2-time Wimbledon champion Kvitova heads to retirement

NEW YORK (AP) — Petra Kvitova's professional tennis career ended on Monday at the U.S. Open, where the two-time Wimbledon champion was eliminated in the first round by Diane Parry 6-1, 6-0 in 52 minutes.

“I hoped I would put on a better show today,” said Kvitova, a 35-year-old left-hander from the Czech Republic who had announced this appearance at Flushing Meadows would be her last tournament.

After it ended when she sent a backhand return wide, Kvitova began crying. She went over to the stands for a hug and a kiss from her husband, Jiri Vanek, who is also her coach. They became parents in July 2024, when their son, Petr, was born, and Kvitova returned to the tour this season after a 17-month break.

She announced earlier this year that she would be retiring after the U.S. Open.

Kvitova won Grand Slam titles at Wimbledon in 2011, defeating Maria Sharapova in the final, and 2014, with a victory over Eugenie Bouchard, and was ranked as high as No. 2.

In December 2016, she was stabbed at her home by a knife-wielding intruder. Kvitova needed hours of surgery to repair nerves and tendons in her racket-holding left hand.

Kvitova returned to competition less than six months later at the French Open, where she won her first match back.

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