The grandeur in the opening ceremony of Tokyo Olympics have got fans excited to support their respective countries from the comfort of their homes. Few tennis players were also given the opportunity of being a flag-bearer at the ceremony. One of the athletes to receive the honor was former world number one Petra Kvitova.

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The Czech Republic player, who won two Wimbledon titles(2011, 2014), reached a career-high ranking of world no.2 in 2011 and remained in the top-10 till 2015.

Petra Kvitova was one of the few tennis stars to become a flag-bearer at Tokyo Olympics

Not only an exceptional tennis player, Petra Kvitova is also one of the most loved athletes on the WTA tour currently. When Kvitova was announced to be one of the flag-bearers at the opening ceremony, fans were elated and felt that the Czech player was truly deserving of the honor.

Along with fans, even a few of her fellow athletes were incredibly proud of Kvitova. One such peer was former world number one Maria Sharapova.

Sharapova also carried the Russian flag during the inaugural ceremony at the 2012 London Olympics. The Russian took to twitter to express her appreciation towards Petra Kvitova.

“Petraaaaaa!!! No one more deserving of that role”,?commented Sharapova.

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Along with Kvitova, few other tennis stars were given the opportunity of being flag-bearers for their respective nations. Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko, Cepede Royg from Paraguay, and Lu Yen-hsun from Taiwan were the three tennis players who proudly carried flags at the opening ceremony.

Both Sharapova and Kvitova faced each other eleven times on the WTA tour. The Russian got the better off Kvitova on seven occasions. But, the Czech player registered a memorable victory against Sharapova in the 2011 Wimbledon finals to clinch her first-ever grand slam title.

When the Russian announced her retirement from tennis last year, Kvitova posted a heartful message of appreciation and respect for Sharapova.

All in all, both Petra Kvitova and Naomi Osaka received special honors at this year’s Olympic games in Tokyo. It remains to be seen how well they perform over the next few days.

Also read: Petra Kvitova Reacts After Being Selected As the Flag Bearer for Czech Republic at Tokyo Olympics 2020 Opening Ceremony