Petra Kvitová made a successful return to the WTA Tour by winning her first match since giving birth to her son. She defeated Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania 7-5, 6-1 in the opening round of the Italian Open in Rome. This win ended a four-match losing streak and came after a 15-month break from the sport.
The match took place on the clay courts of the Foro Italico. It was Kvitová’s first victory since stepping away from tennis following her appearance at the Beijing Open in 2023. She had taken time off to recover from physical and mental fatigue and to focus on starting a family. Her son, Petr, was born in July 2024.
Before her return, Kvitová had not played any competitive tennis for over a year. She rejoined the tour in February 2025. Since then, she has suffered first-round losses in four tournaments. She lost to Jodie Burrage in Austin, Varvara Gracheva in Indian Wells, Sofia Kenin in Miami, and Katie Volynets in Madrid.
In Rome, she started slow but finished strong. She was broken once in the first set while serving at 5-4, but recovered quickly. From that point on, she dominated, winning eight of the last nine games. Her shots were clean, and her movement showed she could still compete at a high level.
- Petra Kvitová won her first WTA Tour match since giving birth, defeating Irina-Camelia Begu 7-5, 6-1 in Rome.
- The former world number two had lost all four previous matches after her return, following a 15-month break for maternity leave.
- Kvitová admitted she was 95% sure she would retire before rediscovering her love for tennis during post-pregnancy practice.
Kvitová Adjusts to Life as a Mother and Player
After her break, Kvitová’s life changed in many ways. For example, she is now balancing tennis with motherhood. During her pregnancy, she could not train, but once she was cleared to return to light activity, she picked up her racket again. She said that when she started hitting tennis balls, she realized she still had good timing and control.
This comeback is different from earlier stages in her career. Now, she is not playing for rankings or titles. Instead, she is playing because she enjoys it. She is also managing her time carefully, especially with a young child.
Travel has become more complicated. Since her son Petr is now crawling and sleeping less, she and her husband-coach, Jiri Vanek, prefer to stay in rented apartments rather than hotels. This gives their son space to play and keeps their living situation more comfortable during tournaments.
Kvitová is not setting any long-term goals. She is focused only on playing well and staying healthy. Despite the challenges, she has returned with a clear mindset: to play without pressure and to enjoy the sport again.
Following her win over Begu, Kvitová will face Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur in the second round. Jabeur, ranked 36th in the world and seeded 27th at the Italian Open, is a three-time Grand Slam finalist. Kvitová leads their head-to-head record 4-2. However, this will be their first meeting on clay.
Other Results from the Italian Open
Elsewhere in the Italian Open, British and Australian players experienced different results.
In the women’s draw, Great Britain’s Sonay Kartal came back from a set down to beat Australia’s Kimberly Birrell. Kartal won 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in a match that lasted two hours and ten minutes. Kartal, who was outside the world’s top 250 last year, is now ranked 56. She will play the Czech 30th seed, Linda Noskova, next.
On the men’s side, Cameron Norrie lost to Dusan Lajovic of Serbia in qualifying. Lajovic won 6-1, 4-6, 6-3. Even though he lost, Norrie made it into the main draw as a lucky loser after three players—Zizou Bergs, Jan-Lennard Struff, and Benjamin Bonzi—withdrew due to injury. Norrie now faces Christopher O’Connell of Australia in the first round.
Australia’s Ajla Tomljanović defeated compatriot Olivia Gadecki in the final qualifying round. Tomljanović will now face Varvara Gracheva of France. Another Australian, Maya Joint, also reached the main draw and is set to face 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu. Daria Kasatkina, who recently switched from Russia to represent Australia, is seeded 14th and received a bye into the second round.
