ROME — Petra Kvitova expressed relief and a degree of surprise after achieving her first victory since returning to professional tennis at the Internazionali BNL d`Italia.
“It`s slightly peculiar that my initial win came here,” she commented after defeating Irina-Camelia Begu with a score of 7-5, 6-1.
She added, “I`ve never historically played my strongest tennis at this event. Nonetheless, winning certainly feels significantly better than losing.”
The last time Kvitova had managed to win consecutive matches in Rome was a decade prior, when she reached the quarterfinals in 2015.
The former World No. 2 had faced defeat in her first four comeback tournaments, losing to Jodie Burrage in Austin, Varvara Gracheva in Indian Wells, Sofia Kenin in Miami, and Katie Volynets in Madrid – a sequence of results that she acknowledged wasn`t ideal. Yet, despite these early losses, Kvitova`s return has been marked by an unexpected sense of enjoyment.
“I was 95% certain I wouldn`t come back,” she revealed, reflecting on her final tournament before her maternity break in Beijing in 2023. “I felt I had played enough tennis by then, thinking, `I can`t continue.` That`s when we decided to try for a child. I didn`t announce it widely because it wasn`t a completely definite decision yet.”
Following the birth of her son, Petr, in July of the previous year, that remaining 5% uncertainty diminished. Kvitova, who had felt restricted by inactivity during her pregnancy, was eager to pick up a racquet again.
“Once I was finally able to be active after the pregnancy, I played some tennis – and it felt amazing,” she recounted. “I was genuinely laughing. Each time I hit a clean shot, I thought, `Wow, the touch is still there.` While my legs aren`t quite there yet, my hand skills are sometimes really sharp.”
This skill was apparent in the match against Begu, where Kvitova lost her serve only once. This single break occurred when she first attempted to serve for the opening set at 5-4. She quickly rebounded, winning eight of the subsequent nine games. A notable moment included a fantastic backhand winner down the line, hit after scrambling to retrieve a lob.
“Undoubtedly, I`m not as physically fit as I`d like to be,” she admitted. “But even during practice sessions, I could feel my game improving.”
While hitting the ball still brings Kvitova happiness, she sighs noticeably when discussing the other aspects of being a professional tennis player.
“You have to train every day, you have to fight, you have to travel,” she listed, a hint of weariness in her voice. “These aren`t my preferred parts of the job… Practice, the gym, recovery routines – sometimes I just think, `Oh god, not this again?`”
Hotel rooms now feel cramped, especially with Petr starting to crawl everywhere and sleeping less. Kvitova and her husband and coach, Jiri Vanek, now favour renting apartments, which offer more space for their son to play and feel more like home.
Currently though, the pleasure she derives from playing outweighs the less enjoyable aspects. Kvitova is choosing not to set specific targets or deadlines for this phase of her career.
She stated her intention to continue “for however long I am enjoying it.”
In the next round, Kvitova is scheduled to play the No. 27 seed, Ons Jabeur. Kvitova holds a 4-2 lead in their previous encounters, although this upcoming match will be their first on clay.
