Czech tennis player Petra Kvitová has said that she didn’t know if she’d be able to hold a tennis racquet again after her Australian Open final loss to new world number one Naomi Osaka.
Kvitová lost 7-6, 5-7, 6-4 to Osaka in the final which marked her first major final since winning Wimbledon in 2014.
The 28-year-old was robbed at her apartment in Prostějov, Czech Republic, in December 2016 and suffered multiple lacerations to the tendons and nerves on her left hand and fingers which required surgery.
Kvitová had doubts over whether she would be able to hold a racquet again, much less return to professional tennis, and in her post-match interview she made a point to thank her coaches for sticking with her during her recovery.
"We didn't even know if I would be able to hold the racquet again."@Petra_Kvitova's comeback story is one in a million 🌟#AusOpen pic.twitter.com/XLz2tc703i
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 26, 2019
“It has been a great tournament for me and for me it’s a big honour to hold this beautiful trophy as well and it’s a big honour to be in the final for me,” she said after the final.
“Of course, I need to thank my family and friends back home. They were supporting me throughout the match. I want to say thank you to everyone who made this possible. It’s a great tournament, a great event and I always love to come back and play in front of you guys.
“And to my team, thank you for everything but mostly thank you for sticking with me even though we didn’t know if I would be able to hold a racquet again.
“You were supporting me every single day and staying positive for me which I really needed. It wasn’t that easy so thank you so much. Thank you so much to all of you for coming to support us and hopefully we’ll be healthy and we’ll see you next year.”
