Joyous New Year's Day baby news for former Wimbledon champion

01/01/2024 06:18 AM

Tennis mothers have been inspirational figures on the WTA Tour in recent years and now they are set to have a new member of their club.

Caroline Woznaicki made an impressive return to tennis in 2023 after giving birth to two children and Serena Williams also continued her career after she became a mother who her first child, Olympia.

Elina Svitolina is also enjoying success on the court after the arrival of her first child with her husband and fellow tennis player Gael Monfils.

Now former two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova has made a New Year’s Day announcement confirming her joyous news that she is pregnant with her first child.

She posted images on her social media channels alongside her husband and longtime coach Jiri Vanek, with a scan of their baby making this a proud image for the couple.

“On the first day of 2024 I wanted to wish you a happy new year and share the exciting news that Jiri and I will be welcoming a baby into our family this summer,” said Kvitova.

“While I will miss my annual trip to Australia and competing in the sport I love, I’m looking forward to spending some time at home preparing for this exciting new chapter in our lives.”

On the first day of 2024 I wanted to wish you a happy new year and share the exciting news that Jiri and I will be welcoming a baby into our family this summer! pic.twitter.com/JwUi2Lcose

— Petra Kvitova (@Petra_Kvitova) December 31, 2023

Kvitova did not comment on whether this new chapter in her life will signal the end of her tennis career, but there must be doubts over whether she will return at the age of 33.

The Czech star reached the fourth round at Wimbledon last year and enjoyed her best moments on court as she won the Miami Open title last March.

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Yet it was not her best year on the WTA aside from those results and now she is preparing for a year away from the court as she prepares for the most exciting arrival in her life.

Vanek proposed to Kvitova at Wimbledon in 2022 and she confirmed she would keep her original name when the couple got married last summer.

“Of course, I will remain Kvitova,” she said. “It’s not even worth changing, no one will remember it anyway.

“The first days after the wedding, I felt a little strange that I was married, but gradually I got used to it.

“The wedding day was amazing, I’m sure everyone enjoyed it with us. Really great, even though the weather held out for us. A beautiful day.”

Kvitova has a special place in the hearts of tennis fans after she bounced back from a horrifying attack in 2016, when she was stabbed by an intruder.

Radim Zondra, 33, went to her flat in 2016 saying he needed to inspect the boiler and he then grabbed Kvitova from behind and held a knife to her throat.

She suffered severe wounds to her left hand in the fight to free herself but returned to tennis five months later.

Appearing at a regional court in Brno, Zondra denied all charges against him, but he was sentenced to eight years in jail for the crime in March 2019.

Zondra, who is currently serving a prison sentence for another crime, was convicted of serious battery and illegal entry into Kvitova’s apartment.

The 29-year-old player, who is currently the world number two, told the court last month there was “blood all over the place” after the December 2016 attack.

She added that she had offered Zondra money to leave, eventually giving him 10,000 Czech crowns (£341; $440). The court has ordered him to pay this back.

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