Petra Kvitová wins 2023 German Open, casts eyes on Wimbledon

Czech top-ranked women’s tennis player Petra Kvitová claimed her 31st senior title after winning the 2023 German Open Sunday. 

Kvitová, who is 31 years old, beat Croat Donna Vekić (ranked 20 in the world) in straight sets – 6:2, 7:6 (6). The Czech impressively came from 3:5 down in the second set to claim victory, also saving a set point. This is also Kvitová’s sixth career title on grass – her favorite surface.

The world number nine is the oldest-ever winner of this Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) 500 tournament, which is grouped in the third tier (by importance) of women’s tennis competitions on the WTA tour, under WTA 1000 tournaments and Grand Slams.

The Czech won the Miami Open WTA 1000 tournament earlier this year – among all active players, only U.S. Venus Williams has won more titles (holding 49). This is the first time Kvitová has won multiple titles in one season since 2019. 

In the tournaments leading up to the German Open – such as the Frech Open and Madrid Open – Kvitová had been winless.

Kvitová sends a strong message to the rest of the field after her German success, with Wimbledon – one of tennis’s four Grand Slams – beginning next week. Kvitová is a two-time champion at the grass-court tournament, winning in 2011 and 2014.

Kvitová was not the only Czech who featured in the final at the German Open. Czech doubles duo Markéta Vondroušová and Kateřina Siniaková narrowly lost against French-Brazilian pair Caroline Garcia and Luisa Stefani.

Notably, there are currently nine Czechs in the world’s top 60 WTA rankings. Czech have performed strongly in Grand Slams single’s tournaments so far: Karolina Muchová reached the final of the French Open earlier this month and Karolína Plíšková made the quarterfinals of the Australian Open in January. 

In doubles, Siniaková and Czech Barbora Krejčíková won the 2023 Australian Open. Krejčíková also won the Dubai Tennis Championships in February of this year in women’s singles. She made the final of the 2023 Birmingham Classic last week, though lost in the final.

Four months ago, the men’s Czech tennis team overcame Portugal to qualify for the Davis Cup this year. 

The strong recent performances of Kvitová, Krejčíková, Vondroušová, and Siniaková bode well for Wimbledon 2023.