Petra Kvitová first attempted to qualify for her first

WTA Tour The WTA Tour is a worldwide top-tier tennis tour for women organized by the Women's Tennis Association. The second-tier tour is the WTA 125K series, and third-tier is the ITF Women's Circuit. The men's equivalent is the ATP Tour. WTA Tour tou ...

tournament at the 2007 ECM Prague Open, but she lost in the second round of qualifying to Ekaterina Ivanova. Her first appearance in the main draw of a WTA Tour tournament came at the 2007 Nordea 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. After reaching the third round of the girls' tournament of the

2007 Wimbledon Championships The 2007 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 121st edition of the Wimbledon Championships and were held fro ...

, Kvitová tried to qualify for the main draw of the 2007 US Open, but lost in the second round of qualifying to

Sandra Klösel Sandra Klösel (born 22 June 1979) is a former tennis player from Germany. Kösel turned professional in July 1995, and won nine singles and six doubles titles on the ITF Circuit. In March 2007, she reached her career-high singles ranking of ...

. She also lost in the first round of qualifying at the

2008 Australian Open The 2008 Australian Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 96th edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, from 14 thr ...

to Nika Ožegović. Her most significant result before 2011 came at the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, where Kvitová, then ranked world No. 62, reached the semifinals, having never previously won a professional match on grass. She defeated, in order,

Sorana Cîrstea Sorana Mihaela Cîrstea (; born 7 April 1990) is a Romanian professional tennis player. In singles, she achieved a career-high ranking of world No. 21 on 12 August 2013. In doubles, her career-high ranking is No. 35, which she reached on 9 March ...

Zheng Jie Zheng Jie (born 5 July 1983) is a retired tennis player from China. In May 2009, she achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 15. Zheng is one of the most successful tennis players from China. She won four WTA singles titles – Ho ...

Victoria Azarenka Victória Fyódarauna Azárenka ( be, Вікторыя Фёдараўна Азаранка; Russian: Виктория Фёдоровна Азаренко; born 31 July 1989) is a Belarusian professional tennis player. Azarenka is a former w ...

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 qualifier

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 ...

before being defeated by world No. 1, 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) for ...

in the semi-finals.Wimbledon 2010: Serena Williams proves too strong for Petra Kvitova
''The Guardian'', 2 July 2010

Yearly summary 2008-2010

2008: Grand Slam debut and entering the Top 50

Kvitová started to regularly participate on the WTA Tour in

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

. After failing to qualify for the Australian Open, she qualified for the

Open Gaz de France 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 Ope ...

, the

Regions Morgan Keegan Championships and the Cellular South Cup The U.S. National Indoor Championships was a tennis tournament that was last held at the Racquet Club of Memphis in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. The event was played on indoor hard courts and usually took place in February. For much of ...

and the Sony Ericsson Open in the first quarter of the year, 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 ...

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 of the former two tournaments, respectively. Thus, she earned her first two WTA main draw wins, the win over the then-eighth-ranked Williams being her first top 10 win. Kvitová made her

Grand Slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

debut at the

2008 French Open The 2008 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 112th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, from 25 May until 8 J ...

, then ranked No. 93 in the world. She lost in the fourth round to

in three sets, having defeated Akiko Morigami,

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 then-world No. 13

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. Later in the year, she reached the quarter-finals of the 2008 Zurich Open, losing there to Ana Ivanovic; this result catapulted her into the world's top fifty for the first time; she would eventually end the year as world no. 44.

2009: First career title

Kvitová started 2009 with a first round loss to top seed Ana Ivanovic 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 seri ...

. Following that, she won her first career title at the Moorilla Hobart International, defeating

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 ...

and

Virginie Razzano Virginie Razzano (born 12 May 1983) is a former French professional tennis player. She won two WTA Tour singles titles, both of them in 2007. Razzano reached her career-high WTA singles ranking of world No. 16 on 14 September 2009. She represen ...

before defeating Fed Cup team-mate and good friend

Iveta Benešová Iveta Benešová () (formerly Melzer, cs, Melzerová; born 1 February 1983) is a Czech former tennis player. She began playing tennis at age of seven and turned professional in 1998. She won two WTA Tour singles and 14 doubles tournaments, and ...

in the final. Her Australian Open debut, which followed soon after, ended in a heavy loss at the hands of

in the first round.Petra Kvitova: A Promising Prospect
''On the Baseline Tennis News'', 6 January 2010 This started a procession of three consecutive losses, which continued into Open GDF Suez, and

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

, before she was able to reach the third round at Indian Wells, losing there to the eventual champion,

Vera Zvonareva Vera Igorevna Zvonareva ( rus, Вера Игоревна Звонарёва, p=ˈvʲɛrə ˈiɡərʲɪvnə zvənɐˈrʲɵvə, a=Vera zvonareva.ogg; born 7 September 1984) is a Russian professional tennis player. She was introduced to tennis at ...

, in straight sets. She withdrew from the

2009 French Open The 2009 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 113th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, from May 24 through ...

due to an ankle injury and lost in the first round of Wimbledon to

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 ...

, those misfortunes conspiring against her to drop to world no. 69 in the rankings. At the US Open, she defeated then-world no. 1

Dinara Safina Dinara Mubinovna Safina (; ; tt-Cyrl, Динара Мөбин кызы Сафина; born April 27, 1986) is a Russian former world No. 1 tennis player. Safina was runner-up in singles at the 2008 French Open, 2009 Australian Open, and the ...

in the third round in three sets, before losing to eventual semi-finalist

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 fourth round. Kvitová was ranked 71 places lower than Safina at the time. At the

Generali Ladies Linz The Linz Open, currently sponsored by Generali Gruppe, is a women's tennis tournament held in Linz, Austria. It is played on indoor hardcourts. The inaugural event took place in 1987 in Wels, Austria and was organized by the ITF as a $10,000 tou ...

, Kvitová reached her second final of the year, but lost in straight sets to Wickmayer. She ended the year ranked 62nd in the world.

2010: First Grand Slam semifinal and rise up the rankings

Kvitová's 2010 season did not start well, as she fell in the final round of qualifying to

Kirsten Flipkens Kirsten "Flipper" Flipkens (; born 10 January 1986) is a Belgian professional tennis player. She has a career-high ranking of No. 13 by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA). Flipkens has won one singles title on the WTA Tour, winning the 2012 T ...

at the Moorilla Hobart International, where she was the defending champion. At the Australian Open, she fell in the second round to world number one, defending and eventual champion

after defeating

Jill Craybas Jill N. Craybas (born July 4, 1974) is an American former professional tennis player. From the 2000 US Open to the 2011 US Open, Craybas competed in 45 consecutive Grand Slam main draws; her best result coming in the 2005 Wimbledon Championships ...

in the first. Shortly after her poor Australian swing, she reached the semifinals of the 2010 Cellular South Cup, losing there to eventual champion

Maria Sharapova Maria Yuryevna Sharapova ( , ; rus, Мари́я Ю́рьевна Шара́пова, p=mɐˈrʲijə ʂɐˈrapəvə, a=Maria_sharapova.ogg; born 19 April 1987) is a Russian former world No. 1 tennis player. She competed on the WTA Tour from 2 ...

. She then reached the second round at both 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 ...

, losing in the latter tournament to eventual champion

Kim Clijsters Kim Antonie Lode Clijsters (; born 8 June 1983) is a Belgian former professional tennis player. Clijsters reached the world No. 1 ranking in both singles and doubles, having held both rankings simultaneously in 2003. She won six major titles, ...

. To kick off the clay court season, Kvitová upset

in the first round 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 ...

, before losing to

Andrea Petkovic Andrea Petkovic (, ; born 9 September 1987) is a German former professional tennis player. Born in Tuzla, SFR Yugoslavia, to Serbian father Zoran and Bosniak mother Amira, she moved to Germany at six months old and turned professional in 2006 a ...

in the second round. She then qualified for

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

the following week, but found herself drawn against top three player

, to whom she lost to in straight sets, in the first round. Her poor clay court season culminated in a first round loss to

Sophie Ferguson Sophie Ferguson (born 19 March 1986, in Sydney) is a former professional Australian tennis player. She won nine titles on the ITF Women's Circuit (six in doubles) and played on the WTA Tour. She reached a career-high singles ranking of world ...

at the French Open. Entering Wimbledon later in the year, Kvitová had never won a professional match on grass courts, however, she would defy that record by reaching her first career Grand Slam semi-final at the tournament. Then ranked 62 in the world, she defeated, in order,

and

before being defeated by world number one, defending and eventual champion

in the semi-finals. Her run to the final four guaranteed her a debut in the top 30 in the week starting 5 July 2010. Following Wimbledon, she failed to reach another top-level quarter-final for the remainder of the year. Including the Wimbledon semi-final loss to Williams, Kvitová endured a six-match losing streak, during which she had five consecutive first-round losses, before ending it by reaching the third round of the US Open (where she was seeded for the first time at a Grand Slam tournament, at 25th), where she lost to defending and eventual champion

; having led 3–0 in the first set, she lost the next twelve games in a row. Although Kvitová failed to reach any finals in 2010, she ended the year ranked world no. 34, her first top 40 finish to a season, and was recognised as the WTA Newcomer of the Year.Kvitova's barrage silences Azarenka in end
''The Independent'', 1 July 2011

Yearly summary 2008-2010

2008: Grand Slam debut and entering the Top 50

2009: First career title

2010: First Grand Slam semifinal and rise up the rankings

Grand Slam performance

Yearly records

Finals

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

ITF Circuit finals

ITF Circuit singles: 9 (7–2)

See also

References

External links