tennis. At the beginning of the season, she reached the quarter-finals of the WTA 500 Adelaide International 2 and the WTA 1000 Indian Wells Open, before winning the WTA 1000 Miami Open.

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