Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova has announced her retirement from professional tennis at the conclusion of this summer’s season.
The Czech tennis star, who secured Wimbledon titles in 2011 and 2014, and also reached the Australian Open final in 2019, will conclude her career after the US Open in September.
Kvitova, who was only 21 when she defeated Maria Sharapova in the 2011 Wimbledon final, has seen her ranking decline in recent years, with her last Grand Slam quarter-final appearance in 2020. She took a break from the sport in 2024 for the birth of her first child, returning to competition in February.
In a statement on X, Kvitova expressed her gratitude, stating she had exceeded her own expectations throughout her career. She said, external: “I never imagined becoming a professional tennis player, let alone traveling the world and playing in such prestigious stadiums.”
“I’ve been incredibly fortunate to achieve so much over the past 19 years, surpassing even my wildest dreams.”
Notably, Kvitova was one of the few non-British players included in the initial list of Wimbledon wildcards announced Wednesday. Her 2011 Wimbledon victory marked the first time a Czech player had won the title since Jana Novotna in 1998, a moment witnessed by both Novotna and Martina Navratilova from the Royal Box.
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