One Czech lefty legend on another: Navratilova’s tribute to Kvitova

Petra Kvitova was born in 1990, a few months before Martina Navratilova won Wimbledon, the last of her 18 Grand Slam singles titles.

When she began to show an interest in tennis, Kvitova’s father, Jiri, had her watch tapes of some of Navratilova’s high-profile matches.

“I don’t think she was consciously trying to imitate me,” Navratilova said earlier this week from her Miami home. “But take some things that she could apply to her game -- and she did it beautifully.

“When she was on, wow, I wouldn’t have wanted to play her.”

On Thursday, Kvitova, 35, announced this will be her last season on tour. Earlier this year, she returned to tennis after giving birth to her son, Petr -- naturally, during last year’s Wimbledon fortnight. She said she plans to finish her career at the US Open later this summer, after playing Wimbledon one final time. Appropriately, that’s where she won her two major titles, in 2011 and 2014.

“I therefore wanted to share with you that 2025 is my last season on tour as a professional,” she wrote in a statement. “I am excited and very much looking forward to soak in the beauty of playing The Championships, Wimbledon one more time, a place that holds the most cherished memories in my career for me.”

Like Navratilova, Kvitova was born in Czechoslovakia before it split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Like Navratilova, she is a powerful lefty with a game made for the grass at the All England Club.

Kvitova is the only active player with multiple Wimbledon titles. She beat Maria Sharapova 6-3, 6-4 in the 2011 final, becoming the first Grand Slam singles champion of either gender to be born in the 1990s. Three years later, it was a 6-3, 6-0 win over Eugenie Bouchard in the championship match. Kvitova lost only three service points in the second set.

“She had a great record there and killed in the finals,” Navratilova said. “The lefty serve helps, because it just spins away from the backhand even more on the grass. And she had massive groundstrokes. And she could volley, you know, take the short ball and move forward.

“Petra wasn’t the fastest player, but she was fast enough to get set up for her shots. She was unpredictable and had all the shots -- forehand, down the line, crosscourt, backhand down the line, crosscourt, slice when she needed it. She dictated. Soft hands. She had everything.”

Her tennis legacy is indisputable, but it is her courage that Navratilova admires most. In 2016, Kvitova survived a home invasion in which she was stabbed repeatedly. Her left hand was so badly damaged, doctors couldn’t promise she’d ever play tennis again.

Five months later, Kvitova was back on the Hologic WTA Tour.

“That was amazing because she still to this day doesn’t have the feeling in her hand,” Navratilova said. “I have a small wedding band on my ring finger, and I move it to my right hand because I don’t feel the racquet the same way, just from that ring. I always take it off. 

“And to not have a feeling in those last two fingers [on her left hand], I can’t imagine being able to play at all.”

Kvitova didn’t just come back, she excelled. She was ranked No. 6 when she reached the 2019 Australian Open final, losing to No. 4 Naomi Osaka 7-6 (2), 5-7, 6-4.

“She almost won it,” Navratilova said. “That’s crazy. Happy for her. Nothing but admiration for her and now she can relax and not have to stress anymore.”