Former Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova to retire after US Open
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Czech Republic's Petra Kvitova celebrates with the trophy after winning the Wimbledon final in 2014.
PHOTO: REUTERS
PARIS – Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova announced on June 19 that she will be retiring from the professional tennis circuit after this year’s US Open.
The 35-year-old Czech, who is currently ranked down at 572nd in the world, reached a career-high ranking of 2 in 2011 when she won the first of her two Wimbledon titles.
She triumphed again in 2014 and went on to reach the final of the Australian Open in 2019.
This week she was handed a wildcard entry for one last outing on the grass courts of south-west London.
“There comes a day that it is time for a new chapter and that time for me has come now,” the left-handed Kvitova wrote on social media.
“I therefore wanted to share with you that 2025 is my last season on tour as a professional.
“I am excited and very much looking forward to soak in the beauty of playing The Championships, Wimbledon one more time, a place that holds the most cherished memories in my career for me.
“While I am not entirely sure yet what my hardcourt swing in the US will look like, I am intending to finish my active playing career at the US Open in New York later this summer.”
Kvitova won Olympic bronze in 2016 but just before Christmas she was attacked in her home by a knife-wielding robber, suffering cuts to the nerves and tendons in her left-hand.
She was a member of six Czech teams to have won the Fed Cup and won the most recent of her 31 tour titles on the grass in Berlin in 2023.
Kvitova missed the 2024 season in order to give birth to her first child. Since returning, she is 1-6, with her lone win coming in the first round of Rome.
“I could not have asked or wished for anything more,” Kvitova added.
“Tennis has given me everything I have today, and I will continue to be forever grateful to this beautiful sport that I love.”
Meanwhile in tennis action on June 19, Coco Gauff fell at the first hurdle on grass in Berlin 12 days after winning her second Grand Slam title at the French Open.
Recipient of a first-round bye, the American lost 6-3, 6-3 to Chinese qualifier Wang Xinyu.
Gauff, a winner of 10 main tour titles, including the US Open in 2023 and the WTA Finals in 2024, has yet to lift a trophy in a grass-court tournament.
In men’s tennis, world No. 1 Jannik Sinner’s bid to win back-to-back Halle Open titles ended following a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 defeat by Alexander Bublik in the last 16, the top seed’s first loss to a player outside the Top 20 since 2023. AFP, REUTERS
