The upcoming Asian swing of the WTA Tour will seed two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova tackle tournaments without a coach after she parted ways with Frantisek Cermak.
The former world No.1 spent only five months with doubles specialist Cermak, who is best known for winning the 2013 French Open mixed doubles title. Since her second round exit at the Wimbledon Championships, Kvitova has achieved a win-loss of 13-4 on the tour and clinched a bronze medal at the Rio Olympic Games. Despite her solid, but far from spectacular, summer performance, Kvitova has decided to end the partnership following her straight sets loss to Angelique Kerber at the US Open.
“After coming back from America, we have agreed with Frantisek Cermak to end our cooperation,” Kvitova said in a statement.
“For now I will train without a coach like at the beginning of the season, but of course that’s not the final state of things.”
Cermak’s removal is the second time this year that Kvitova has dismissed her coach. At the start of the season she ended her seven-year partnership with David Kotyza following a disappointing performance at the Australian Open.
Travelling the tour without the coach is something that Kvitova has previously admitted she found very refreshing. During her first stint of alone time on the tour this season, the 26-year-old spoke about the positives of focusing on what she wants and not what other people expect.
“I feel more free. In practice, in matches, every decision now is about me. I am learning a lot about myself as a player. It is a lot of responsibility, of course. It is my job and my game, so everything is on me.” She said earlier this year in an interview with The National in Dubai.
According to her scheduling commitments, Kvitova isn’t expected to return to the tour until the Wuhan Open at the end of the month (unless she accepts a late wild card). The Chinese tournament will be a stern test for the Czech with every top 10 player expected to be participating.
There is currently no information about who might potentially replace Cermak in the future.
