Kvitova loses to Burrage on return from maternity leave

After missing 17 months of Petra Kvitova’s pregnancy, Britain’s Jodie Burrage came back to win the ATX Open in three sets.

Two-time Wimbledon champion Kvitova, 34, was contesting her first WTA match since 2 October 2023, at the China Open in Beijing.

The Czech started well and won the opening set, but Burrage, a 25-year-old woman, outperformed her and won 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.

Burrage, ranked 189 in the world, will play Australian Ajla Tomljanovic in the second round.

Kvitova, who gave birth to her son, Petr, last July, did not know whether she would return to tennis before her break.

After giving birth, she claimed that seeing other players like Elina Svitolina, Naomi Osaka, and Belinda Bencic do so inspired her to return.

With an early double break of serve, Kvitova returned to the court and jumped into a four-game lead in Austin.

Burrage threatened a comeback when she defeated Kvitova 5-3 to win the opening set, but the Australian Open champion made a comeback.

Kvitova, who turns 35 in March, twice rose to the occasion when Burrage applied pressure in the second set, but the Englishwoman struck once more in the ninth game before holding serve to love to make a decider.

At the start of the third set, neither player was able to capitalize on break point opportunities.

However, Burrage overcame four break points to win the game for 4-4 before beating Kvitova in the next one and extending the contest.

Fran Jones, a fellow Briton, made it to the Mexican Merida Open’s second round.