Two-time Wimbledon champion Kvitova will make her postpartum debut at the WTA 250 Austin this week, having last competed at the 2023 China Open, where she lost to Samsonova in the second round. At that time, the 33-year-old Kvitova had already expressed the idea of retiring.

Kvitova infographic

During the first trimester of pregnancy, Kvitova did not do any tennis training, and by the second trimester, Kvitova began to be able to do some running, workouts and low-intensity batting. In July 2024, Kvitova welcomed the birth of her son Petr, who was unable to train for three to four months due to a caesarean section.

"You can't realize what it's like until you give birth to a child." "It's very hard to describe," Kvitova said emotionally. On this earth, there's a life that comes entirely from you – you can give life to a person, and I think that's nothing short of a miracle. ”

Before giving birth, Kvitova had an illustrious career, winning Wimbledon twice in 2011 and 2014, winning a total of 31 WTA Tour titles and a career prize fund of more than $37 million.

With Svitolina, Naomi Osaka and her friend Bencic back in the ring, the idea of a comeback gradually came to her mind. "These girls are actually very young, of course I'm not the same age as them, but we're used to working hard. Even after pregnancy and childbirth, we know how to play tennis, and we are willing to play tennis. When you've achieved great results in the past, you want to get back to where you belong. ”

"Belinda [Bencic] and I have been in touch and I'm very happy that she's done so well since she came back. Her daughter is 2 and a half months older than my son, so it's pretty funny. She showed us that it's possible to make a comeback after having a baby, and that's a good sign. ”

After Austin, Kvitova will also be a wildcard for the WTA1000 Indian Wells, and as for the clay season, she has not yet clarified her plans for the clay season. After all, Kvitova is "not averse to clay", but she also knows that she needs to play a certain amount of play before the grass season, which is her real focus.

"Actually, I didn't have any expectations." Kvitova, who is about to turn 35 in two weeks, said: "I'm here to compete, and that's very important to me in itself, and sometimes I'm even surprised by what I think, why should I come back? But I feel like I'll regret it later if I don't. ”

"I'm not going to set any goals for myself, I'm never going to go back to the level I was winning and we'll see. I want to enjoy tennis and it takes time. I try to explain to everyone that I am coming back because I love tennis. I miss tennis, I've been in love with it since I was 4 years old, so I think it was my love for the sport that brought me back to tennis. It's going to be tough at first, but let's see how I can handle it. ”

Kvitova wanted to balance her tour with her family life, so she decided to bring her son with her, along with her husband and coach Jiri Vanek, who will be helping to take care of them during the North American season in March. "I can't keep him (my son) at home, I'm going to miss him a lot, so even if I'm out and about, I can enjoy my family life, not just tennis, tennis, tennis."

After 17 months of not playing, Kvitova's world ranking has dropped to No.189 and she is a wild card in Austin, where she will face Bretch of Great Britain in the first round.

(Compiled by Faye Wong, Photo/Visual China)