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“Was Fighting to Survive”: Petra Kvitova Recalls the Horrific Incident of Having Been Attacked by an Intruder

Published 12/11/2020, 12:00 PM EST

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via Reuters

Czech Republic’s Petra Kvitova is known for the famous Wimbledon wins in 2011 and 2014. Having first emerged on the main stage, Petra beat Dinara Safina at the US Open back in 2009. Ever since then, the Czech has seen and experienced a lot in her life, both on and off the court. 

In one of the most shocking incidents involving the tennis fraternity, Kvitova was attacked at her house by an intruder. The attacker used a knife, trying to stab her with real intention. The former world no. 2 suffered severe injuries on her left hand, injuring her wrist, which required surgery. 

Recalling that horrific incident, Petra recently spoke about how she has coped up with this entire episode. She said, “Sometimes I’m too hard on myself. I try to tell myself to just be happy that you are playing tonight. I look at it (like that) now. And of course, I want more, I don’t want to lose, that’s why I’m fighting. I have it in me, as well. I’m glad I have this in me from my parents.”

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via Reuters

Kvitova went on to say that she knew how to put up a fight on the court, but outside the court was a totally different ball game. Many things struck her during this whole episode, and her outlook towards things changed.

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Petra Kvitova: Will never forget what happened

Kvitova said, “To be very honest, I didn’t know what will happen in my life. I was fighting to survive, first of all, to be still alive. But I will never forget what happened. I know how I changed because of it. I knew how to fight on the court, but this was the situation when I find out that off the court I’m a fighter, too. Maybe even bigger. So, yeah, it (gave) me a lot. I mean, the perspective of life as well, the perspective of tennis.”

The former Wimbledon champion took this as another lesson and maintained a positive outlook towards life. She concluded by stating, “That’s life… experiences. I need to deal with the pressure, with everything around me, and to find a balance. It’s been a long road, but I’m happy. I would never change it for anything.”

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Also Read: “Fighting Against My Own Moods”: Simona Halep Reveals Her Mental State While Playing Tennis

It took Kvitova six months to recover from the surgery and after counseling sessions, she got back on a tennis court at the French Open in 2017. 

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Written by:

Rohan Kollare

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Rohan Kollare is a tennis author for EssentiallySports. Rohan has a post-graduate diploma in Sports Management and a trophy cabinet adorned with accolades won in district and state-level tennis competitions. He has previously worked in Content Operations for Disney’s Hotstar for over a year, covering tennis and Formula One.
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