NEW YORK — Twice Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova said she has been encouraged by the success of several new mothers on their return to the WTA Tour but the Czech is tempering expectations ahead of her own comeback from maternity leave this week.
The former world No 2, who turns 35 next month, gave birth to her son Petr last July and will return to the WTA Tour in Austin, Texas before high-profile hardcourt events in Indian Wells and Miami.
New mothers Elina Svitolina and Naomi Osaka have both returned to a high level after time away from the game while Belinda Bencic won the Abu Dhabi title this month.
“Those girls are pretty young still of course, I would say my age is different,” Kvitova told the WTA website.
“But we’re used to working hard. Even after pregnancy and giving birth we know what to do and we’re willing to do it. When you already played well before, you want to be back where you belong, basically,” Kvitova. Added according to Reuters.
“Belinda and I are in touch, and it’s nice she’s playing so well. Her daughter is like 2-1/2 months older than our Petr, so that’s fun. She just showed us that it’s possible, coming back after giving birth. That’s a good sign.”
Kvitova meets Briton Jodie Burrage later on Tuesday in her first match in 17 months and she said it felt like a big deal.
“Sometimes I’m really surprised by myself. Like, why I did it? I would have regretted it if I didn’t come back,” she said.
“I’m not putting any goals on myself, I’ll never play as good as I was playing when I was winning tournaments.
“I want to enjoy myself playing tennis and it’ll take time.”
Former world number one Venus Williams, meanwhile, will not compete at next month’s Indian Wells tournament despite the WTA event giving the 44-year-old American a wild card.
Williams, who played only two tournaments last season, said at a speaking event in Denmark that she had not been told of the wildcard before the tournament announced it and added that she was unable to compete due to prior commitments.
“I found the announcement super amusing because, I don’t know, people seem to be happy, so I was like, ‘Maybe I’ll just go with it, I don’t know’,” Williams said at the event in the city of Naestved.
“I’m actually not going. I’m going to be overseas,” Williams underlined.
Tournament director Tommy Haas later released a statement confirming that Williams would not be playing at the March 2-16 event in Southern California.
“Our team has been informed that Venus is not accepting the wild card this year,” it read. “We wish Venus all the best and hope to see her back in Indian Wells in the future.”
Williams boycotted the event for 15 years after fans booed and heckled her younger sister Serena during her 2001 final victory over Kim Clijsters, apparently in response to Venus withdrawing injured from their semi-final.
“I love Indian Wells, I would love to be there and if I could have accepted it, I would have been like, ‘Yes’, but I already made commitments,” Williams added.
On her return to competitive tennis after embracing motherhood, former World No.2 Kvitova expects to find the going tough and has no great expectations but couldn’t stay away from it either.
Russian 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva, meanwhile, wrapped up a fairytale week in Dubai by becoming the youngest ever WTA 1000 champion with victory over Clara Tauson.
After ousting three Grand Slam winners, including second-seeded Iga Swiatek, en route to the final, Andreeva ended Tauson’s own dream run at the tournament with a 7-6 (7/1), 6-1 victory against the Dane.
It was a performance that didn’t just earn Andreeva a maiden WTA 1000 trophy, but also secured her top-10 debut with the Russian expected to rise to No 9 when the new rankings are released recently.
Tauson had been a giant-slayer herself this week, knocking out world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka on her way to the biggest final of her career.
