Kvitova bids ‘Wimby’ goodbye after two trophies and a proposal

Petra Kvitova’s goodbye to her “special place” Wimbledon was always going to be emotional.

Not everyone has celebrated their biggest professional and personal milestones here.

It was here that she won her two Grand Slam titles and on Centre Court that she got engaged, and it was during the Championships fortnight last year that she gave birth to her son.

So when Court One witnessed her final match at the All England Club before she retires later this year, the tears flowed for her and the tissues came out in the stands.

A 6-3 6-1 defeat by 10th seed Emma Navarro was met with a standing ovation for a player who has long held a reputation of being one of the nicest players on the tour.

Given the rare honour of a few minutes on the microphone despite losing the match, Kvitova said she wished they “could have played for a bit longer”.

“I will miss Wimbledon, I will miss tennis, I will miss you fans – but I am ready for the next chapter of life as well,” the 35-year-old said.

“I can’t wait to be back as a member. “

With her family watching from her box, she thanked them all, including the few coaches she has had, adding: “My first was my dad, my last one is my husband. “

Her voice broke when she spoke in Czech when she addressed her family, and she took her time leaving the court and taking in her final moments there.

She had been outplayed by American Navarro in an error-strewn performance, the final curtain coming when she double-faulted on match point.

But there were occasional glimpses of the blistering forehand that drove her success on grass, as well as the thumping serves which were part of a game that propelled her to world number two.

“It was surreal looking across the court to see her serving bombs at me,” Navarro said. “It was intimidating at times.

“Petra’s had an amazing career. It was a pleasure to play against her today. “

Brought up in a sleepy Moravian town where she played on the local clay courts, grass was not a natural surface for Kvitova and her first two appearances at the All England Club ended in first-round exits.

However, with a big serve and booming baseline shots, she had the perfect game for grass and from 2010 to 2015 reached at least the quarter-finals, lifting the trophy in 2011 and 2014.

In December 2016 she suffered a career-threatening injury in a knife attack at her home, where the nerves in her racquet-holding hand were severed, but she defied the odds – doctors gave her a 10% chance of competing again – to return five months later.

Since then she has not made it past the fourth round here, though she did make another Grand Slam final at the 2019 Australian Open, but “Wimby”, as she calls it, has always been her favourite tournament.

She missed last year’s Championships while on maternity leave and returned to the tour in February.

She won only one of the nine matches she has played as a mum and announced last month that she would be hanging up her racquet after the US Open in September – but not before accepting a wildcard for one final Wimbledon.