Two time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova has received a blow ahead of the new season after suffering a stress fracture.
Kvitova confirmed the injury on her social media account, revealing that the injury concerns her right foot. The problem means that she will be wearing a brace on her foot for two weeks, shortening her training routine ahead of her first tournament of 2017.
The setback has occurred just weeks after Kvitova’s successful end to the 2016 season, where she achieved a win-loss of 46-23. During her time in Asia, the Czech won the Wuhan Open, a Premier tournament, as well as the season-ending Elite Trophy in China. She was also runner-up at the Luxembourg Open in October.
“Unfortunately I have a stress fracture in my right foot and need to wear a brace for two weeks.” Kvitova wrote.
“While my 2017 preparation is inevitably delayed, I’m still hopeful of being able to start my season on time at Hopman Cup.”
The new season will see Kvitova guided by new coach Jiri Vanek, who previously worked with Karolina Pliskova for two years. Vanek is a former top 100 player who won a series of Challenger titles during his professional career. Prior to Vanek, Kvitova was coached by former doubles specialist Frantisek Cermak before she ended the collaboration in September this year.
Excited to confirm that Jiri Vanek will be my coach next year. Look forward to starting our preparation for 2017 together soon 💪 #teampetra pic.twitter.com/h5I2Y0Qhi2
— Petra Kvitova (@Petra_Kvitova) December 1, 2016
Closing in on a return into the world’s top 10, the world No.11 will team up with Adam Pavlasek in the upcoming Hopman Cup in the first week of January. She will then play her first WTA Tournament of the new year in Sydney at the Apia International. The event is categorised as a WTA Premier event and is set to feature six top 10 players.
