Petra Kvitová biography

Synopsis

Born on March 8, 1990, Petra Kvitová won the 2011 Wimbledon Championship in women's singles event, beating Maria Sharapova. She is currently ranked No. 4 in the world by the Women's Tennis Association. Just months after her Wimbledon victory in 2011, Kvitová won the WTA Tour Championship in the women's singles. Though Kvitová's playing was somewhat dismal throughout 2012—with no major title wins, as well as a loss to Maria Sharapova at the 2012 French Open—she remains one of the top players to watch at Wimbledon in 2012.

Early Life

Born on March 8, 1990 in the Czech Republic, Petra Kvitová began taking tennis lessons as a teenager. She has stated that one of her greatest inspirations is retired tennis player Martina Navratilova. Kvitová, who is six feet tall and plays left-handed, became a professional tennis player in 2006.

Tennis Pro

Kvitová won the 2011 Wimbledon Championship in women's singles event, at the age of 21, beating Maria Sharapova. She is currently ranked No. 4 in the world by the Women's Tennis Association. Just months after her Wimbledon victory in 2011, Kvitová won the WTA Tour Championship in the women's singles.

Though Kvitová's playing was somewhat dismal throughout 2012, with no major title wins, she remains one of the top players to watch at Wimbledon in 2012. In June of 2012, Kvitová suffered a loss to Maria Sharapova in the semifinals round of the French Open. Later that month, she fell in the first round of the Eastbourne Championships to Russian player Ekaterina Makarova. Following that match, second-seeded Kvitová told reporters that, in order to prepare for Wimbledon, she was planning to work tirelessly to improve her game and protect her championship title. "I'm so honoured to return to Wimbledon as the defending champion and I'm looking forward to the match when I step onto the centre court again," she told Reuters. "And I think I will have goose bumps again when I go through the gates for the first time."