Petra Kvitov%C3%A1
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Petra Kvitová, OLY ( , ; born 8 March 1990) is a Czech professional
tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball cov ...
player. Known for her powerful left-handed groundstrokes and variety, Kvitová has won 29 career singles titles, including two
major Major ( commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicato ...
titles at Wimbledon in
2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrates ...
and in
2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...
. She also won a bronze medal in singles while representing the
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
at the
2016 Rio Olympics ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro de ...
. Her career-high
ranking A ranking is a relationship between a set of items such that, for any two items, the first is either "ranked higher than", "ranked lower than" or "ranked equal to" the second. In mathematics, this is known as a weak order or total preorder of o ...
of world No. 2 was achieved on 31 October 2011. Kvitová first gained notice by defeating then-world No. 1 Dinara Safina in the third round of the 2009 US Open. This was followed by her first major semifinal appearance at the
2010 Wimbledon Championships The 2010 Wimbledon Championships was a tennis tournament played on grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London in the United Kingdom. It was the 124th edition of the Wimbledon Championships and were held fro ...
. Then, during her breakthrough season in
2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrates ...
, Kvitová won her first major title at Wimbledon over Maria Sharapova in the final, and becoming the first player of either gender born in the 1990s to win a major. At the end of the season, she won the
WTA Championships The WTA Finals (formerly known as the WTA Tour Championships or WTA Championships) is a tournament of the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) played annually at the end of the season. The event is uniquely reserved for players at the top of the WTA ...
on her debut. She also helped lead the
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
to victory in the Fed Cup that same year, making it the Czech Republic's first such title as an independent nation. In 2012, Kvitová reached the semifinals of the Australian and
French Open The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ve ...
s, and was crowned the US Open Series champion. That same year, she also won the Hopman Cup alongside
Tomáš Berdych Tomáš Berdych (; born 17 September 1985) is a Czech former professional tennis player. His most notable achievement was reaching the final of the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, causing consecutive upsets by defeating top seed and six-time champi ...
. In
2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...
, she won her second major title at Wimbledon, defeating
Eugenie Bouchard Eugenie "Genie" Bouchard (; french: Eugénie Bouchard, ; born February 25, 1994) is a Canadian tennis player. At the 2014 Wimbledon Championships, she became the first Canadian-born player representing Canada to reach the final of a Grand Slam t ...
in the final. In 2015, Kvitová completed the feat of reaching at least the quarterfinals of all four majors after her quarterfinal debut at the US Open. In 2016, she won the WTA Elite Trophy on her debut, thus becoming the first player ever to win both categories of year-end championships on debut. In 2019, she reached her first major final in almost five years, at the
Australian Open The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Ope ...
, finishing runner-up to
Naomi Osaka is a Japanese professional tennis player. She has been ranked world No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) and is the first Asian player to hold the top ranking in singles. Osaka is a four-time Grand Slam singles champ ...
.


Early life

Petra Kvitová was born to Jiří Kvita, a mayor and former school teacher, and Pavla Kvitová in Bílovec, Moravian-Silesian Region,
Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...
(now
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
). She has two elder brothers, Jiří Jr., an engineer, and Libor, a school teacher. Her father Jiří introduced her to tennis. During her childhood, she admired
Czech American Czech Americans ( cz, Čechoameričané), known in the 19th and early 20th century as Bohemian Americans, are citizens of the United States whose ancestry is wholly or partly originate from the Czech lands, a term which refers to the majority o ...
player
Martina Navratilova Martina Navratilova ( cs, Martina Navrátilová ; ; born October 18, 1956) is a Czech–American, former professional tennis player. Widely considered among the greatest tennis players of all time, Navratilova won 18 major singles titles, 31 maj ...
. Kvitová trained in her
Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The ...
n hometown, Fulnek, until the age of 16, and was then encouraged by an instructor to pursue a professional career in tennis. She was coached by David Kotyza, from November 2008 till January 2016.


Career


2006–2010: Career beginnings, first title and ascendancy

As a junior, Kvitová achieved a career-high ranking of world No. 27 on 9 July 2007. She also amassed a 35–7 and 20–9 record in the singles and doubles disciplines respectively. Her lone Grand Slam tournament appearance as a junior came at the 2007 Wimbledon Championships. In singles, eighth-seeded Kvitová advanced to the round of 16, after beating Jocelyn Rae and Malena Gordo before losing to eventual semifinalist Katarzyna Piter in straight sets. In doubles, she played alongside fellow Czech Kateřina Vaňková but they fell at the first hurdle to Mariana Duque Mariño and Michelle Larcher de Brito. Kvitová first attempted to qualify for a WTA tournament at the 2007 Prague Open, but she lost in the second round of qualifying to Ekaterina Ivanova. She then made her debut in the main draw of a WTA event at the 2007 Nordic Light Open, where she lost in the first round to
Marta Domachowska Marta Domachowska (; born 16 January 1986) is a former tennis player from Poland. She was ranked world No. 37 in singles (2006) and No. 62 in doubles (2006), and reached 2008 Australian Open fourth round in singles and won 2006 Canberra Interna ...
in three sets. Throughout the years of 2006 and 2007, Kvitová captured six ITF singles titles, four of which came in her home nation. She also made her Fed Cup debut in 2007, playing alongside
Barbora Strýcová Barbora Strýcová (; born 28 March 1986), formerly known as Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová, is a Czech former professional tennis player who was ranked world No. 1 in doubles. She won her first Grand Slam title at the 2019 Wimbledon Champion ...
in doubles, where they lost to the Spanish team of Nuria Llagostera Vives and Virginia Ruano Pascual. Kvitová began 2008 by upsetting
Anabel Medina Garrigues Ana Isabel Medina Garrigues (, ; born 31 July 1982) is a Spanish tennis coach and former professional player. As a player she reached a career-high ranking of world No. 16 in 2020, and won 11 singles and 28 doubles titles, including the 2008 ...
in her opening match in
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
for her first ever WTA main-draw victory before falling to fourth seed Elena Dementieva. Then, she racked in her first ever top-10 win by beating world No. 8 and defending champion,
Venus Williams Venus Ebony Starr Williams (born June 17, 1980) is an American professional tennis player. A former world No. 1 in both singles and doubles, Williams has won seven Grand Slam singles titles, five at Wimbledon and two at the US Open. She is ...
in the first round in Memphis. In April, she played her first ever Fed Cup singles match where she faced Israeli
Shahar Pe'er Shahar Pe'er ( he, שחר פאר, ; born ) is an Israeli retired tennis player. Pe'er won five singles and three doubles titles on the WTA Tour, as well as four singles and three doubles titles on the ITF circuit in her career. She reache ...
, which she won in three sets. She also won her seventh and most recent ITF singles title that same month. Kvitová then made her Grand Slam tournament debut appearance at the
French Open The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ve ...
, and went all the way to the last 16 where she lost to
Kaia Kanepi Kaia Kanepi (; born 10 June 1985) is an Estonian professional tennis player. She achieved her career-high ranking of world No. 15 on 20 August 2012 and has won four singles titles on the WTA Tour. Described as a 'resident Grand Slam upset speci ...
in three sets, having defeated
Akiko Morigami is a Japanese former tennis player. She turned professional in 1998. On 15 August 2005, she reached her career-high singles ranking of world No. 41. Morigami won one singles title in her career, defeating top-seeded Marion Bartoli in 2007 in th ...
,
Samantha Stosur Samantha Jane Stosur ( ; born 30 March 1984) is an Australian professional tennis player. She is a former world No. 1 in doubles, a ranking which she first achieved on 6 February 2006 and held for 61 consecutive weeks. Also a former top ten s ...
and 12th seed
Ágnes Szávay Ágnes Szávay ( hu, Szávay Ágnes, ; born 29 December 1988) is a former professional tennis player from Hungary. The 2007 WTA Newcomer of the Year achieved her career-high ranking of world No. 13 in April 2008. Personal life Szávay was bor ...
en route. Kvitová then made her Olympics debut at the Beijing Olympics, partnering
Lucie Šafářová Lucie Šafářová (; born 4 February 1987) is a Czech former professional tennis player who was ranked world No. 1 in doubles, and No. 5 in singles. She is a five-time Grand Slam champion in doubles, having won the 2015 Australian Open, 2015 ...
in doubles where the team lost to Australian pair of Stosur and Rennae Stubbs in the first round. In October, she reached the quarterfinals in Zurich as a qualifier where she lost to second seed
Ana Ivanovic Ana Schweinsteiger ( sr, Ана Швајнштајгер / ''Ana Švajnštajger''; born 6 November 1987), professionally known by her birth name Ana Ivanovic (Ана Ивановић / ''Ana Ivanović'', ), is a Serbian former world No. 1 tenn ...
, but the result nevertheless placed her in the top 50 rankings for the first time ever. She finished 2008 ranked world No. 44. Kvitová started 2009 impressively by reaching her first ever final, at the
Hobart International The Hobart International is a women's professional tennis tournament held at the Hobart International Tennis Centre in Hobart, Australia. Held since 1994, it forms a part of the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Tour and is classed as an Intern ...
, having defeated
Sally Peers Sally Peers (born 1 June 1991) is an Australian former professional tennis player. Her career-high singles ranking by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) is 145, which she achieved on 11 April 2011. Her highest doubles ranking of world ...
,
Alona Bondarenko Alona Volodymyrivna Bondarenko Dyachok ( uk, Альона Володимирівна Бондаренко; born 13 August 1984) is a Ukrainian former tennis player. Her younger sister Kateryna Bondarenko plays on the WTA Tour. Her career-high s ...
,
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova Anastasia Sergeyevna "Nastia" Pavlyuchenkova (russian: Анастаси́я "Настя" Серге́евна Павлюче́нкова; born 3 July 1991) is an inactive Russian professional tennis player. A junior prodigy, Pavlyuchenkova won ...
, Virginie Razzano en route. There, she defeated compatriot Iveta Benešová to lift her maiden career title. After suffering consecutive winless appearances at the
Australian Open The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Ope ...
, the
Open GdF Suez Open GDF Suez, formerly Open Gaz de France, was a Premier level tennis tournament on the WTA Tour held in Paris, France. Held from 1993 till 2014, the tournament was played indoors, originally on carpet until 2000, then on hardcourts. The 2014 O ...
and the Dubai Championships, she reached the third round in Indian Wells, losing to eventual champion Vera Zvonareva. She was then forced to withdraw from the
French Open The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ve ...
due to an ankle injury, and bowed out in the first round of Wimbledon. At the US Open, she defeated then-world No. 1, Dinara Safina in the third round in three sets for her first win over a reigning world No. 1. Kvitová was ranked 71 places lower than Safina at the time. However, she came up short to eventual semifinalist
Yanina Wickmayer Yanina Wickmayer (born 20 October 1989) is a Belgian professional tennis player. She reached the semifinals at the 2009 US Open, and a career-high WTA ranking of world No. 12, on 19 April 2010. In doubles, she achieved a career-high of world No. ...
in the round of 16, in three sets. At the Linz Open, Kvitová made her second final of the year, where she lost to Wickmayer once again. She concluded 2009 as world No. 62. In 2010, Kvitová reached the semifinals of the
Memphis Open The FedEx St. Jude Classic was a professional golf tournament held in Memphis, Tennessee as a regular event on the PGA Tour. The tournament was held annually from 1958 through 2018, and was played in June at TPC Southwind (since 1989). In 2019, ...
, losing to eventual champion Maria Sharapova. She then sailed to the semifinals of Wimbledon, defeating Sorana Cîrstea, Zheng Jie, Victoria Azarenka,
Caroline Wozniacki Caroline Wozniacki (; born 11 July 1990) is a Danish former professional tennis player. She was ranked world No. 1 in singles for a total of 71 weeks, including at the end of 2010 and 2011. She achieved the top ranking for the first time on 11 ...
, and Kaia Kanepi en route, before falling to defending and eventual champion
Serena Williams Serena Jameka Williams (born September 26, 1981) is an American inactive professional tennis player. Considered among the greatest tennis players of all time, she was ranked world No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) fo ...
in straight sets. Nevertheless, she was guaranteed to crack the top 30 rankings for the first time. However, after Wimbledon, she suffered five consecutive first round defeats before breaking the losing streak at the US Open. There, she defeated
Lucie Hradecká Lucie Hradecká (; born 21 May 1985) is a Czech former professional tennis player. A three-time Grand Slam doubles champion and 26-time WTA Tour doubles titlist, she reached her career-high doubles ranking of world No. 4 in October 2012. She ...
and
Elena Baltacha Elena Sergeevna Baltacha ( uk, Олена Сергіївна Балтача; 14 August 1983 – 4 May 2014) was a Ukrainian-born British professional tennis player. Being a four-time winner of the AEGON Awards, she was also a long-ter ...
, before losing to defending and eventual champion Kim Clijsters in the third round, having led 3–0 in the first set before going on lost the next twelve games in a row. Kvitová recorded her first top 40 finish in 2010, at world No. 34, and was also named WTA Newcomer of the Year.


2011: First Grand Slam and WTA Tour Championships titles

Kvitová started
2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrates ...
by winning her second career title at the
Brisbane International The Brisbane International established in 2009 is a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor hardcourts in Brisbane, Queensland in Australia. It is a WTA Premier tournament of the WTA Tour and was part of the ATP World Tour 250 serie ...
, defeating the likes of third seed
Nadia Petrova Nadezhda Viktorovna "Nadia" Petrova (russian: Надежда Викторовна Петрова ; born 8 June 1982) is a Russian former professional tennis player. A former top-five player in both singles and doubles, she reached a career-high ...
and fifth seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova en route to the final, where she beat Andrea Petkovic for the title. With the win, she achieved the ranking of world No. 28. Kvitová was the 25th seed at the
Australian Open The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Ope ...
, and made her first quarterfinal here, having defeated Sally Peers, Anna Chakvetadze, fifth seed Samantha Stosur and 22nd seed Flavia Pennetta en route, where she lost to second seed Vera Zvonareva in straight sets. Her strong run there ensured her a top 20 debut in the rankings, at world No. 18. Kvitová then beat Slovaks Dominika Cibulková and
Daniela Hantuchová Daniela Hantuchová (; born 23 April 1983) is a Slovak tennis commentator and retired player. She turned professional in 1999 and had her breakthrough year in 2002, when she won her first WTA Tour title at the Indian Wells Masters, defeating M ...
in the Fed Cup opening round to put the Czech team in the semifinals. At the
Open GdF Suez Open GDF Suez, formerly Open Gaz de France, was a Premier level tennis tournament on the WTA Tour held in Paris, France. Held from 1993 till 2014, the tournament was played indoors, originally on carpet until 2000, then on hardcourts. The 2014 O ...
, Kvitová won her second title of the year by defeating newly crowned world No. 1 and newly crowned Australian Open champion, Kim Clijsters in the final, in straight sets. Once again, Kvitová's ranking rose to a new high of world No. 14. After that, she suffered an early loss to
Ayumi Morita is a Japanese tennis player. She reached her career-high ranking of number 40 in the world in October 2011. At junior level, she reached a combined career-high ranking of world No. 3. Morita is known for strong and consistent two-handed grounds ...
in
Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, wikt:دبي, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the List of cities in the United Arab Emirates#Major cities, most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 ...
. She then lost her next two opening matches to Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová in Indian Wells, and to
Kristina Barrois Kristina Barrois (born 30 September 1981) is a retired German tennis player. Barrois won 15 singles and 16 doubles titles on the ITF Circuit in her career. On 9 May 2011, she reached her best singles ranking of world No. 57. On 20 February 20 ...
at an ITF tournament in
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. At the Miami Open, Kvitová defeated
Varvara Lepchenko Varvara (Cyrillic: Варвара; el, Βαρβάρα, ''Varvára''), a variant of " Barbara", may refer to: Places *Varvara, Azerbaijan * Varvara, Prozor, on the Rama river, Bosnia and Herzegovina * Varvara, Burgas Province, Bulgaria * Varvara ...
in the second round but then lost her next match to Pavlyuchenkova. In the Fed Cup semifinals against Belgium, she led the Czech team into the final, with wins over Yanina Wickmayer and Kirsten Flipkens. Kvitová kicked off her clay-court season in
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
, where she won her third title of the year and her first Premier Mandatory-level title. She beat
Alexandra Dulgheru Alexandra Dulgheru (; born 30 May 1989) is a professional tennis player from Romania. On 11 April 2011, she achieved her career-high singles ranking of world No. 26. Her best ranking in doubles is No. 41, reached on 4 July 2011. She is coached b ...
,
Chanelle Scheepers Chanelle Scheepers ( ; born 13 March 1984) is a retired South African tennis player. She won one singles and one doubles title on the WTA Tour, as well as 12 singles and 20 doubles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit in her career. On 10 Octobe ...
and second seed Zvonareva to reach the last eight. She then overcame Cibulková and Li Na to reach the final where she defeated Victoria Azarenka to claim the title. She made her top 10 debut after the tournament at world No. 10. The following week, because
Jelena Janković Jelena Janković ( sr-Cyrl, Јелена Јанковић, ; born 28 February 1985) is a Serbian former tennis player. A former world No. 1, Janković reached the top ranking before her career-best major performance, a runner-up finish at the ...
failed to defend her points in
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, Kvitová moved one place up to No. 9. She played another ITF tournament at her home country in
Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
that week, losing in the final to Magdaléna Rybáriková. Kvitová was the ninth seed at the
French Open The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ve ...
. She defeated
Gréta Arn Gréta Arn (born 13 April 1979) is a Hungarian retired tennis player of Danube Swabian German descent. She has won two titles on the WTA Tour, the 2007 Estoril Open in Portugal, and the 2011 ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand, as well as fo ...
, Zheng Jie, and Vania King in straight sets, before losing to eventual champion Li Na in the fourth round, despite having led 3–0 in the deciding set. Kvitová played a warm-up tournament for Wimbledon at
Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the l ...
and reached the final where she lost to
Marion Bartoli Marion Bartoli (; born 2 October 1984) is a French former professional tennis player. Bartoli won the 2013 Wimbledon Championships singles title after previously being runner-up in 2007, and was a semifinalist at the 2011 French Open. She also ...
in three sets. Kvitová then won her first Grand Slam title at the
Wimbledon Championships The Wimbledon Championships, commonly known simply as Wimbledon, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is widely regarded as the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London, since 1877 and is pla ...
. Seeded eighth, she defeated Alexa Glatch, Anne Keothavong, Roberta Vinci and Wickmayer en route to the quarterfinals. She then saw off Tsvetana Pironkova and fourth seed Azarenka to reach her first Grand Slam final, where she beat fifth seed Maria Sharapova in straight sets. Thus, she became the first left-handed female player to win the singles title since
Martina Navratilova Martina Navratilova ( cs, Martina Navrátilová ; ; born October 18, 1956) is a Czech–American, former professional tennis player. Widely considered among the greatest tennis players of all time, Navratilova won 18 major singles titles, 31 maj ...
in 1990, the first player of either gender born in the 1990s to win a Grand Slam tournament title and the first Czech player to win a Grand Slam singles title since Jana Novotná won Wimbledon in 1998. Following Wimbledon, she kicked off her US Open Series campaign at the Canadian Open where lost to Petkovic in the third round. The following week at the
Cincinnati Open The Cincinnati Masters or Cincinnati Open (branded as the Western & Southern Open for sponsorship reasons) is an annual outdoor hardcourt tennis event held in Mason, Ohio near Cincinnati. The event started on September 18, 1899, and is the o ...
, she lost to Petkovic in the same round once more. She was then upset by Dulgheru in the opening round of the US Open, thus becoming the first Grand Slam champion to lose in the first round of the following Grand Slam tournament without winning a set. Kvitová's form then improved in
Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...
, where she reached the semifinals, losing to Zvonareva. She cracked the top 5 rankings, at world No. 5, after Tokyo and also qualified for the Tour Championships for the first time in her career. However, the following week, she lost in the first round of the China Open to Sofia Arvidsson in three sets. Then, at the Linz Open, she defeated
Rebecca Marino Rebecca Catherine Marino (born December 16, 1990) is a Canadian professional tennis player. On 11 July 2011, she reached her highest WTA singles ranking of 38. Marino was awarded ''Female Player of the Year'' by Tennis Canada two times, in 2010 ...
, Patricia Mayr-Achleitner, Hantuchová and Janković on the way to the final, where she beat Cibulková to collect her fifth title of the season. At the Tour Championships in Istanbul, third-seeded Kvitová emerged champion, thus becoming the third player to win the title on debut. During the round-robin stage, she defeated Zvonareva, Wozniacki, and Agnieszka Radwańska in straight sets, putting her through to the semifinals. Her next opponent was Stosur, whom she beat to reach the final, a match against Azarenka for the world No. 2 ranking, which Kvitová won in three sets. She ended the year only 115 points second to Wozniacki for the No. 1 spot. She concluded 2011 by helping the Czech Republic win its maiden Fed Cup title as an independent nation, winning her singles rubbers against
Maria Kirilenko Maria Yuryevna Kirilenko ( rus, Мари́я Ю́рьевна Кириле́нко, p=mɐˈrʲijə kʲɪrʲɪˈlʲɛnkə ; born 25 January 1987) is a Russian former professional tennis player. A junior Grand Slam champion at the 2002 US Open a ...
and Svetlana Kuznetsova. In the end, the Czechs emerged victorious against Russia 3–2. She was also named
WTA Player of the Year This article lists the WTA Awards given by the Women's Tennis Association to players and coaches for achievements during a season or their careers. Player of the Year Doubles Team of the Year Most Improved Player Newcomer of the Yea ...
,
WTA Most Improved Player of the Year This article lists the WTA Awards given by the Women's Tennis Association to players and coaches for achievements during a season or their careers. Player of the Year Doubles Team of the Year Most Improved Player Newcomer of the Yea ...
and
ITF World Champion The International Tennis Federation (ITF) designates a World Champion each year based on performances throughout the year, emphasising the Grand Slam tournaments,ITF Constitution, p.26, Rule 2.2(a)(iii) and also considering team events such as th ...
in 2011. In addition, she also won the WTA Sportsmanship Award.


2012: Continued success and Hopman Cup-Fed Cup double

At the beginning of
2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...
, Kvitová was widely expected to reach the world No. 1 ranking. She stated that attaining the position "would be nice", but that her priority was to improve her game. Kvitová opted not to defend her title in Brisbane, choosing instead to participate in the Hopman Cup with
Tomáš Berdych Tomáš Berdych (; born 17 September 1985) is a Czech former professional tennis player. His most notable achievement was reaching the final of the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, causing consecutive upsets by defeating top seed and six-time champi ...
where they went on to win the title, defeating the French team in the final. She also won all of her singles matches at the event, defeating Tsvetana Pironkova,
Bethanie Mattek-Sands Bethanie Mattek-Sands ( Bethanie Lynn Mattek; born March 23, 1985) is an American professional tennis player. She has won nine Grand Slam titles (five in women's doubles and four in mixed doubles), and an Olympic gold medal, and is a former ...
, Caroline Wozniacki, and Marion Bartoli. At the Sydney International, Kvitová lost in the last four to Li Na. Had she won the tournament, she would have been the new world No. 1. Nevertheless, her run to the semifinals there saw her extend the longest winning streak of her career to date, 14 wins, that dates back to her title run in Linz last October. Then, at the
Australian Open The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Ope ...
, where second-seeded Kvitová was the favourite for the title, she defeated
Vera Dushevina Vera Yevgenyevna Dushevina ( rus, Вера Евгеньевна Душевина; born 6 October 1986) is a Russian former professional tennis player. She won one singles title and two doubles titles on the WTA Tour. As a junior, she won th ...
, Carla Suárez Navarro, Maria Kirilenko and Ana Ivanovic to reach her second consecutive quarterfinal of the tournament. There, she saw off Sara Errani to advance to the semifinals, where she lost in three sets to Maria Sharapova, despite having been up a break in the third set. On Fed Cup duty, Kvitová extended her long streak of wins in singles matches indoors, which started with her title run at the Open GdF Suez last year, to 29 matches, with her four victories against Germany and Italy, in the opening round and semifinal ties, respectively. She scored those wins over the likes of Germans
Julia Görges Julia Görges (born 2 November 1988) is a German former professional tennis player. A former top-ten singles player, she was ranked as high as No. 9 in the world on 20 August 2018, and was ranked inside the top 15 in doubles, peaking at world No ...
and
Sabine Lisicki Sabine Katharina Lisicki (; born 22 September 1989) is a German professional tennis player. Lisicki turned professional in 2006, and her breakthrough came in 2009 when she reached the quarterfinals of the Wimbledon Championships, and also won ...
, and Italians Francesca Schiavone and Errani. In Indian Wells, Kvitová lost in the third round to
Christina McHale Christina Marietta McHale (born May 11, 1992) is an American former professional tennis player. Her highest-ever WTA rankings were No. 24 in singles and No. 35 in doubles. Known for an aggressive baseline game, McHale was recognized by ''The New ...
in three sets. In
Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...
, she exited in the second round after falling to Venus Williams in three sets. The following month in
Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the Sw ...
, she defeated Schiavone and Angelique Kerber to reach the semifinals, where she lost to Sharapova in straight sets, thus snapping a long run of 27 consecutive wins indoors. At the Madrid Open, she was the defending champion, but lost in the second round to compatriot Lucie Hradecká. The following week in
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, she beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Sorana Cîrstea to record her first quarterfinal appearance there, where she lost to Kerber. Kvitová was seeded fourth at the
French Open The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ve ...
. She advanced to the semifinals for the first time in her career, after defeating
Ashleigh Barty Ashleigh is the feminine form of the Old English name Ashley, which means "dweller near the ash tree forest". It is most common in the United States and United Kingdom. Notable people B *Ashleigh Ball (born 1983), Canadian voice actress * Ashle ...
, Urszula Radwańska, Nina Bratchikova,
Varvara Lepchenko Varvara (Cyrillic: Варвара; el, Βαρβάρα, ''Varvára''), a variant of " Barbara", may refer to: Places *Varvara, Azerbaijan * Varvara, Prozor, on the Rama river, Bosnia and Herzegovina * Varvara, Burgas Province, Bulgaria * Varvara ...
, and Yaroslava Shvedova. There, for the third time this year, she lost to Sharapova, this time allowing the Russian to reclaim the No. 1 ranking. Kvitová started her grass-court season in
Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the l ...
where she fell to
Ekaterina Makarova Ekaterina Valeryevna Makarova ( rus, Екатери́на Вале́рьевна Мака́рова; ; born 7 June 1988) is a Russian former professional tennis player who was ranked world No. 1 in doubles, and world No. 8 in singles. She ...
in the second round. As the fourth seed at Wimbledon, Kvitová defeated
Akgul Amanmuradova Akgul Charievna Amanmuradova ( uz, Oqgul Omonmurodova; born June 23, 1984) is a professional tennis player from Uzbekistan. At 1.90 metres in height, she is one of the tallest female tennis players in history. Amanmuradova has won two d ...
, Elena Baltacha and Lepchenko to reach the fourth round. She then beat Schiavone to reach the quarterfinals but the first-time defending champion's journey came to an end, after she was overwhelmed in straight sets by four-time and eventual champion, Serena Williams. After Wimbledon, Kvitová dropped out of the top 5 rankings. Kvitová then competed at the
Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The ina ...
, making her maiden appearance in the singles discipline. As the sixth seed, she defeated
Kateryna Bondarenko Kateryna Volodymyrivna Volodko (née Bondarenko; uk, Катерина Володимирівна Бондаренко; born 8 August 1986) is a tennis player from Ukraine. She was the doubles champion in 2008 at the Australian Open, partnering ...
and
Peng Shuai Peng Shuai (; born 8 January 1986) is a Chinese retired professional tennis player. In February 2014, she was ranked world No. 1 doubles player by the WTA, becoming the first Chinese tennis player to achieve that ranking (in either single ...
in the first two rounds, both in straight sets. She then overcame Flavia Pennetta to reach the quarterfinals. There, she was upset by Kirilenko in straight sets. Kvitová kickstarted her US Open Series campaign by winning the Canadian Open, the eighth title of her career. She defeated Ksenia Pervak in her opener and then moved past Bartoli to reach the quarterfinals where she beat Tamira Paszek. She then beat Wozniacki in three sets to reach the final where she overcame Li in three sets to win the title, thus ending a 10-month title drought. At the
Cincinnati Open The Cincinnati Masters or Cincinnati Open (branded as the Western & Southern Open for sponsorship reasons) is an annual outdoor hardcourt tennis event held in Mason, Ohio near Cincinnati. The event started on September 18, 1899, and is the o ...
, she reached the semifinals, falling to Kerber once again. She then won her second title of the year and the ninth of her career in
New Haven New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,023 ...
, defeating Nicole Gibbs, Lucie Šafářová, Errani and Kirilenko along the way. She also secured the US Open Series crown after her win over Šafářová in New Haven. At the US Open, she reached the fourth round for the first time since 2009. Along the way, she defeated
Polona Hercog Polona Hercog (, born 20 January 1991) is a Slovenian professional tennis player. Her career-high WTA rankings are 35 in singles and 56 in doubles. She has won five titles on the WTA Tour, three in singles and two in doubles. Hercog also enjoye ...
, Alizé Cornet, and Pauline Parmentier. She then lost to Bartoli in three sets. During the Asian swing, Kvitová did not enjoy much success as she suffered early losses in
Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...
and
Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...
. Kvitová was named the sixth qualifier for the Tour Championships following the China Open. As the defending champion, she dropped her first round-robin match to Agnieszka Radwańska in straight sets and was then forced to withdraw with a virus. Kvitová ended 2012 as world No. 8. She then helped the Czech team to defend its Fed Cup title, going 1–1 in singles matches against Serbia in the final before the Czech Republic won 3–1 in the tie through Šafářová.


2013: Mixed results and late-season revival

Kvitová began
2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...
at the
Brisbane International The Brisbane International established in 2009 is a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor hardcourts in Brisbane, Queensland in Australia. It is a WTA Premier tournament of the WTA Tour and was part of the ATP World Tour 250 serie ...
. Seeded sixth, she bowed out in the second round to eventual runner-up Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. She then dropped her opening match in
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...
to Dominika Cibulková. Kvitová was the eighth seed at the
Australian Open The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Ope ...
. She moved past Francesca Schiavone in the first round in three sets. In the second round, however, she struggled against
Laura Robson Laura Robson (born 21 January 1994) is a British former professional tennis player. She debuted on the ITF Junior Circuit in 2007, and a year later won the Junior Wimbledon championships at the age of 14. As a junior, she also twice reached t ...
and eventually succumbed to the Brit in three sets. Kvitová was then awarded a wildcard into the
Open GdF Suez Open GDF Suez, formerly Open Gaz de France, was a Premier level tennis tournament on the WTA Tour held in Paris, France. Held from 1993 till 2014, the tournament was played indoors, originally on carpet until 2000, then on hardcourts. The 2014 O ...
. She defeated Stefanie Vögele to reach the quarterfinals where she was upset by Kristina Mladenovic in straight sets. In the opening round of Fed Cup, where the Czech team faced Australia, Kvitová started with a win in singles over Jarmila Gajdošová and followed it up with a three-set victory over Samantha Stosur, saving a match point in the process. The Czechs then advanced to the semifinals with a 4–0 scoreline. Kvitová then sailed to her first title of the year, and a milestone 10th of her career, in
Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, wikt:دبي, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the List of cities in the United Arab Emirates#Major cities, most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 ...
, despite having never won a match at the tournament before. She defeated the likes of Daniela Hantuchová, Ana Ivanovic, Agnieszka Radwańska, Caroline Wozniacki and Sara Errani en route to the title. This was followed by a quarterfinal appearance at the Qatar Open where she lost to Serena Williams in three sets, thus allowing Williams to regain the world No. 1 ranking. She then reached her first ever quarterfinal at the
Indian Wells Open The Indian Wells Masters, also known as the Indian Wells Open and BNP Paribas Open is an annual tennis tournament usually held in early- and mid-March at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, California, United States. The owner is La ...
. As the fifth seed, she defeated
Olga Govortsova Olga Alekseyevna Govortsova ( be, Вольга Аляксееўна Гаварцова (Volha Alyakseyeuna Havartsova); ; born 23 August 1988) is a Belarusian professional tennis player. On 23 June 2008, she achieved a career-high singles ranki ...
,
Lesia Tsurenko Lesia Viktorivna Tsurenko ( uk, Леся Вікторівна Цуренко; born 30 May 1989) is a Ukrainian tennis player. Tsurenko has won four singles titles on the WTA Tour, as well as six singles and eight doubles tournaments on the IT ...
and Klara Zakopalová before coming up short to Maria Kirilenko in three sets. This was followed by a loss to Kirsten Flipkens in the third round of
Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...
. Kvitová started her clay-court season by reaching the final in
Katowice Katowice ( , , ; szl, Katowicy; german: Kattowitz, yi, קאַטעוויץ, Kattevitz) is the capital city of the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland and the central city of the Upper Silesian metropolitan area. It is the 11th most popu ...
where she was upset by Roberta Vinci in straight sets. During the Fed Cup semifinal tie against Italy, Kvitová lost to Vinci once again in her first match before managing to overcome Errani in three sets. However, in a repeat of their 2010 semifinal tie result, the Czechs, who were the two-time defending champions, fell to the Italian team once more. In
Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the Sw ...
, Kvitová beat Germans Annika Beck and Julia Görges to reach the quarterfinals where she lost to Li Na. She then suffered an early exit in
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
to Hantuchová. In
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
, she struggled past Sabine Lisicki in her opener but then lost to Stosur. At the
French Open The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ve ...
, Kvitová beat Aravane Rezaï and Peng Shuai before losing in the third round to
Jamie Hampton Jamie Lee Hampton (born January 8, 1990) is a former American professional tennis player. In July 2013, she reached her highest singles ranking of world No. 24. Early life Hampton was born in Frankfurt, West Germany, because her father, a caree ...
in straight sets, in a match where she struggled. Kvitová kicked off the grass-court season in
Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the l ...
, losing to Yanina Wickmayer in the second round. Seeded eighth, Kvitová reached the quarterfinals of Wimbledon. She overcame CoCo Vandeweghe in the first round in three sets before receiving a walkover from Yaroslava Shvedova. She reached the last eight after defeating Ekaterina Makarova and Carla Suárez Navarro but there, she succumbed to Flipkens in three sets. During the US Open Series, Kvitová reached the last eight of the
Southern California Open The Southern California Open currently known as The San Diego Open is an ATP 250 and WTA 500 tournament held at the Barnes Tennis Centre in San Diego, California. The event originated as the Southern California Championships that ran from 18 ...
where she was upset by Virginie Razzano despite having two match points. She was the defending champion at the Canadian Open and defeated
Eugenie Bouchard Eugenie "Genie" Bouchard (; french: Eugénie Bouchard, ; born February 25, 1994) is a Canadian tennis player. At the 2014 Wimbledon Championships, she became the first Canadian-born player representing Canada to reach the final of a Grand Slam t ...
and Stosur to reach the quarterfinals but failed to defend her title when she lost to eventual finalist Sorana Cîrstea in three sets. At the
Cincinnati Open The Cincinnati Masters or Cincinnati Open (branded as the Western & Southern Open for sponsorship reasons) is an annual outdoor hardcourt tennis event held in Mason, Ohio near Cincinnati. The event started on September 18, 1899, and is the o ...
, she lost to Wozniacki in the third round. Kvitová was the defending champion in
New Haven New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,023 ...
and made the final once more but was defeated by the rising Simona Halep. At the US Open, she fell to Alison Riske in the third round, causing her to drop out of the top 10 for the first time since May 2011. At the Pan Pacific Open, seventh-seeded Kvitová reached the quarterfinals after defeating a pair of youngsters, Belinda Bencic and Madison Keys, both in straight sets. Then, she overcame Svetlana Kuznetsova and Venus Williams to reach the final where she defeated Angelique Kerber for her second title of 2013, her 11th career title overall. She moved back into the top 10 by virtue of that result. She then reached the semifinals of the China Open where she lost to Jelena Janković. As a result of her strong results in Asia, she qualified for the Tour Championships on 7 October. As the fifth seed, she qualified for the semifinals after recording victories over Radwańska and Kerber in the round-robin stage but there, she lost to Li in straight sets. She ended the year as world No. 6. Furthermore, Kvitová was awarded the Karen Krantzcke Sportsmanship Award for the second time.


2014: Second Wimbledon title and Fed Cup triplet

Kvitová started
2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...
by playing the Hopman Cup with
Radek Štěpánek Radek Štěpánek (; born 27 November 1978) is a Czech former professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking was world No. 8 and best doubles ranking was world No. 4. Štěpánek's biggest achievements are reaching two Masters 10 ...
. She won all of her singles matches but they did not advance to the final, finishing second in their group behind eventual champions France. Kvitová then competed in
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...
where she advanced to the last four after defeating Christina McHale and compatriot Lucie Šafářová. There, she was stunned by qualifier Tsvetana Pironkova in straight sets. At the
Australian Open The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Ope ...
, she succumbed to Luksika Kumkhum in the first round in three sets. It was the first time Kvitová exited a Grand Slam tournament in the opening round since the 2011 US Open. Kvitová was scheduled to play the
Open GdF Suez Open GDF Suez, formerly Open Gaz de France, was a Premier level tennis tournament on the WTA Tour held in Paris, France. Held from 1993 till 2014, the tournament was played indoors, originally on carpet until 2000, then on hardcourts. The 2014 O ...
, but withdrew prior to her opening match because of a respiratory illness. Because of this illness, she was unable to compete in the Fed Cup opening round tie against Spain. At the Qatar Open, third-seeded Kvitová cruised into the quarterfinals with two tough three-set victories over Venus Williams and Šafářová before falling to Jelena Janković in straight sets. At the Dubai Championships, she failed to defend her title when she lost her opening match to Carla Suárez Navarro. Next, Kvitová competed in Indian Wells where she was the eighth seed. She beat Coco Vandeweghe and 27th seed Svetlana Kuznetsova before losing to 12th seed Dominika Cibulková in the round of 16. In
Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...
, she was seeded eighth again and defeated Paula Ormaechea, Donna Vekić and 12th seed Ana Ivanovic to reach her first quarterfinal of the tournament. There, she fell to fourth seed Maria Sharapova in straight sets. At the Fed Cup semifinal tie against Italy, Kvitová dispatched both
Camila Giorgi Camila Giorgi (; born 30 December 1991) is an Italian professional tennis player. She has a career-high singles ranking of world No. 26, achieved on 22 October 2018. She is the current Italian No. 2, after Martina Trevisan. After winning her f ...
and Roberta Vinci in straight sets, thus sending the Czech team into their third final in the last four years. Kvitová began her clay court campaign in
Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the Sw ...
, losing to
Alisa Kleybanova Alisa Mikhailovna Kleybanova (russian: Алиса Михайловна Клейбанова, born 15 July 1989) is a Russian former tennis player. Her career-high singles ranking is world No. 20, achieved in February 2011. In her career. she wo ...
in her opening match. At the Madrid Open, she defeated Sorana Cîrstea, Varvara Lepchenko and Šafářová to reach the quarterfinals, where she received a walkover from top seed Serena Williams. She lost to Simona Halep in the last four. Kvitová then lost her opening match in
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
to Zhang Shuai, before bowing out in the third round of the
French Open The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ve ...
for the second year in a row, this time to former champion Kuznetsova in a marathon three-setter. During the grass-court swing, Kvitová competed in
Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the l ...
where she advanced to the quarterfinals but was then forced to withdraw due to a hamstring injury. Kvitová was seeded sixth at Wimbledon. She won her first two matches easily against compatriot Andrea Hlaváčková and German Mona Barthel. She faced former champion and 30th seed Venus Williams in the third round and was two points away from losing the match but went on to win in three sets. After dismissing Peng Shuai in the fourth round, she beat two more Czechs in the form of Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová and Šafářová to reach the final. There, she defeated Eugenie Bouchard in straight sets to win her second Grand Slam title. She rose to world No. 4 as a result, thus returning to the top 5 rankings for the first time since 2012. Kvitová kicked off the US Open Series at the Canadian Open where she was the second seed. She received a first round bye and faced Aussie
Casey Dellacqua Casey Dellacqua ( ; born 11 February 1985) is a retired Australian professional tennis player and current commentator. Her best singles results on the WTA Tour have been semifinal appearances at the 2012 Texas Tennis Open and 2014 Birmingham ...
in her opening match, which she won in straight sets. In the third round, she lost to Ekaterina Makarova in three sets. In
Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line w ...
, third-seeded Kvitová received a first round bye and faced Elina Svitolina in her opener but was upset by the Ukrainian in straight sets. At the Connecticut Open where she was seeded second, she received a bye into second round where she faced Makarova again, whom which she defeated easily in straight sets this time to reach the last eight. She was the only seed to reach the quarterfinals. There, she beat Záhlavová-Strýcová in straight sets. She then went on to defeat Samantha Stosur to reach her third consecutive final in New Haven. She won the title by defeating Magdaléna Rybáriková in the final, her 13th career title. At the US Open, Kvitová was upset by qualifier Aleksandra Krunić in the third round. The following month at the inaugural Wuhan Open, third-seeded Kvitová cruised into the third round on an upset-filled day by defeating Karin Knapp in her opening match in straight sets. She then overcame fellow Czech Karolína Plíšková for a place in the last eight where she moved past Caroline Garcia. In the semifinals, Kvitová avenged her loss to Svitolina by defeating the Ukrainian in straight sets to reach the final. There, she beat Bouchard in straight sets to claim her 14th career title. With this victory, Kvitová became the fourth player to qualify for the
WTA Finals The WTA Finals (formerly known as the WTA Tour Championships or WTA Championships) is a tournament of the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) played annually at the end of the season. The event is uniquely reserved for players at the top of the WTA ...
in Singapore. It was also the first time since 2011 where she had won more than two titles in a season. Then, the following week at the China Open, Kvitová carried on her good form by reaching her fourth final of the year but lost to Sharapova in three sets. At the
WTA Finals The WTA Finals (formerly known as the WTA Tour Championships or WTA Championships) is a tournament of the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) played annually at the end of the season. The event is uniquely reserved for players at the top of the WTA ...
, Kvitová was upset by Agnieszka Radwańska in her opening match in straight sets. She then recorded a straight-set victory over Sharapova, ending a five-match losing streak against her, but then lost her bid to qualify for the semifinals when she succumbed to Caroline Wozniacki in her last round-robin match. Nevertheless, Kvitová ended the year as world No. 4. At the Fed Cup where Czech Republic faced Germany for the title, she saw off over Andrea Petkovic in straight sets, and Angelique Kerber in a thrilling three-setter, enabling the Czech team to clinch its third Fed Cup title in four years with the final score of the tie at 3–1. Kvitová received two awards in 2014, the Karen Krantzcke Sportsmanship Award and the Diamond Aces Award.


2015: Steady ranking and coping with mononucleosis

Kvitová kicked off
2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...
in
Shenzhen Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major sub-provincial city and one of the special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern provi ...
as the second seed, where she lost to eighth seed Timea Bacsinszky in the semifinals. Kvitová was the second seed in
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...
and received a first round bye. She defeated
Peng Shuai Peng Shuai (; born 8 January 1986) is a Chinese retired professional tennis player. In February 2014, she was ranked world No. 1 doubles player by the WTA, becoming the first Chinese tennis player to achieve that ranking (in either single ...
in the second round and then beat Jarmila Gajdošová in the last eight. In a rematch of their semifinal here a year ago, Kvitová avenged her earlier loss to Tsvetana Pironkova, and then went on to defeat fellow Czech Karolína Plíšková in the final for her first title of the year, the 15th of her career. At the
Australian Open The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Ope ...
, fourth-seeded Kvitová was upset by Madison Keys in the third round in straight sets. Kvitová then lost in
Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, wikt:دبي, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the List of cities in the United Arab Emirates#Major cities, most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 ...
and
Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor (city), Al Khor, it is home to m ...
, in the third round and quarterfinals, respectively, both at the hands of Carla Suárez Navarro. She subsequently withdrew from Indian Wells and
Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...
due to exhaustion. She launched her comeback after a six-week break at the Fed Cup semifinals, where the Czechs faced France. Kvitová won both her rubbers in straight sets, defeating Kristina Mladenovic and Caroline Garcia. The Czech team subsequently advanced to the final for the fourth time in five years. After dropping her opening match in
Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the Sw ...
to
Madison Brengle Madison Brengle (born April 3, 1990) is an American professional tennis player. Her biggest success she had in early 2015, reaching her first WTA Tour final in January, followed by a fourth round major event appearance at the Australian Open. I ...
, Kvitová sailed into the quarterfinals in
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
with wins over Olga Govortsova, Coco Vandeweghe and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. She then advanced to the semifinals after dispatching
Irina-Camelia Begu Irina-Camelia Begu (born 26 August 1990) is a Romanian professional tennis player. She reached a career-high singles ranking of No. 22 in the world, in August 2016. Two years later, she reached her highest WTA doubles ranking, also No. 22. Begu ...
in straight sets, setting up a clash with world No. 1, Serena Williams. She had not beaten Williams in five previous attempts but upset the American in straight sets to advance to her second Madrid final. The win also ended Williams' 27-match winning streak dating back to the WTA Finals the previous year. In the final, she defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova in a dominating performance to claim her 16th career title. The following week in
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, Kvitová cruised into her second quarterfinal here but lost to Suárez Navarro for the third time this year. Seeded fourth at the
French Open The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ve ...
, she defeated Marina Erakovic,
Sílvia Soler Espinosa Sílvia Soler Espinosa (; born 19 November 1987) is a retired Spanish tennis player. In her career, she has won one doubles title on the WTA Tour, as well as five singles and three doubles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit. On 21 May 2012, she ...
and 30th seed Begu to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam tournament outside of Wimbledon for the first time since the 2012 US Open. There, she was upset by 24th seed Bacsinszky in three sets. Nevertheless, following the tournament's conclusion, Kvitová returned to the world No. 2 ranking for the first time since February 2012. Kvitová began her grass court season at Wimbledon, after withdrawing from
Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the l ...
the week before with an illness. As the defending champion and the second seed, she handily defeated
Kiki Bertens Kiki Bertens (; born 10 December 1991) is a Dutch former professional tennis player. Her career-high WTA singles ranking was world No. 4, which she reached on 13 May 2019, becoming the highest ranked Dutch female player ever. Her career-high do ...
in the first round in 35 minutes, losing just one point on serve via a double fault. She then defeated
Kurumi Nara is a Japanese former professional tennis player. She has won one singles title on the WTA Tour, as well as six singles and three doubles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit. On 18 August 2014, she reached a career-high singles ranking of worl ...
in the second round in straight sets to advance to the third round where she faced 28th seed
Jelena Janković Jelena Janković ( sr-Cyrl, Јелена Јанковић, ; born 28 February 1985) is a Serbian former tennis player. A former world No. 1, Janković reached the top ranking before her career-best major performance, a runner-up finish at the ...
. There, Kvitová led by a set and a break, but was upset by the former world No. 1 in the end in a tight three-setter, thus ending her journey as the defending champion. In August, it was revealed that Kvitová was diagnosed with
mononucleosis Infectious mononucleosis (IM, mono), also known as glandular fever, is an infection usually caused by the Epstein–Barr virus (EBV). Most people are infected by the virus as children, when the disease produces few or no symptoms. In young adult ...
(also known as glandular fever) and that she contracted the virus during spring earlier in the year but nevertheless, was cleared to compete. During the US Open Series, Kvitová lost her openers in
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
and
Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line w ...
. As the defending champion at the Connecticut Open, second-seeded Kvitová received a bye in the opening round and safely advanced to the semifinals after defeating Keys and Agnieszka Radwańska. She then rolled past
Caroline Wozniacki Caroline Wozniacki (; born 11 July 1990) is a Danish former professional tennis player. She was ranked world No. 1 in singles for a total of 71 weeks, including at the end of 2010 and 2011. She achieved the top ranking for the first time on 11 ...
in straight sets for a place in her fourth straight final at the tournament, where she beat compatriot Lucie Šafářová in three sets for her 17th career title. With this win, she also successfully defended a title for the first time in her career. At the US Open, Kvitová was the fifth seed and reached the fourth round after defeating Laura Siegemund, wildcard Nicole Gibbs and 32nd seed
Anna Karolína Schmiedlová Anna Karolína Schmiedlová (; born 13 September 1994) is a Slovak tennis player. She has won three singles titles on the WTA Tour, one singles title on the WTA Challenger Tour as well as 12 singles titles on the ITF Circuit. On 12 October 2 ...
, all in straight sets. She then advanced to her maiden quarterfinal at the tournament after seeing off qualifier Johanna Konta, thus completing the feat of reaching at least the quarterfinals of all four Grand Slam tournaments in her career. There, she fell short to 26th seed and eventual champion Flavia Pennetta in three sets. The Asian swing was not a successful one for Kvitová as she lost early in
Wuhan Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei Province in the People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the ninth-most populous Chinese city a ...
and
Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...
. Nevertheless, she qualified for the
WTA Finals The WTA Finals (formerly known as the WTA Tour Championships or WTA Championships) is a tournament of the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) played annually at the end of the season. The event is uniquely reserved for players at the top of the WTA ...
on 14 October. Seeded fourth, she lost her round-robin matches to Angelique Kerber and
Garbiñe Muguruza Garbiñe Muguruza Blanco (; born 8 October 1993) is a Spanish-Venezuelan professional tennis player. She has a career-high singles WTA rankings#Singles, ranking of List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players#Singles, world No. 1 by the ...
but scored a win over Šafářová. However, she managed to secure a spot in the semifinals where she defeated Maria Sharapova in straight sets to advance to her second final at the tournament. This was also the first ever final of the tournament since the inception of the round-robin format between two players with a losing record in the group stage. There, she lost to Radwańska in three sets. Kvitová finished the year as world No. 6. She participated in the Fed Cup final, going 1–1 in her singles matches, with the Czechs defending their title in the end by winning the decisive doubles rubber. That year, Kvitová also won the Karen Krantzcke Sportsmanship Award for the third year running.


2016: Olympic Bronze and Fed Cup quintet

Kvitová had a slow start in
2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...
due to gastrointestinal illness, going 2–4 in main draw matches for the first two months, with the wins coming over Luksika Kumkhum at the
Australian Open The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Ope ...
and Barbora Strýcová in
Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor (city), Al Khor, it is home to m ...
. A week after the conclusion of the Australian Open, Kvitová and long-time coach David Kotyza split. In the Fed Cup opening round tie against Romania, she lost both of her singles matches. However, the Czech team ultimately cruised into the semifinals with the score 3–2. At the
Indian Wells Open The Indian Wells Masters, also known as the Indian Wells Open and BNP Paribas Open is an annual tennis tournament usually held in early- and mid-March at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, California, United States. The owner is La ...
where she was seeded eighth, Kvitová won consecutive matches for the first time in almost six months, reaching her first quarterfinal of the year in the process. There, she lost to Agnieszka Radwańska in straight sets. However, this was followed by an early loss in
Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...
in the hands of 30th seed Ekaterina Makarova. Entering the clay court swing, Kvitová announced Czech doubles specialist
František Čermák František Čermák (born 14 November 1976) is a Czech retired tennis player. Career In his career, Čermák won 31 doubles titles on the ATP Tour and he was a finalist 24 times. He achieved a career-high doubles ranking of world No. 14 in ...
as her new coach. Seeded fifth in
Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the Sw ...
, she made her first semifinal at the tournament since 2012 but there, she lost to eventual champion Angelique Kerber. She then lost early in
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
and
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, the former in which she was the defending champion. As a result, she dropped out of the top 10 for the first time since September 2013, at world No. 12, also her lowest ranking since May 2011. At the
French Open The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ve ...
, Kvitová was upset by eventual surprise quarterfinalist Shelby Rogers in the third round in three sets, receiving bagels in both sets lost. Kvitová suffered a dire grass court season as she failed to produce a winning record on the surface, falling early to Jeļena Ostapenko and Johanna Konta in
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...
and
Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the l ...
respectively. Seeded 10th at Wimbledon, she easily defeated Sorana Cîrstea in the first round. In a rain-interrupted second round encounter against Makarova, however, she succumbed to the Russian in a tight straight-set loss. After Wimbledon, Kvitová exited the top 10 once again, having spent a short stint there throughout the tournament's two-week duration. Kicking off the US Open Series in
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...
, Kvitová made the round of 16 where she lost to Svetlana Kuznetsova in straight sets. At the
Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The ina ...
, 11th-seeded Kvitová defeated the likes of
Tímea Babos Tímea Babos (; born 10 May 1993) is a Hungarian professional tennis player who is a former world No. 1 in doubles. She is a four-time Grand Slam champion in women's doubles, having won the 2018 and 2020 Australian Opens, as well as the Fre ...
and Caroline Wozniacki, and then avenged her earlier two losses to Makarova to sail into her second consecutive Olympic quarterfinal, where she beat Elina Svitolina in straight sets. She came up short to eventual gold medallist Monica Puig in the semifinals, but then defeated Madison Keys in the bronze medal match to win her first ever Olympic medal. Thus, she became the first Czech player of either gender to win an Olympic medal in the singles discipline since Jana Novotná in 1996. Kvitová was the two-time defending champion in
New Haven New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,023 ...
but saw her title defence come to an end in the semifinals in the hands of Radwańska. As the 14th seed at the US Open, where for the first time since the 2011 Australian Open, Kvitová was not a top 10 seed at a Grand Slam tournament, she reached the fourth round but lost to eventual champion Kerber in straight sets. The loss meant Kvitová has failed to make a single Grand Slam quarterfinal in a season for the first time since 2009. After the US Open, Kvitová announced that she and coach Čermák have gone separate ways. Kvitová began the Asian swing with a loss to Puig in the second round of
Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...
. At the Wuhan Open, she sailed past Ostapenko and Svitolina in straight sets for a place in the third round. There, she scored her fourth win over a reigning world No. 1 when she defeated Kerber in three sets, in a match that lasted nearly three-and-a-half hours. In the quarterfinals, she beat Konta and then in the last four, she went on to score her first win over Simona Halep to reach her first final of the year. There, she dominated Dominika Cibulková in straight sets for her 18th career title, thus putting an end to a 13-month title drought. She then reached the quarterfinals of the China Open where she lost to Keys. The loss ended Kvitová's hopes of qualifying for the
WTA Finals The WTA Finals (formerly known as the WTA Tour Championships or WTA Championships) is a tournament of the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) played annually at the end of the season. The event is uniquely reserved for players at the top of the WTA ...
, having recorded five straight appearances at the event dating back to 2011. At the Luxembourg Open, top-seeded Kvitová reached the final but lost to
Monica Niculescu Monica Niculescu (born 25 September 1987) is a Romanian professional tennis player. She has been ranked by the Women's Tennis Association as high as 28 in singles and 11 in doubles. Niculescu has won several titles: three singles and ten doubl ...
in straight sets. Despite not making the cut for the WTA Finals, Kvitová qualified for the WTA Elite Trophy. As the third seed, she was drawn into the same group as Roberta Vinci and Strýcová, defeating both players in straight sets to advance to the semifinals where she sailed past wildcard Zhang Shuai. In the final, she beat Svitolina in straight sets to win the tournament on debut, thus lifting her 19th career title and her first title indoors since winning the WTA Finals in 2011. Kvitová ended the season as world No. 11. She then represented her nation in the Fed Cup final where they took on France. Despite losing her only singles rubber against Caroline Garcia, the Czechs went on to successfully defend their title by winning the tie 3–2 to lift their third successive trophy, their fifth in the last six years. With that achievement, Kvitová claimed the record of most Fed Cup titles won by a Czech player, having been part of all of the teams that took home those five crowns. Moreover, she was awarded the WTA Sportsmanship Award for the fourth year in a row, her fifth overall.


2017: Comeback from knife attack and out of top 20

During the off-season in 2016, going into
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, Kvitová announced Jiří Vaněk as her new coach. However, her plans were jeopardized when she was attacked during a break-in at her home in the Czech Republic by a knife-wielding robber shortly before Christmas. During the break-in she suffered cuts to her dominant left hand, resulting in injuries to the tendons and nerves. She was initially expected to be sidelined for six months. In late May, Kvitová announced she would return to competition at the
French Open The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ve ...
, a month ahead of schedule. She kicked off her Paris comeback with a win against American
Julia Boserup Julia Boserup (born September 9, 1991) is an American retired tennis player of Danish descent. Boserup began playing tennis at age six, after her mother, a native of Denmark, enrolled her in group tennis lessons. She was home schooled in high ...
in the first round. However, she lost to Bethanie Mattek-Sands in the following round in straight sets. Kvitová began the grass-court swing at the Birmingham Classic, where she defeated both
Tereza Smitková Tereza Smitková (born 10 October 1994) is a Czech tennis player. Smitková has won one singles WTA 125 title as well as eight singles and seven doubles titles on the ITF Circuit. On 6 April 2015, she reached her best singles ranking of world ...
and Naomi Broady in straight sets to reach her first quarterfinal of 2017, also her first on grass since the 2014 Wimbledon Championships. There, she took down fifth seed Kristina Mladenovic to reach the last four, where she moved past Lucie Šafářová. In the final, she beat Ashleigh Barty in three sets for her milestone 20th career title. However, she then suffered a second consecutive loss in the second round of Wimbledon, this time to Madison Brengle in three sets. During the US Open Series, Kvitová posted a quarterfinal appearance in
Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. S ...
, but then lost early in
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
and
Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line w ...
, both at the hands of the resurgent
Sloane Stephens Sloane Stephens (born March 20, 1993) is an American professional tennis player. She achieved a career-best ranking of world No. 3 after Wimbledon in 2018. Stephens was the 2017 US Open champion, and has won seven WTA Tour singles titles in to ...
, before bowing out in the opening round of
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to Zhang Shuai. However, she bounced back at the US Open by beating Jelena Janković, Alizé Cornet and 18th seed Caroline Garcia to reach the fourth round. There, she saw off third seed Garbiñe Muguruza to sail into her tenth Grand Slam tournament quarterfinal where she was stopped by ninth seed Venus Williams in three sets. Kvitová kicked off the Asian swing in
Wuhan Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei Province in the People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the ninth-most populous Chinese city a ...
where she was the defending champion and faced local player
Peng Shuai Peng Shuai (; born 8 January 1986) is a Chinese retired professional tennis player. In February 2014, she was ranked world No. 1 doubles player by the WTA, becoming the first Chinese tennis player to achieve that ranking (in either single ...
at the first hurdle, but came up short in an epic three-set match that lasted three hours and 34 minutes. At the China Open, she moved past fellow Czech
Kristýna Plíšková Kristýna Plíšková (; born 21 March 1992) is an inactive Czech professional tennis player. Plíšková has won one singles and four doubles titles on the WTA Tour, as well as nine singles and eight doubles titles on the ITF Circuit. On 31 Ju ...
and American
Varvara Lepchenko Varvara (Cyrillic: Варвара; el, Βαρβάρα, ''Varvára''), a variant of " Barbara", may refer to: Places *Varvara, Azerbaijan * Varvara, Prozor, on the Rama river, Bosnia and Herzegovina * Varvara, Burgas Province, Bulgaria * Varvara ...
to reach the third round where saw off fifth seed Caroline Wozniacki, in straight sets. She then beat
Barbora Strýcová Barbora Strýcová (; born 28 March 1986), formerly known as Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová, is a Czech former professional tennis player who was ranked world No. 1 in doubles. She won her first Grand Slam title at the 2019 Wimbledon Champion ...
to reach the semifinals but there, she was defeated by eventual champion Garcia in straight sets. The loss meant that for the first time since 2010, Kvitová did not win a Premier Mandatory or Premier 5 title during a season. She then lost in the first round of
Tianjin Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popu ...
to Zhu Lin, in three sets. As a result of not qualifying for the WTA Elite Trophy where she was the defending champion, Kvitová fell out of the top 20 rankings for the first time since January 2011. She subsequently concluded the year as world No. 29. Nevertheless, Kvitová was awarded the Karen Krantzcke Sportsmanship Award once again, her fifth in succession and sixth in the last seven seasons.


2018: Five WTA titles and re-entry into top 5

Kvitová started
2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
in
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...
, unseeded at a Premier event for the first time since the 2010 Kremlin Cup, having been forced to withdraw from
Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...
the week before due to a viral illness. She lost to
Camila Giorgi Camila Giorgi (; born 30 December 1991) is an Italian professional tennis player. She has a career-high singles ranking of world No. 26, achieved on 22 October 2018. She is the current Italian No. 2, after Martina Trevisan. After winning her f ...
in the second round. She then fell in the opening round of the
Australian Open The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Ope ...
, succumbing to Andrea Petkovic in three sets despite having served for the match twice. However, she bounced back by winning the St. Petersburg Ladies' Trophy. En route to the final, she saw past the likes of
Elena Vesnina Elena Sergeyevna Vesnina (born 1 August 1986) is a Russian former professional tennis player and a former world No. 1 in doubles. She is a four-time Grand Slam champion, having won the 2013 French Open, 2014 US Open, and 2017 Wimbledon Cha ...
,
Irina-Camelia Begu Irina-Camelia Begu (born 26 August 1990) is a Romanian professional tennis player. She reached a career-high singles ranking of No. 22 in the world, in August 2016. Two years later, she reached her highest WTA doubles ranking, also No. 22. Begu ...
, Jeļena Ostapenko and
Julia Görges Julia Görges (born 2 November 1988) is a German former professional tennis player. A former top-ten singles player, she was ranked as high as No. 9 in the world on 20 August 2018, and was ranked inside the top 15 in doubles, peaking at world No ...
. She then beat Kristina Mladenovic in the final in a dominating performance to win her 21st career title, thus becoming the first left-handed player to win a singles title in Russia. Kvitová then won her singles matches against Viktorija Golubic and Belinda Bencic in the opening round of the Fed Cup where the Czech Republic took on Switzerland, with the Czechs eventually cruising into the last four with the score 3–1, also their tenth consecutive Fed Cup semifinal appearance. The tie also marked the first time since the 2015 final against Russia where Kvitová won a Fed Cup match. Kvitová carried her good form into the Qatar Open, defeating Çağla Büyükakçay, Agnieszka Radwańska and Elina Svitolina to reach the quarterfinals. There, she moved past Görges via a retirement and then overcame world No. 1,
Caroline Wozniacki Caroline Wozniacki (; born 11 July 1990) is a Danish former professional tennis player. She was ranked world No. 1 in singles for a total of 71 weeks, including at the end of 2010 and 2011. She achieved the top ranking for the first time on 11 ...
, in three sets to move into the final, where she outlasted fourth seed
Garbiñe Muguruza Garbiñe Muguruza Blanco (; born 8 October 1993) is a Spanish-Venezuelan professional tennis player. She has a career-high singles WTA rankings#Singles, ranking of List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players#Singles, world No. 1 by the ...
in three sets to capture her 22nd career title, thus guaranteeing her return to the top 10 for the first time since June 2016. In Indian Wells, ninth-seeded Kvitová scrapped past Kazakh Yulia Putintseva in the opener in three sets to record the equal-longest winning streak of her career, 14 wins, dating back to her title run in St. Petersburg a month before. However, she saw that streak expire when she lost to young American wildcard Amanda Anisimova in the following round in straight sets. She then beat Aryna Sabalenka and Sofia Kenin to reach the fourth round in
Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...
where she was beaten by Ostapenko. Kvitová started off her clay-court season with her maiden appearance in Charleston but lost her opener to fellow Czech
Kristýna Plíšková Kristýna Plíšková (; born 21 March 1992) is an inactive Czech professional tennis player. Plíšková has won one singles and four doubles titles on the WTA Tour, as well as nine singles and eight doubles titles on the ITF Circuit. On 31 Ju ...
, marking her first loss to a Czech player since May 2012, having amassed a run of 24 consecutive wins against her compatriots during that period. Then, facing Germany in the Fed Cup semifinals, she notched wins over Görges and Angelique Kerber, thus sending the Czech team into its sixth final in the last eight years. This was followed by a loss to Kerber in the first round of
Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the Sw ...
. Kvitová then enacted a 13-match winning streak the remainder of the clay court swing, first, by claiming the title in
Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
, her maiden title on home soil, dispatching
Tereza Smitková Tereza Smitková (born 10 October 1994) is a Czech tennis player. Smitková has won one singles WTA 125 title as well as eight singles and seven doubles titles on the ITF Circuit. On 6 April 2015, she reached her best singles ranking of world ...
, Natalia Vikhlyantseva, Kateřina Siniaková and Zhang Shuai to reach the final, all without the loss of a set. There, she came back from a set down to beat Mihaela Buzărnescu for her 23rd career title, her first at an International-level tournament since Linz in 2011. She then breezed through to her second crown in two weeks by winning her third title in
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
, becoming the first woman to do so, by seeing off
Lesia Tsurenko Lesia Viktorivna Tsurenko ( uk, Леся Вікторівна Цуренко; born 30 May 1989) is a Ukrainian tennis player. Tsurenko has won four singles titles on the WTA Tour, as well as six singles and eight doubles tournaments on the IT ...
, Monica Puig, Anett Kontaveit, Daria Kasatkina and Karolína Plíšková to make the final, where she fought through a tough three-setter to see off
Kiki Bertens Kiki Bertens (; born 10 December 1991) is a Dutch former professional tennis player. Her career-high WTA singles ranking was world No. 4, which she reached on 13 May 2019, becoming the highest ranked Dutch female player ever. Her career-high do ...
for her 24th career title. The winning streak ended at the
French Open The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ve ...
, when she crashed out in the third round to 25th seed Kontaveit in straight sets. Starting the grass-court season in
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...
where she was the defending champion, Kvitová saw off the likes of Johanna Konta and Daria Gavrilova to record her fifth quarterfinal appearance of 2018. There, she beat Görges in straight sets for her 50th main draw win on grass. She then moved past Buzarnescu to reach the final where she defeated Magdaléna Rybáriková in three sets for her 25th career title, also the second successful title defence of her career after the 2015 Connecticut Open. She then beat Kateryna Bondarenko in her opener in
Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the l ...
before withdrawing due to a hamstring injury. At Wimbledon, Kvitová bowed out in the first round on a day filled with upsets, succumbing to
Aliaksandra Sasnovich Aliaksandra Aliaksandraŭna Sasnovich ( be, Аляксандра Аляксандраўна Сасновіч; born 22 March 1994) is a Belarusian tennis player. She has won eleven singles and seven doubles titles on the ITF Circuit. She has rea ...
in three sets. It was her first defeat in the opening round of the tournament since 2009, and 2018 also marks the first season since 2009 where she suffered multiple opening-round exits at the Grand Slam tournaments. Kvitová began the month of August at the Canadian Open where she was dispatched by Bertens in the third round in straight sets. The following week in
Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line w ...
, her form improved, beating Serena Williams, Mladenovic and 15th seed Elise Mertens to sail into her first semifinal of the tournament since 2012, where she was stopped by Bertens once more, this time in three sets. Nevertheless, Kvitová returned to the top 5 rankings for the first time in almost three years by virtue of that result. She then made the quarterfinals of the Connecticut Open where she retired to Carla Suárez Navarro after dropping the first set due to a shoulder injury. This was followed by a defeat in the hands of 26th seed Sabalenka in the third round of the US Open. The loss meant that for the first time in her career, Kvitová has failed to record an appearance in the second week at the Grand Slams in a season. Kvitová then suffered a dismal Asian swing with early exits in
Wuhan Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei Province in the People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the ninth-most populous Chinese city a ...
and
Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...
. On 4 October, she became the fourth player to qualify for the
WTA Finals The WTA Finals (formerly known as the WTA Tour Championships or WTA Championships) is a tournament of the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) played annually at the end of the season. The event is uniquely reserved for players at the top of the WTA ...
. Seeded fourth in her first appearance at the tournament since 2015, she bowed out in the round-robin stage, failing to score a win with losses to Svitolina, Wozniacki and Plíšková, thus making it her worst result of the tournament to date. She subsequently ended the year ranked world No. 7, her first top 10 finish since 2015. In the Fed Cup final, where Czech Republic took on the United States, Kvitová was nominated as part of the Czech team but illness forced her out of play. Nevertheless, the Czechs won the tie with the score 3–0, making it their sixth Fed Cup title in the last eight seasons. Furthermore, Kvitová was awarded the WTA Sportsmanship for the seventh time overall.


2019: Australian Open final and injury struggles

Kvitová started the
2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
season in
Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...
. She advanced through the first round after defeating Danielle Collins in a match that lasted over three hours, before losing to Anett Kontaveit in the second round. She then claimed her second title in
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...
. She defeated Aryna Sabalenka and Hsieh Su-wei to reach her first quarterfinal on Australian soil since winning here in 2015. There, she beat defending champion Angelique Kerber and then moved past Aliaksandra Sasnovich to book her place in the final. There, she came back from a set down to defeat Ashleigh Barty, winning her 26th career title. As the eighth seed at the
Australian Open The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Ope ...
, Kvitová cruised into the quarterfinals without dropping a set, recording wins over Magdaléna Rybáriková, Irina-Camelia Begu, Belinda Bencic and Amanda Anisimova. Her win over Bencic saw her through to the second week here for the first time since 2012, and for the first time at a Grand Slam outside the US Open since the 2015 French Open. In the quarterfinals, she moved past Barty in straight sets and then beat Collins in straight sets to advance to her first Grand Slam final since 2014, and her first outside Wimbledon. There, she faced fourth seed
Naomi Osaka is a Japanese professional tennis player. She has been ranked world No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) and is the first Asian player to hold the top ranking in singles. Osaka is a four-time Grand Slam singles champ ...
, with the world No. 1 ranking at stake. After losing the first-set tiebreak, Kvitová made a big comeback during the second set after facing three championship points on her own serve. She then won four consecutive games to claim the set. However, Osaka recovered from this turnaround, breaking Kvitová early in the decider en route to claiming victory. Nevertheless, Kvitová returned to the world No. 2 ranking for the first time since June 2015 after the tournament's conclusion. The following week, Kvitová competed in St. Petersburg where she was the defending champion, defeating Victoria Azarenka in her opener to reach the quarterfinals where she lost to Donna Vekić. At the
Dubai Tennis Championships The Dubai Tennis Championships or Dubai Open (also known as the ''Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships'' for sponsorship reasons) (formerly known for sponsorship reasons as the ''Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships'' and the ''Dubai Duty Free Men's ...
, Kvitová recorded consecutive wins here for the first time since 2013, beating both Kateřina Siniaková and
Jennifer Brady Jennifer Elizabeth Brady (born April 12, 1995) is an inactive American professional tennis player. She reached a career-high singles WTA ranking of world No. 13 on 22 February 2021, and a career-high doubles ranking of 44 on 19 August 2019. Br ...
in three sets to reach the quarterfinals, where saw off Viktória Kužmová in straight sets. In the last four, she edged past Hsieh to reach the final where she succumbed to Bencic in three sets. The loss marked the first time since 2013 where Kvitová lost back-to-back finals. She then lost her opening match at the
Indian Wells Open The Indian Wells Masters, also known as the Indian Wells Open and BNP Paribas Open is an annual tennis tournament usually held in early- and mid-March at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, California, United States. The owner is La ...
, coming up short in a tight three-setter to Venus Williams. She then competed in
Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...
, where she was seeded third, beating
Maria Sakkari Maria Sakkari ( gr, Μαρία Σάκκαρη, ; born 25 July 1995) is a Greek professional tennis player. She has been ranked as high as world No. 3 by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), which she first achieved on 21 March 2022, making her ...
, 26th seed Vekić and 19th seed Caroline Garcia to return to her second quarterfinal of the tournament. There, she succumbed to 12th seed Barty in three sets. Kvitová began her clay court season in
Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the Sw ...
where she became the first player to win two titles in 2019. Seeded third, she saw off the likes of Greet Minnen, seventh seed Anastasija Sevastova and sixth seed Kiki Bertens en route to the final, where she beat eighth seed Kontaveit in straight sets for her overall 27th career title. She was the defending champion at the Madrid Open and made the last eight where she lost to eventual champion Bertens, in a rematch of last year's final, in straight sets. At the
Italian Open Italian Open may refer to: *Italian Open (tennis), a Masters 1000 level tennis tournament played in Rome each year. *Italian Open (golf) The DS Automobiles Italian Open ( it, Open d'Italia) is the men's national open golf championship of Italy. I ...
, her first appearance here since 2016, Kvitová made the third round where she faced Sakkari but retired with an injured calf while trailing in the decider. She then pulled out of the
French Open The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ve ...
with an arm injury, bringing her clay court swing to a premature close. Returning to competition at Wimbledon after a six-week layoff, sixth-seeded Kvitová cruised to the fourth round, her first appearance in the second week here since winning the title in 2014, thus making multiple second week appearances at the Grand Slams for the first time since 2015. There, she lost to 19th seed Johanna Konta in three sets. During the summer, Kvitová was forced to withdraw from the Canadian Open to recover from the arm injury that had been plaguing her the past two months. She returned to action in
Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line w ...
where she fell in her opener to Sakkari in three sets. This was followed by a loss to Andrea Petkovic in the second round of the US Open, her earliest loss at the tournament since 2011. However, she bounced back with strong results during the Asian swing. In
Wuhan Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei Province in the People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the ninth-most populous Chinese city a ...
, she sailed to the last four by scoring wins over Polona Hercog, Sloane Stephens and Dayana Yastremska, all in straight sets, but was then stopped by Alison Riske. The following week in
Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...
, she recorded her fifth quarterfinal appearance at the tournament, after defeating Mladenovic and ninth seed Bencic, both in straight sets, where she succumbed to world No. 1 Barty in three sets. On 7 October, Kvitová was announced as the sixth qualifier for the
WTA Finals The WTA Finals (formerly known as the WTA Tour Championships or WTA Championships) is a tournament of the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) played annually at the end of the season. The event is uniquely reserved for players at the top of the WTA ...
. Seeded sixth at the tournament, also her seventh appearance here, the most of any player this decade, however, Kvitová suffered a winless outing for the second year in a row, with losses to Osaka, Bencic and Barty, thus crashing out in the round-robin stage. The result also saw Kvitová's losing streak at the tournament, dating back to her loss in the 2015 final to Agnieszka Radwańska, extended to seven matches. She also became the only player this decade to suffer multiple winless appearances at the tournament, the first since Elena Dementieva, in 2004, 2005 and 2006. Kvitova maintained her year-end ranking from the previous year, world No. 7, tying Caroline Wozniacki and Serena Williams for most top-10 season finishes this decade, seven seasons. Furthermore, she was awarded the Karen Krantzcke Sportsmanship Award for the seventh year running, her eighth overall, and ties Kim Clijsters for most Sportsmanship Award wins.


2020: Grand Slam renaissance

Kvitová began 2020 at the
Brisbane International The Brisbane International established in 2009 is a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor hardcourts in Brisbane, Queensland in Australia. It is a WTA Premier tournament of the WTA Tour and was part of the ATP World Tour 250 serie ...
. Seeded fifth, she scored back-to-back wins here for the first time in three appearances, and recorded her best result here since winning the title in 2011, by making the semifinals where she lost to eighth seed Madison Keys in three sets. She then made the quarterfinals of the
Australian Open The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Ope ...
with wins over Kateřina Siniaková,
Paula Badosa Paula Badosa Gibert () (born 15 November 1997) is a Spanish professional tennis player. She has been ranked as high as world No. 2 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), which she achieved on 25 April 2022, and No. 124 in doubles, at ...
, 25th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova and 22nd seed
Maria Sakkari Maria Sakkari ( gr, Μαρία Σάκκαρη, ; born 25 July 1995) is a Greek professional tennis player. She has been ranked as high as world No. 3 by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), which she first achieved on 21 March 2022, making her ...
. The result saw Kvitová record consecutive quarterfinal appearances at the same Grand Slam tournament for the first since the 2014 Wimbledon Championships. It also meant that for the first time since 2015, she has made a Grand Slam quarterfinal in a season in consecutive years. There, however, she succumbed to world No. 1,
Ashleigh Barty Ashleigh is the feminine form of the Old English name Ashley, which means "dweller near the ash tree forest". It is most common in the United States and United Kingdom. Notable people B *Ashleigh Ball (born 1983), Canadian voice actress * Ashle ...
, in straight sets, her fourth consecutive defeat to the Aussie, which also handed the top-ranked player her first win over a top-10 opponent at the Grand Slams. Having failed to defend her runner-up result here from a year ago, Kvitová dropped out of the top 10, for the first time since February 2018. Kvitová then made the quarterfinals at St. Petersburg, after overcoming
Alison van Uytvanck Alison Van Uytvanck (; born 26 March 1994) is a Belgian professional tennis player. Van Uytvanck has won five singles and two doubles WTA Tour titles and three Challenger Tour singles titles, as well as 12 singles and two doubles titles on th ...
in her opener in three sets, thus making at least the quarterfinal stage in her first three tournaments of the season for the first time since 2011. There, however, she conceded a walkover to Alexandrova due to illness. Kvitová's final tournament appearance, before the suspension of the tour in March due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
, was in
Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor (city), Al Khor, it is home to m ...
where she was the eighth seed. There, she clinched a spot in her second final here after defeating the likes of Carla Suárez Navarro, Jeļena Ostapenko, Ons Jabeur and world No. 1 Barty, ending a four-match losing streak against the latter. However, she succumbed to ninth seed Aryna Sabalenka in the championship match in straight sets, making it the tenth runner-up finish of her career, and the first time she lost consecutive finals at the Premier Mandatory/5 level. Further suspensions to the 2020 season followed, the latest one lasting till end of July. However, in spite of the suspensions, Kvitová made her unofficial return to the sport in May at an all-Czech exhibition event held in Prague, where she beat the likes of Barbora Krejčíková, Siniaková and Karolína Muchová to lift the title. In July, she followed up with appearances in the final of both legs of another exhibition event in Berlin, one on grass and another on an indoor hardcourt. She lost both finals from a set up, to Elina Svitolina in the former and Anastasija Sevastova in the latter. Returning to competition in August at the
Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line w ...
tournament, held in New York City this year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Kvitová lost her opening match to compatriot Marie Bouzková in three sets. She then made the fourth round at the US Open, making it her 20th appearance in the second week at the Grand Slams. There, however, she succumbed in a tight three-setter to Shelby Rogers, despite having four match points. She matched her best result at the
French Open The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ve ...
after that, defeating Océane Dodin,
Jasmine Paolini Jasmine Paolini (; born 4 January 1996) is an Italian tennis player. She reached career-high WTA rankings of No. 44 in singles and 122 in doubles. Paolini has won one singles title (at the 2021 Slovenian Open) and one doubles title on the WTA To ...
, Leylah Annie Fernandez, Zhang Shuai and Laura Siegemund, all in straight sets, to reach the last four where she fell to Sofia Kenin in straight sets. Nevertheless, that run saw Kvitová reach multiple Grand Slam quarterfinals in a season for the first time since 2012, and it also guaranteed her return to the top 10 for the first time in nine months. Kvitová would then shut down her 2020 season after the French Open, and this meant that for the first time since 2010, she did not win a title during a season, her best showing this year being the runner-up finish to Sabalenka in Doha. Nevertheless, she finished the year ranked world No. 8, her eighth overall year-end ranking inside the top 10.


2021: Titles across three decades and struggles with form

Kvitová kicked off her
2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...
season at the Yarra Valley Classic where she was seeded fourth, defeating Venus Williams in straight sets in her opening match before falling to 14th seed
Nadia Podoroska Nadia Natacha Podoroska (; born 10 February 1997) is an Argentine professional tennis player. She competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics. Podoroska has won one doubles title on the WTA Tour, along with 14 singles titles and seven doubles titles on ...
in the following round in three sets. Kvitová was seeded ninth at the 2021 Australian Open, but fell at the second hurdle to Sorana Cîrstea in three sets. She then competed in
Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor (city), Al Khor, it is home to m ...
where she was seeded fourth, receiving a bye in the first round. She kicked off her campaign with a win over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova to make the last eight where she saw off Anett Kontaveit in three sets. She then beat Jessica Pegula to reach her third final here, a rematch of the 2018 final, against Garbiñe Muguruza. In huge contrast to the former encounter, Kvitová won easily this time, dropping just three games in windy conditions to sail to her 28th career title. This meant that Kvitová has now won titles across three decades, dating back to her maiden career title at Hobart in January 2009, also becoming the first player male or female born in the 1990s to achieve that feat. The following week in
Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, wikt:دبي, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the List of cities in the United Arab Emirates#Major cities, most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 ...
, however, she was forced to retire in her opener against Jil Teichmann due to a thigh injury. Later that month, Kvitová made the fourth round at the Miami Open after seeing off Alizé Cornet and 17th seed Johanna Konta before succumbing to fifth seed Elina Svitolina from a set up. Opening her season's campaign on clay in Charleston, Kvitová scored her career's maiden win on green clay surface by defeating Aussie Storm Sanders, before falling to eventual runner-up Danka Kovinić in the next round, in straight sets. Then, as the defending champion in
Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the Sw ...
, she saw off the likes of top-20 oppositions in Jennifer Brady and Maria Sakkari to reach the quarterfinals where she was stopped by Svitolina despite having led by a set, once again, and having two match points this time around. She then advanced past Marie Bouzková, Angelique Kerber and Veronika Kudermetova to make her sixth quarterfinal in
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
where she lost to world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty in three sets. Then, in
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
, Kvitová was inflicted her first defeat to a player ranked outside the top 100 for the first time in more than three years when she lost to Vera Zvonareva in the second round. At the
French Open The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ve ...
, 11th-seeded Kvitová saved a match point in the first round against Greet Minnen en route to a win from a set down but then was forced to withdraw from the tournament due to an ankle injury sustained during media duties there. She would return to action three weeks later at the inaugural Bad Homburg Open, her first tournament on grass courts since Wimbledon two years ago. Seeded first, Kvitová made a semifinal run with wins over Katarzyna Piter,
Ann Li Ann Louie Li (born January 17, 1995 in Bangkok, Thailand), popularly known as Ann Li, is a Filipino–Taiwanese businesswoman, fashion influencer, former actress, model, photographer, and television personality. She splits her time between M ...
and fifth seed Podoroska. She lost in the last four to fourth seed Kerber in three sets, despite having led by a set and a break. At Wimbledon, however, Kvitová was sent packing in the opening round by fellow Grand Slam champion Sloane Stephens in straight sets, and it marked the 10th occasion in her career where she fell at the first hurdle at the Grand Slams. On home soil, at the
Prague Open In tennis, Prague Open may refer to: * Prague Open (1987–1999) * ATP Prague Open * WTA Prague Open The Prague Open (currently branded as the Livesport Prague Open for sponsorship reasons) is a professional women's tennis tournament held in Pr ...
, Kvitová rode a three-match losing streak for the first time since the tour suspension was lifted last summer, when she tumbled out in the opening round to Slovak
Rebecca Šramková Rebecca Šramková (; born 19 October 1996) is a Slovak tennis player. She has career-high WTA rankings of 111 in singles, achieved on 8 May 2017, and 364 in doubles, reached on 24 May 2021. On the ITF Women's Circuit, she has won ten singles tit ...
in three sets. Kvitová then recorded her fourth appearance at the
Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The ina ...
, her third in the singles discipline, and was selected as co-flag bearer alongside basketball player
Tomáš Satoranský Tomáš Satoranský (born 30 October 1991) is a Czech professional basketball player for FC Barcelona of the Spanish Liga ACB and the EuroLeague. Standing at , he primarily plays at the point guard position, but he can also play as a shooting gu ...
. In tennis competition, she saw off Italy's Jasmine Paolini in her opener before taking her earliest loss at the event, in the hands of Belgian Alison van Uytvanck in the second round, besides being inflicted her first bagel set at the Games in the process. The following month, Kvitová returned during the North American summer swing and opened with a loss to eventual champion Camila Giorgi in the third round of
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...
. She then reached her third quarterfinal in
Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line w ...
, her most of such showings at a 1000-level event in North America, and best result in more than three months, where she faced Kerber but was forced to retire down a set due to a stomach issue. At the US Open, 10th seed Kvitová recorded back-to-back wins at the Grand Slams for the first time this year, to reach the third round where she was beaten by 17th seed and eventual semifinalist Sakkari in straight sets. The loss marked the second time in her career she did not reach a second week at the Grand Slams, after 2018. Kvitová made two more appearances before closing her 2021 season, in
Ostrava Ostrava (; pl, Ostrawa; german: Ostrau ) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic, and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It has about 280,000 inhabitants. It lies from the border with Poland, at the confluences of four riv ...
and Indian Wells, and made the last four in the former where she lost to eventual champion Kontaveit before bowing out in the third round of the latter to eventual finalist Victoria Azarenka, both defeats coming in straight sets. She subsequently ended 2021 ranked world No. 17, her first top-20 finish since 2016 and second of her career in total.


2022: Early struggles and resurgence

Kvitová opened 2022 with a debut showing at the Adelaide International where she was unseeded, and drew local Aussie Priscilla Hon in the opening round but crashed out in three sets, despite having led by a set and a break. She then saved two match points to beat
Arantxa Rus Arantxa Rus (; born 13 December 1990) is a Dutch tennis player. In 2008, she won the girl's singles title at the Australian Open, defeating Jessica Moore from Australia in the final. With this win she went from 35th to second place on the junio ...
in the first round of
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...
, but then lost to Ons Jabeur in straight sets. Kvitová was the 20th seed at the
Australian Open The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Ope ...
, her first seeding in the 17–24 range at the Grand Slams, but took another early loss to Romania's Sorana Cîrstea for the second year running, this time in the first round. Her season start struggles continued into February with a loss to another Romanian in Irina-Camelia Begu, also her first ever defeat to the latter, in the second round of St. Petersburg, a rematch of their second-round encounter here four years ago. She then reached the quarterfinals in
Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, wikt:دبي, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the List of cities in the United Arab Emirates#Major cities, most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 ...
after seeing off Camila Giorgi and world No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka, the latter being her first top 10 win in nearly two years. In the last eight, however, she came up short to Jeļena Ostapenko in three sets, despite having served for the match twice, and having a match point under her belt. The following week in
Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor (city), Al Khor, it is home to m ...
, defending champion Kvitová avenged her St. Petersburg loss to Begu in the opening round but then had to retire down a set to 16th seed Elise Mertens in the next round due to a wrist inflammation. The loss meant that for the first time since 2017, Kvitová failed to reach a final in the Middle East, and she also exited the top 30 for the first time since her top-30 debut in January 2011. After yet another third-round exit in Indian Wells, this time to eventual finalist Maria Sakkari, Kvitová recorded her best result in more than six months with a third quarterfinal showing in
Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...
, defeating
Clara Burel Clara Burel (; born 24 March 2001) is a French tennis player. On 21 February 2022, she peaked at No. 74 in the WTA singles rankings. In singles, she reached two Grand Slam junior finals and won two silver medals at the Youth Summer Olympics. ...
,
Lauren Davis Lauren Davis (born October 9, 1993) is an American professional tennis player. Known for her aggressive backhand, speed, and clay-court strength, she won her first title on the WTA Tour at the Auckland Open and reached a career-high singles ra ...
and 21st seed Veronika Kudermetova along the way. There, she lost to incoming world No. 1
Iga Świątek Iga Natalia Świątek (; born 31 May 2001) is a Polish professional tennis player. She is currently ranked world No. 1 by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA). Świątek is a three-time major singles champion, having won the French Open in 20 ...
in straight sets. Kvitová opened her season on clay with a couple of first-round exits, in Charleston and
Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the Sw ...
, the former via retirement – making it her first losing streak on this surface at the tour level since 2018 when she also lost her opening matches in the same two tournaments. Her losing streak was extended to four, her first such since end of 2019, when she crashed out in the opening round of
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
to Jil Teichmann, her earliest exit here since 2010. Kvitová's string of recent poor results saw her fall to a 12-year low of world No. 34 in the rankings after Madrid, which is also her equal-lowest ranking since the year-end rankings of 2010. At the
French Open The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ve ...
, 32nd seed Kvitová scored her first win on clay of the year when she beat Hungary's
Anna Bondár Anna Bondár (born 27 May 1997) is a Hungarian tennis player. She has career-high WTA rankings of No. 50 in singles, achieved on 18 July 2022, and world No. 47 in doubles, achieved on 24 October 2022. She is the current No. 1 Hungarian WTA player ...
in the first round, making it her 30th victory of the tournament. However, she lost in the next round to Daria Saville in straight sets. Kvitová began her season on grass with a loss to an in-form Beatriz Haddad Maia in her opening match at
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...
. However, she bounced back from her third losing streak of the season by lifting her first title in
Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the l ...
the following week. En route to her second final here, 14th-seeded Kvitová saw off Donna Vekic and Katie Boulter in her first two matches, before dispatching Harriet Dart to return to the last four here for the first time since 2011. There, she avenged her Birmingham defeat to 15th seed Haddad Maia and in the championship round, denied the eighth seed and defending champion Ostapenko a completed title defence, winning the final in straight sets, to collect her fifth title on the surface and 29th of her career. At Wimbledon, 25th seed Kvitová prevailed over Jasmine Paolini and Ana Bogdan to reach the third round here for just the third time since she last won the title in 2014. There, however, she succumbed to fourth seed
Paula Badosa Paula Badosa Gibert () (born 15 November 1997) is a Spanish professional tennis player. She has been ranked as high as world No. 2 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), which she achieved on 25 April 2022, and No. 124 in doubles, at ...
in a tight straight-set defeat – making it the third edition of Wimbledon consecutively where she lost on Centre Court. Nevertheless, Kvitová ended her 2022 grass exploits with seven wins on the surface, her highest such count since 2014. During the North American summer stretch, an unseeded Kvitová exited the Canadian Open at the first hurdle, her earliest defeat here since 2010, in the hands of Alison Riske-Amritraj. The following week in
Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line w ...
, however, her form improved as she exacted revenge against the likes of Teichmann, Cirstea and fifth seed Jabeur to reach the last eight, the latter win made 2022 the first season since 2019 where she recorded multiple wins over an opponent ranked inside the top 10. In her fourth quarterfinal showing here, also her fourth of 2022, Kvitová defeated
Ajla Tomljanović Ajla Tomljanović ( ; ; born 7 May 1993) is an Australian professional tennis player. She has won four singles and three doubles titles on the ITF Circuit. On 31 October 2022, she reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 33. On 5 Janu ...
on their debut encounter. In the semifinals, she defeated former champion Madison Keys, in their ninth meeting in total and a rematch of their opening-round clash here last year, to move to her 40th career final and her first in North America since New Haven seven years ago. In the final, she was swept aside by qualifier Caroline Garcia in straight sets, in what was their ninth overall meeting, and a rematch of their second-round encounter here seven years ago. The runner-up finish was the 11th of Kvitová's career and she has now lost her last three finals at the 1000-level in succession. At the US Open, 21st seed Kvitová scored her first win over a top 10 player at the Grand Slams in five years when she saved match points to beat ninth seed Garbiñe Muguruza in the third round – a rematch of their last 16 meeting here in 2017 which was also the aforementioned Kvitová win over a top 10 player at this level. The victory earned herself the 600th win of her career across all levels besides placing her in her first second week appearance at the Grand Slams in two years. In the next round, however, she lost to Jessica Pegula in straight sets. It meant that for the first time since 2009, Kvitová did not reach a quarterfinal at the Grand Slams in two consecutive years.Nevertheless, owing to her strong results in past two months, Kvitová saw her ranking return to the top 20 for the first time since January this year. Kvitová returned from a month's break in October, firstly on home soil at the Ostrava Open where she returned to the quarterfinals here, for the second year running, her fifth such result of the season, and 99th of her career, but suffered defeat in the hands of fellow Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina. In her last tournament of the year, seeded 16th in her debut at the
Guadalajara Open The Guadalajara Open is a defunct men's tennis tournament that was played on the Grand Prix tennis circuit in 1978. The event was held in Guadalajara, Mexico and was played on outdoor clay courts. Unseeded Gene Mayer won the singles title while San ...
, she beat fellow leftie Bernarda Pera in her opener for the second time in three weeks before succumbing to fellow Grand Slam champion Bianca Andreescu from a set up in the next round. The result also meant that for the second consecutive season, Kvitová lost her final match of the year to a fellow Grand Slam champion, having beaten a fellow left-hander in the prior round. Kvitová subsequently recorded her best ranking of the season after the event, at world No. 16, effectively improving her ranking by more than half, dating back to summer earlier in the season.


Playing style

Kvitová uses the pinpoint service stance and is known for her fast and well-placed serves. As a left-handed player, she executes the shot well by serving out wide away from her opponent, especially on the advantage-side of the court to her opponent's backhand, and then coming forward to finish off the point with a winner down the line. She is also noted for her exceptional timing. On forehands, she prefers to take the ball early, thus allowing her to produce down-the-line winners effectively. On backhands, she utilizes all the important muscle groups to produce shots with exceptional amount of power. When returning, she uses a short compact motion which allows her to return aggressively regardless of the serve speed. She is also known to attack weak second serves by producing powerful winners. She also possesses notable amount of variety in her game. Her volleys tend to come more from her forehand, her stronger side, which she executes by moving her racket in a straight line, also allowing her to disguise the shot well enough from her opponents. In the slice department, she has the ability to keep the ball low and performs the shot better on her backhand wing. Due to her tall frame, she is known to make up for her lack of speed by playing close to the baseline. Her game suits the fast courts and she cites grass as her favourite surface. However, due to her high-risk game and aggressive style of play she is known to produce a high number of unforced errors in matches. Movement is another weakness in her game though it has shown significant improvement over the last couple of years as she is now able to run down more balls than before. She is known for her inconsistencies, inability to maintain focus during matches as well as impatience mid-rally. Kvitová sometimes struggles against defensive players, including Angelique Kerber, Simona Halep and Elina Svitolina, who prolong points to the extent that Kvitová feels she must hit a winner, thus increasing the chances of producing an unforced error. Against such opponents, she has been shown to break down physically due to her opponent's use of court craft, consistency and patience on court. However, when Kvitová is at her best, she is extremely dangerous, as seen in the final of the 2015 Madrid Open against Svetlana Kuznetsova where she hit 33 winners in the 66-minute contest, an average of a winner every two minutes, which is more than double her unforced error count of 14 too. Another similar illustration was witnessed in the final of the
2014 Wimbledon Championships The 2014 Wimbledon Championships was a tennis tournament played on grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London in the United Kingdom. It was the 128th edition of the Wimbledon Championships and were held ...
against
Eugenie Bouchard Eugenie "Genie" Bouchard (; french: Eugénie Bouchard, ; born February 25, 1994) is a Canadian tennis player. At the 2014 Wimbledon Championships, she became the first Canadian-born player representing Canada to reach the final of a Grand Slam t ...
where Kvitová fired 28 winners in 55 minutes, against just 12 unforced errors, to lift her second Grand Slam title.


Rivalries


Kvitová vs. Kerber

Kvitová and Angelique Kerber have met 16 times, with the head-to-head currently tied at 8–8. Their first three meetings came in 2012, the first in
Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the Sw ...
where Kvitová won in straight sets. Kerber then won their two next clashes in the quarterfinals of
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and the semifinals of
Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line w ...
, both in three sets. Kvitová followed up with three consecutive wins in their next meetings – in the final of the Pan Pacific Open and the round-robin stage of the
WTA Tour Championships WTA may refer to: Organizations * Washington Trails Association * Whatcom Transportation Authority *Waskahegan Trail Association, the management board for the Waskahegan Trail *Water Transit Authority, former name of the San Francisco Bay Area Wa ...
, both in 2013, and the Fed Cup final in 2014, all in three sets. That same winning streak then turned to Kerber's favour – in the round-robin stage of the
WTA Finals The WTA Finals (formerly known as the WTA Tour Championships or WTA Championships) is a tournament of the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) played annually at the end of the season. The event is uniquely reserved for players at the top of the WTA ...
in 2015, the semifinals of
Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the Sw ...
and the fourth round of the US Open, the latter two in 2016. In their tenth clash, in the third round of
Wuhan Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei Province in the People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the ninth-most populous Chinese city a ...
in 2016, Kvitová edged past Kerber in three sets in a match that lasted over three-and-a-half hours, which is also their longest match to date. Then, in the semifinals of the Fed Cup in 2018, Kvitová saw off Kerber in straight sets, her first such win over the German since their first meeting, only for Kerber to exact revenge in their opening-round clash in
Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the Sw ...
a few days later. Kvitová has since won their next two meetings, firstly in the last eight of
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in 2019, and then in the second round of
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
in 2021, both in straight sets, the latter being Kvitová's first win over Kerber on clay outdoors. Their fifteenth encounter came much later in 2021, on grass in
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, their first meeting on the surface, and fifth to take place in Germany. This time, Kerber exacted revenge by coming back from a set and a break deficit to prevail over Kvitová. They next met in August 2021, in the quarterfinals of the Western & Southern Open, where Kvitová had to retire in the second set due to illness.


Kvitová vs. Wozniacki

Kvitová and
Caroline Wozniacki Caroline Wozniacki (; born 11 July 1990) is a Danish former professional tennis player. She was ranked world No. 1 in singles for a total of 71 weeks, including at the end of 2010 and 2011. She achieved the top ranking for the first time on 11 ...
met 14 times. Kvitová leads the head-to-head 8–6. They played each other at least once a year, beginning in 2009 until 2018. Their first meeting came in 2009 in the second round of the Swedish Open with Wozniacki winning comfortably. The following year, in the first round of the Madrid Open, Wozniacki beat Kvitová once again. Two months later, Kvitová scored her first win over Wozniacki in the fourth round of the
Wimbledon Championships The Wimbledon Championships, commonly known simply as Wimbledon, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is widely regarded as the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London, since 1877 and is pla ...
, winning with the loss of just two games. At the end of the year, the two met in the third round of the China Open where Wozniacki beat Kvitová comfortably once more and ensured herself the world No. 1 ranking as a result. Kvitová then proceeded to win their next three clashes – in the round-robin stage of the 2011 WTA Tour Championships,
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semifinals in 2012 and
Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, wikt:دبي, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the List of cities in the United Arab Emirates#Major cities, most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 ...
semifinals in 2013. Wozniacki exacted revenge by winning their next two meetings – in the third round of
Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line w ...
in 2013 and the round-robin stage of the
2014 WTA Finals The 2014 WTA Finals was a women's tennis tournament in Singapore from October 17 to October 26, 2014, and was the 44th edition of the singles event and the 39th edition of the doubles competition. The tournament was held at the Singapore Indoor S ...
. After that, Kvitová won their next four meetings in a row, all on hard courts – the
New Haven New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,023 ...
semifinals in 2015, second round of the Rio Olympics in 2016, third round of
Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...
in 2017 and the semifinals of
Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor (city), Al Khor, it is home to m ...
in 2018, the latter where Wozniacki served for the match twice. Wozniacki then ended the losing streak with a win in their last clash, the round robin stage of the 2018 WTA Finals where she edged past Kvitová in three sets. Wozniacki then retired in 2020 after the Australian Open.


Kvitová vs. Radwańska

Kvitová and Agnieszka Radwańska met 13 times. Kvitová leads the head-to-head 8–5. Kvitová dominated the early stages of their rivalry, winning five of their first six clashes. Their first meeting came in the semifinals of the 2009 Linz Open which Kvitová won in straight sets. Their next two encounters came in 2011, the first in quarterfinals of
Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the l ...
where Kvitová came back from a set down to beat Radwańska, and then in the round-robin stage of the
WTA Tour Championships WTA may refer to: Organizations * Washington Trails Association * Whatcom Transportation Authority *Waskahegan Trail Association, the management board for the Waskahegan Trail *Water Transit Authority, former name of the San Francisco Bay Area Wa ...
which Kvitová won in straight sets. A year later, also in the round-robin stage of the
WTA Tour Championships WTA may refer to: Organizations * Washington Trails Association * Whatcom Transportation Authority *Waskahegan Trail Association, the management board for the Waskahegan Trail *Water Transit Authority, former name of the San Francisco Bay Area Wa ...
, Radwańska scored her first win over Kvitová, thus exacting revenge for her loss from a year ago by winning comfortably in straight sets. Kvitová then went on to win their next two clashes in straight sets – in the quarterfinals of
Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, wikt:دبي, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the List of cities in the United Arab Emirates#Major cities, most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 ...
and the round-robin stage of the
WTA Tour Championships WTA may refer to: Organizations * Washington Trails Association * Whatcom Transportation Authority *Waskahegan Trail Association, the management board for the Waskahegan Trail *Water Transit Authority, former name of the San Francisco Bay Area Wa ...
, both in 2013. At the
2014 WTA Finals The 2014 WTA Finals was a women's tennis tournament in Singapore from October 17 to October 26, 2014, and was the 44th edition of the singles event and the 39th edition of the doubles competition. The tournament was held at the Singapore Indoor S ...
, Radwańska won their round-robin match easily, only for Kvitová to avenge the loss in the semifinals of
New Haven New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,023 ...
the following year. Radwańska followed up by winning their next three encounters – in the final of the 2015 WTA Finals, the quarterfinals of 2016 Indian Wells Open and the semifinals of 2016 Connecticut Open, the latter with the loss of just two games, the most dominant scoreline in all their encounters. The pair did not meet in 2017, the first time since 2010, and in 2018, Kvitová snapped the losing streak by winning their last two clashes – the second round of
Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor (city), Al Khor, it is home to m ...
in three sets, and the opening round of
New Haven New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,023 ...
, their final encounter, in straight sets. Radwańska then retired at the end of 2018.


Kvitová vs. Sharapova

Kvitová and Maria Sharapova met 11 times. Kvitová trails the head-to-head 4–7. Their first meeting came in the semifinals of Memphis back in 2010, which Sharapova won in straight sets. Kvitová then proceeded to claim her first two wins over the Russian, in the final of the
2011 Wimbledon Championships The 2011 Wimbledon Championships was a tennis tournament played on grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London in the United Kingdom. It was the 125th edition of the Wimbledon Championships and were held fro ...
in straight sets and later that year, in the semifinals of the Pan Pacific Open via retirement. Sharapova then went on a five-match winning streak – in the semifinals of the
Australian Open The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Ope ...
, the Women's Stuttgart Open and the
French Open The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ve ...
, all in 2012, and then in 2014, in the quarterfinals of
Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...
and the final of
Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...
. At the
2014 WTA Finals The 2014 WTA Finals was a women's tennis tournament in Singapore from October 17 to October 26, 2014, and was the 44th edition of the singles event and the 39th edition of the doubles competition. The tournament was held at the Singapore Indoor S ...
, Kvitová gained her revenge by beating Sharapova in straight sets in their round-robin match, and then scored another win here the following year in the semifinals, both in straight sets. Their final encounter came in the 2015 Fed Cup final, where Sharapova edged past Kvitová in three sets. Sharapova then retired in February 2020.


Kvitová vs. Li

Kvitová and Li Na met seven times. Kvitová trails the head-to-head 3–4. All their encounters came throughout 2011 to 2013, the first being the semifinals of the 2011 Madrid Open which Kvitová won comfortably in straight sets. Later that month, in the fourth round of the
French Open The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ve ...
, Li exacted revenge by coming back from a set down to beat Kvitová, and would go on to win the title. The following year, they clashed in the semifinals of
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...
where Li, once more, beat Kvitová despite being a set down, this time denying Kvitová the No. 1 ranking. Later that year, Kvitová scored her second win over Li, in the
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...
final which she won in three sets to snap a 10-month title drought and capture her first title of 2012. They met thrice in 2013. The first two came in the quarterfinals of
Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the Sw ...
which Li won, and the quarterfinals of
Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...
which Kvitová won, the latter in three sets. In their final meeting, the semifinals of the
WTA Tour Championships WTA may refer to: Organizations * Washington Trails Association * Whatcom Transportation Authority *Waskahegan Trail Association, the management board for the Waskahegan Trail *Water Transit Authority, former name of the San Francisco Bay Area Wa ...
, Li saw off Kvitová in straight sets. Li then retired in August 2014.


Kvitová vs. Venus Williams

Kvitová and Venus Williams have met eight times with Kvitová currently leading the head-to-head 5–3. With the exception of one, all of their encounters have gone to a decider. Their first meeting came in 2008 in the opening round at Memphis where Kvitová shocked then-eighth-ranked Williams for her maiden top-10 career win. Williams exacted revenge four years later in the second round of the Miami Open. Kvitová subsequently went on a three-match winning streak – in the
Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...
semifinals in 2013, the second round of
Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor (city), Al Khor, it is home to m ...
and the third round of the
Wimbledon Championships The Wimbledon Championships, commonly known simply as Wimbledon, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is widely regarded as the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London, since 1877 and is pla ...
, the latter two in 2014. Their next two meetings both came in the United States, with Williams emerging victorious on home soil both times, firstly at the 2017 US Open quarterfinals, and then in the second round of the 2019 Indian Wells Open where in the latter, she recovered from a set and double break deficit to come back and win the match. In their most recent encounter, in the second round of the
2021 Yarra Valley Classic The 2021 Yarra Valley Classic was a tournament on the 2021 WTA Tour, one of six events in the 2021 Melbourne Summer Series. It was played on outdoor hard courts in Melbourne, Australia. It was organised as a lead-up tournament to the 2021 Austral ...
, Kvitová exacted revenge by clinching the maiden straight-set win in their head-to-head.


Kvitová vs. Barty

Kvitová and
Ashleigh Barty Ashleigh is the feminine form of the Old English name Ashley, which means "dweller near the ash tree forest". It is most common in the United States and United Kingdom. Notable people B *Ashleigh Ball (born 1983), Canadian voice actress * Ashle ...
have met ten times, with the head-to-head levelled at 5–5, in what was described in February 2020 as "the best rivalry at the moment on the WTA Tour". They first met in 2012 at the
French Open The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ve ...
where, in her maiden Grand Slam main draw appearance, Barty was soundly defeated in straight sets. The pair's next clash came more than five years later, in 2017, in the final of
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...
where Kvitová came back from a set down to claim the title, before replicating a similar victory in the
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...
final in 2019 to lift the title. They met once more two weeks later in the quarterfinals of the
Australian Open The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Ope ...
where Kvitová moved past Barty in straight sets. Barty then went on to record her first win against Kvitová two months later in the quarterfinals of the Miami Open. She would proceed with a further three consecutive victories – in the quarterfinals of the 2019 China Open, in the round-robin stage of the
2019 WTA Finals The 2019 WTA Finals, also known by its sponsored name Shiseido WTA Finals Shenzhen, was a women's tennis tournament held in Shenzhen, China. It was the 49th edition of the singles event and the 44th edition of the doubles competition. The tourna ...
, and in the quarterfinals of the
2020 Australian Open The 2020 Australian Open was a Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam tennis tournament that took place at Melbourne Park, from 20 January to 2 February 2020. It was the 108th edition of the Australian Open, the 52nd in the Open Era, and the first Gran ...
, a rematch of their quarterfinal clash here a year ago, the latter two in straight sets. In the semifinals of the 2020 Qatar Open, Kvitová snapped the losing streak, recording her fifth win over Barty in the process, also her sixth win over a reigning world No. 1, the prior such win coming at the same stage of this tournament against Wozniacki two years back. That win would also remain as Kvitová's most recent win over a player ranked inside the top 10 for the next 24 months. The following year, Barty levelled the rivalry once more, with a three-set victory in the Madrid Open quarterfinals, the pair's first meeting on clay after nearly nine years, and their third in the last eight of a 1000-level event — which would also prove to be their final encounter. Barty would go on to retire in March 2022.


Personal life

In the past, Kvitová was in relationship with Czech tennis players
Adam Pavlásek Adam Pavlásek (born 8 October 1994) is a tennis player playing on the ATP Challenger Tour from the Czech Republic. He reached his career-high ATP singles ranking of World No. 72 in January 2017 and doubles ranking of World No. 94 in October 2022 ...
and later
Radek Štěpánek Radek Štěpánek (; born 27 November 1978) is a Czech former professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking was world No. 8 and best doubles ranking was world No. 4. Štěpánek's biggest achievements are reaching two Masters 10 ...
. She then began dating Czech hockey player Radek Meidl in June 2014. In December 2015, it was officially announced by the Czech media that the couple were engaged. The news was subsequently confirmed by both Meidl and Kvitová. The couple split in May 2016. As of August 2021, Kvitová has been seeing her coach Jiří Vaněk, since the early summer of that year. They became engaged in July 2022.


Home invasion and robbery

On 20 December 2016, Kvitová was robbed at her apartment in Prostějov, Czech Republic, suffering multiple lacerations to the tendons and nerves on her left hand and fingers while trying to defend herself. The knife-wielding attacker left with $190 worth of cash and is suspected to be a male in his mid-thirties. She underwent surgery to repair the damage to her hand, and was expected to sit out the next six months in order to fully recover. Three days later, in her first press conference since her surgery, Kvitová revealed that she had regained movement in her left hand. In early January 2017, it was reported that Kvitová's recovery was going according to plan, and that she had gradually begun doing exercises with her injured fingers. Moreover, her local tennis club offered a reward amounting $3850 for information leading to the whereabouts of her attacker. By March 2017, Kvitová had regained the use of her left hand, and could now use it for daily activities without any complications. Her psychological recovery was also on track, and she had completed fitness training in the
Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, :es:Canarias, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to ...
. The following month, following good progress in her recovery, she provisionally put her name down for the French Open. On 23 May 2017, Kvitová announced that she would play the
Wimbledon Championships The Wimbledon Championships, commonly known simply as Wimbledon, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is widely regarded as the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London, since 1877 and is pla ...
the following month, and would make a last-minute decision, later in the week, on whether to compete at the
French Open The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ve ...
. Kvitová subsequently confirmed her participation at the latter event, thus marking her return to competition where she defeated American
Julia Boserup Julia Boserup (born September 9, 1991) is an American retired tennis player of Danish descent. Boserup began playing tennis at age six, after her mother, a native of Denmark, enrolled her in group tennis lessons. She was home schooled in high ...
in her opening match. Almost a year after the attack, on 16 November 2017, Czech police announced that they had shelved investigations on the attack since they had still not identified the attacker. Then, in May 2018, it was revealed that a suspect had been taken into custody. More than five months later, a Czech state prosecutor revealed that an unnamed 33-year-old man (later identified as criminal recidivist Radim Žondra) had been charged with assault over a knife attack on a woman in Prostějov on 20 December 2016, which matched the date and location of Kvitová's attack. The following year, on 6 February 2019, at a Czech regional court in
Brno Brno ( , ; german: Brünn ) is a city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers, Brno has about 380,000 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in the Czech Republic ...
, Kvitová testified at the trial of the man charged with the alleged assault on her. Then, on 26 March 2019, Žondra was sentenced by the court to eight years in jail. On 8 January 2020, an appeals court raised the sentence to 11 years, the verdict final.


Endorsements

Kvitová endorses Nike apparel and footwear. She currently uses the
Wilson Wilson may refer to: People *Wilson (name) ** List of people with given name Wilson ** List of people with surname Wilson * Wilson (footballer, 1927–1998), Brazilian manager and defender * Wilson (footballer, born 1984), full name Wilson R ...
Pro Staff 97 racquet, a similar version to Roger Federer's. She is represented by
IMG img or IMG is an abbreviation for image. img or IMG may also refer to: * IMG (company), global sports and media business headquartered in New York City but with its main offices in Cleveland, originally known as the "International Management Group ...
, following a signed agreement in August 2014. Her other sponsors include UniCredit Bank and Česká pošta, a Czech postal service operator. Right To Play, a global organisation which focuses on using sports and games to educate and empower children facing adversity, named Kvitová as its Global Athlete Ambassador in January 2015. Three months later, it was announced that Kvitová had signed a multi-year contract with
Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. ...
-based watchmaker, Ritmo Mundo. In June 2016, Czech jewelry manufacturer ALO Diamonds entered Kvitová's list of endorsements after both parties signed a one-year deal. In May 2018, it was revealed by Kvitová that she has joined TAG Heuer as an ambassador. Kvitová is also an ambassador for French skincare brand
L'Occitane en Provence L'Occitane en Provence, "the Occitan woman (in Provence)," commonly known as L'Occitane, is a French luxury retailer of body, face, hair, fragrances, and home products based in Manosque, France. Founded in 1976 by Olivier Baussan, with the pur ...
. Kvitová was named world's sixth highest-paid female athlete by Forbes in 2015, ranking fifth among tennis players.


Career statistics


Grand Slam performance timelines


Singles

Note: ''Kvitová withdrew from the 2021 French Open, and received walkovers at the 2013 Wimbledon Championships and 2022 US Open, all before her second round match, and all of which do not officially count as a loss or win.''


Doubles


Grand Slam tournament finals


Singles: 3 (2 titles, 1 runner-up)


Year-end championship finals


Singles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)


Records


Awards

;2010 * WTA Newcomer of the Year ;2011 *
WTA Player of the Year This article lists the WTA Awards given by the Women's Tennis Association to players and coaches for achievements during a season or their careers. Player of the Year Doubles Team of the Year Most Improved Player Newcomer of the Yea ...
*
WTA Most Improved Player of the Year This article lists the WTA Awards given by the Women's Tennis Association to players and coaches for achievements during a season or their careers. Player of the Year Doubles Team of the Year Most Improved Player Newcomer of the Yea ...
* Karen Krantzcke Sportsmanship Award * Fan Favorite Breakthrough Player *
ITF World Champion The International Tennis Federation (ITF) designates a World Champion each year based on performances throughout the year, emphasising the Grand Slam tournaments,ITF Constitution, p.26, Rule 2.2(a)(iii) and also considering team events such as th ...
* Czech Athlete of the Year * Czech Athlete Team of the Year – Fed Cup Team ;2012 * US Open Series Champion ;2013 * Karen Krantzcke Sportsmanship Award ;2014 * Diamond Aces Award * Karen Krantzcke Sportsmanship Award * Czech Athlete of the Year * Czech Athlete Team of the Year – Fed Cup Team ;2015 * Karen Krantzcke Sportsmanship Award * Czech Athlete Team of the Year – Fed Cup Team ;2016 * Karen Krantzcke Sportsmanship Award * Fan Favorite Match Of The Year * Czech Athlete Team of the Year – Fed Cup Team ;2017 * US Open Sportsmanship Award * Karen Krantzcke Sportsmanship Award ;2018 * Karen Krantzcke Sportsmanship Award * Czech Athlete Team of the Year – Fed Cup Team ;2019 * Karen Krantzcke Sportsmanship Award


References


External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kvitova, Petra 1990 births Living people Stabbing survivors Czech expatriates in Monaco Olympic tennis players of the Czech Republic People from Bílovec People from Monte Carlo Wimbledon champions Tennis players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Tennis players at the 2012 Summer Olympics Tennis players at the 2016 Summer Olympics Grand Slam (tennis) champions in women's singles Hopman Cup competitors Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic medalists in tennis Olympic bronze medalists for the Czech Republic Czech female tennis players Tennis players at the 2020 Summer Olympics World number 1 ranked female tennis players ITF World Champions Sportspeople from the Moravian-Silesian Region