Petra Kvitova will make a “last-minute decision” whether to compete in the French Open as she prepares a comeback five months after her playing hand was badly injured in a knife attack, her spokesman said on Tuesday. The two-time Wimbledon champion suffered career-threatening injuries to her left hand as she fought off a knife-wielding intruder at her home in the eastern Czech town of Prostejov in December.
The draw for the French Open will take place on Friday and Kvitova’s spokesman Karel Tejkal said the Czech star could still make it to the Grand Slam, which takes place between the May 28-June 11. “It’s not by chance that her name is still on the entry list for Roland Garros. The decision will be taken at the last minute,” Tejkal said. “We can already say it out loud – her long-term goal is to be fit enough to compete in Wimbledon.”
The 27-year-old Kvitova won Wimbledon in 2011 and 2014. This year’s event at the All England club starts on July 3. Doctors had said the Czech player would not be able to return to competition before the second half of the year. However, Kvitova returned to training early in May and she was included on the entry list for the French Open. “This unfortunately does not mean necessarily that I will be ready to play in Paris, but that I’m doing everything possible to give myself the chance and keep a positive mindset,” Kvitova said at the time.
