Tennis world has been shocked by the news coming from Prostejov, the Czech Republic today that Petra Kvitova was severely injured by a burglar who entered her apartment pretending to be a maintenance worker. The intruder put a knife to her throat and a bathroom struggle left Kvitova badly injured. To make things worse, it is her playing hand that sustained severe lacerations.
Do you remember that a similar scenario happened to Anna Chakvetadze in 2007 in Moscow? The Russian was tied up by the robbers who targeted her wealth, while Kvitova was just an accidental victim as the robber didn’t even know he was knocking on the door of a tennis star worth millions of dollars. Coincidentally, both the attacks happened in the second half of December and both players sustained left hand injuries.
The Czech has already undergone a surgery. What makes the situation brighter is the fact that Kvitova is a big fighter and she’s showing such a strength of character that she even asked her fans not to worry about her and that the most important thing is that she’s alive. I hope that this strength is not just on the surface and that Kvitova will really manage to put the traumatic experience behind her and heal her career-threatening injuries. When we look back at the Chakvetadze story, we know that the Russian’s career was badly affected by the life-threatening robbery and that her career was never as shiny as before, although she did win the Paris title not long after the burglary.
Update on @Petra_Kvitova: out of surgery, in a cast and unable to bear weight on hand for three months. pic.twitter.com/Yi4bvkHrEO
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) December 20, 2016
These wounds only add up to Kvitova’s right foot injury that forced her to announce withdrawal from the Hopman Cup on Monday, which was supposed to be her first event of the 2017 season.
It’s really funny that the robber got a very few money. I think this is more than just the money. I hope Petra recovers soon. It’s really scary nowadays and it’s really inconvenient that she will again be sidelined because of this incident.
I am so sorry for Petra: she is such a wonderful person and tennis player, I hope she will be able to recover and come back soon! What an unpredictable year: Sharapova banned for doping, Azarenka pregnant, Kvitova assaulted. All the strongest players (except for Serena) out of the tour! Incredible
I believe Petra will recover faster than expected, possibly to be ready for Roland Garros. I am sure the other ladies on the tour will give their support and love for her to recover quickly and get back to competing. Godspeed, Ms. Kvitova.
The earliest Petra will be able to hit the competitive courts again will be in six months! She’s expected to be able to get back to tennis training in three months. What a year we’ve had! I wouldn’t be surprised if we had another major happening in the remaining 8 days of 2016.
I don’t think I am mentally able to comment about this situation yet I need sometime to let this Sink in 🙁 can’t Imagine what petra is going through!! Why do bad things happen to good people
We never know what the next moment brings. Bad things happen even to the best people and let’s just hope that Petra will recover enough to lead a happy, trouble-free life. I worry her career will never be top again, but I hope she’ll prove me wrong.
No description of the attacker? Must be a MIGRANT and authorities are hiding the news. This is how the EU protects its citizens.
Schmidt, although in the photo robot he doesn’t resemble an immigrant at all. Kvitova knows how he looks.