The US Open 2025 saw the end of the tennis career of my all time favourite player Petra Kvitova. A career that included 31 titles, including 2 grand slams and one of the most dynamic players ever seen on the WTA tour. She was part of 6 Czech Fed Cup winning teams, won the WTA finals in 2011 and an Olympic bronze medal in Rio. Petra was in the year end top 10 eight times and a regular at the WTA finals.

My fandom of Petra Kvitova overlapped with the growth of social media and the web, so back in 2010 when I first noticed this gangly teen pushing Serena Williams at Wimbledon, I didn’t realise I’d be on the Petra roller coaster for 15 more years!

I do remember 20 year old Petra absolutely demolishing Caroline Wozniacki – never one of my favourite players – but who was number 3 in the world at the time, 6-2, 6-0 in just 46 minutes,with just stunning power tennis.

Of course Wimbledon would prove to be the most meaningful place for Petra, with two titles in 2011 and 2014. Both finals were classic Petra – powerful and attacking – but not regarded by some as great matches as they weren’t that competitive. For me, that 2014 final win over Eugenie Bouchard was the peak of Petra Kvitova’s pure tennis. It took your breath away how good she was that day, gasps and laughs of disbelief. How can Petra not go on to dominate women’s tennis?

But it never quite worked out that way.

It was also a career that could have been so much more. She peaked at number 2 in the rankings, being a match away from the coveted number 1 several times, and someone who could and maybe should have more than 2 Wimbledon titles on her resumé. Petra Kvitova always played exciting but high risk tennis. She lived by the sword, she died by the sword, so Petra always made unforced errors. Her flat ball didn’t have the topspin to bring it in. The question was always which Petra would show up and would her winners outnumber her unforced errors.

But let’s not be negative, Petra at her peak was an absolute terror! With her big blue eyes and shy smile, Petra was universally liked and took the WTA Karen Krantzcke award for sportsmanship 8 times in a row. Yet put her on a tennis court and it was no nice-girl Petra! That scream of POJD! was a familiar sight for many years.

Her game was built on an effective lefty serve, booming forehand and a great touch at the net. Never the fastest player, Petra used her power and played a brand of attacking tennis that was always exciting – if not always reliable!

For most tennis fans, your favourites grab your heart. It is more than just appreciating their shots, it gives you feelings. Joy, despair, elation, hopelessness. How much of each depends on your favourite, but it is a weird emotional attachment. Seeing your favourite sad or in tears after a loss is painful. Seeing their joy in victory a shot in the arm for you. I will always hold a slight grudge against Naomi Osaka for beating Petra in the 2019 Australian Open final. This match would have been Petra’s much deserved third slam, the first after the attack and would have finally got her to the world number 1 ranking. It would have been the fairy tale ending. To this day I can never rewatch that match as it pretty much destroyed me, as did Petra’s tearful runners up speech. Curse you for being too good that day Naomi!

But then there was the pure elation – and admittedly slight surprise – when she defeated Elena Rybakina to win the Miami Open at the age of 33. Most had already written off Petra, but she showed that her power tennis could beat anyone, even when the legs were a bit slower.

Petra certainly gave that range of emotions to her fans. The highest of highs and some very deep lows. One of the scariest of which was when she was attacked in her home at the end of 2016. Bonnie Ford’s article on Petra’s recovery is a fantastic piece of writing – but the photo of Petra’s hand is like something from a slasher film! How she managed to come back and win ELEVEN more titles after this was nothing short of miraculous. Just another reason to love Petra!

As with all aging tennis players, there were times in the last few years when it seemed Petra’s time was up, but her last full year on tour, 2023 turned out to be an amazing one. Petra won her 30th title and her biggest for a long time – the WTA 1000 in Miami at the age of 33. She followed that up with one last grass court title at the WTA500 in Berlin and was a top 10 seed at Wimbledon, ending the year at number 14. When the news came on new year’s eve that she and coach turned husband Jiri Vanek were expecting a baby, that seemed to be that for Petra Kvitova’s career. And in many ways it was. She announced a return to the tour in 2025 much to the suprise of many who assumed Petra didn’t want to be travelling with a baby. In retrospect, it was maybe a fruitless move. It was wonderful to see Petra play again, and there were the odd flashes of the Petra power, but she was not really in shape and only scored one win on her comeback. But really, this was a chance for us fans and the tennis world to see her one last time.

Petra Kvitova, a supremely talented player whose peak was astonishingly good. Thank you for all of the joy and heartbreak you have given me over the last 15 years. I will miss you..