Two-time champion Petra Kvitova is set to play at Wimbledon in May, less than seven months after she was stabbed by an intruder in her home.
The Czech, who required four hours of surgery to her left, playing, hand after the December attack at home in her home city of Prostejov, has made a faster than expected recovery and could even be ready to play in the French Open, which begins in Paris next week.
“She is on track for Wimbledon,” Katie Spellman, Kvitova’s publicity manager, said. “She will make a last minute decision this week about Roland Garros.”
Kvitova, who won Wimbledon in 2011 and 2014, will be included on the official entry list for this year’s Championships, which will be released tomorrow.
Kvitova was attacked at around 8.30am on December 20 by a man who gained access to her apartment block by posing as a utilities man, before holding a knife to her throat.
In pulling the knife away, Kvitova sustained injuries to tendons in all four fingers and the thumb on her left hand. She said she was “shaken, but fortunate to be alive”.
Doctors had said at the time the “best-case scenario” was that Kvitova could be playing tennis again within six months.
Throughout her recovery, the 27-year-old has amazed everyone in her team with her positivity and belief that she would be back on Tour, and sooner rather than later.
Last month, Kvitova said she had left her name on the entry list for the French Open, in part to ensure she had a positive mind-set as she continued her recovery.
Earlier this month, she posted a photo of herself practising in Monte Carlo.
The draw for the French Open is due to be made at Roland Garros on Friday.
Kvitova, who last played in the Fed Cup final against France on November 12, is ranked 16th.
-RNZ
