By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Tuesday February 25, 2025
Petra Kvitova returned to the WTA Tour, playing her first competitive match in 17 months at the ATX Open in Austin, Texas.
Kvitova fell to Great Britain’s Jodie Burrage, 6-3, 4-6, 4-6 in 2:29.
It was a tough defeat for the 34-year-old Czech, who had four break points to lead 5-3 in the final set but could not convert. Credit Burrage, who fired 14 aces, who claimed the final three games of the match to notch her victory.
The Brit had kind words for Kvitova after the match.
Welcome back @Petra_Kvitova 👋💜#ATXOpen pic.twitter.com/2hA4PIa1gh
— wta (@WTA) February 25, 2025
“She’s an absolute champion, I knew I was going to have to fight out here,” Burrage said on court after the win. “Got off to a pretty shaky start but she came out like she hadn’t been away for 17 months. She was slapping everything and it was going in, so I knew then who I was up against.
“There was no doubt in my mind that she’s the same player that she was when she was on tour 17 months ago. Very happy with how I composed myself, got myself back in that match, and fought until the end.”
Kvitova will next head to Indian Wells where she has accepted a wild card. Kvitova, who turns 35 on March 8, plans to play Miami as well, before sitting down with her husband to make plans for the clay season.
The two-time Wimbledon champion, who gave birth to baby boy Petr on July 7, is currently unranked.
