Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova marked her return to the winner’s circle with a straight-sets victory at the Italian Open—her first win since becoming a mother.
The 34-year-old Czech defeated Romania’s Irina-Camelia Begu 7-5, 6-1 in the opening round in Rome, snapping a four-match losing streak since her comeback. Kvitova had been away from the sport for 15 months following the birth of her son, Petr.
A former world number two and Wimbledon champion in 2011 and 2014, Kvitova admitted after the match that she had been close to walking away from tennis for good.
“I was 95% sure I’d never come back,” she told the WTA. “At that time, I’d had enough of tennis. I thought, ‘I can’t do this anymore,’ so we decided to try for a baby. I didn’t say anything because it wasn’t 100%. But when I finally started hitting balls after the pregnancy, it felt amazing. I was laughing. Every shot I hit, I was like, ‘Wow — it’s still there.’”
Kvitova now faces Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur, the world number 36, in the second round on the clay courts of the Foro Italico.
British roundup: Kartal advances, Norrie gets lucky loser spot
Great Britain’s Sonay Kartal battled back from a set down to defeat Australia’s Kimberly Birrell 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 and book her place in the second round. The 23-year-old, who was ranked outside the top 250 just a year ago, is now up to world number 56 and will face Czech 30th seed Linda Noskova next.
Kartal claimed her first WTA title at the Jasmin Open in Tunisia in 2023 and continues her strong upward trajectory on tour.
Meanwhile, Cameron Norrie was beaten in three sets by Serbia’s Dusan Lajovic in the qualifying rounds but was handed a spot in the main draw as one of three lucky losers, after Zizou Bergs, Jan-Lennard Struff, and Benjamin Bonzi withdrew due to injuries.
Despite a poor first set against Lajovic, which he lost 6-1, Norrie bounced back to take the second 6-4 before eventually losing the decider 6-3. He will now face Australian world number 81 Christopher O’Connell in the opening round.
