Petra Kvitova sustains injury in press conference, withdraws from Roland Garros

The 31-year-old injured her ankle after a freak fall as she was finishing a post-match press conference on Sunday.

Petra Kvitova in a file photo. (Image: Twitter/ Roland Garros)
By Nilavro Ghosh | Jun 1, 2021 | 2 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova has withdrawn from the 2021 Roland Garros after sustaining a freak injury. The 31-year-old injured her ankle after a freak fall as she was finishing a post-match press conference on Sunday. The 11th seeded Czech Republic player beat Belgium’s Greet Minnen in her first match of the competition 6-7(3) 7-6(5) 6-1. She injured her ankle at the press conference post this match. Kvitova is a consistent performer in the French Open, qualifying for the semi-final stage in 2012 and 2020. She is, however, yet to win the clay-court Grand Slam and it will not happen in 2021 either.

“It is with great disappointment that I announce my withdrawal from Roland Garros,” Kvitova posted on Twitter. “During my post-match press requirements on Sunday, I fell and hurt my ankle. Unfortunately, after an MRI and much discussion with my team, I have made the tough decision that it would be unwise to play on it. It’s incredibly bad luck, but I will stay strong and do my best to recover in time for the grasscourt season,” she added.

Had she been fit, Kvitova would have taken on Russia’s Elena Vesnina in the second round of the Roland Garros. On paper, she would have easily won the game as Vesnina is an unseeded player and Kvitova is ranked 11th and has years of experience on her side.

MISSION WIMBLEDON

She will be looking to nurse her injury with the utmost caution to get back to a 100% fitness ahead of the next Grand Slam, which would be Wimbledon. The Czech might not have had much luck on clay but she has been successful on more than one occasion on grass.

She is a two-time Wimbledon winner and seeing that a grass surface plays more to her strengths than clay, it is presumably a wise decision to not aggravate the injury by forcing herself to play further at the Roland Garros. She had won the Wimbledon in 2011 and 2014.





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