Double Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova faces fears for her future after her playing hand was injured in a knife attack by a burglar at her home today.
According to newspaper reports, the intruder got into her home in Prostejov purporting to be a maintenance worker. He stole 5,000 Krona (about £155) and assaulted the 26-year-old before fleeing the scene.
In a statement from the Brno hospital where she is awaiting surgery, Kvitova said: “What happened to me was certainly not pleasant, but it’s behind me. The main thing for me now is that the doctors find out what is the condition of my hand. I trust them and believe that everything will end up well.”
Kvitova is believed to have suffered tendon damage to her left hand.
Czech Fed Cup team spokesman Karel Tejkal said the player had been the victim of an “apparently random act”, adding: “The police are searching for him [the intruder] intensely. She was assaulted in her apartment and is in the care of the doctors but her injuries are not life-threatening.”
It is thought that following surgery Kvitova will go to Prague for former follow-up treatment but it is unclear how long a lay-off she faces or whether the injuries are sufficient to curtail her career.
Kvitova had earlier today reported on social media that she had been forced to miss the Hopman Cup in Australia due to a hairline fracture in her right leg.
In 1993, Monica Seles was at the height of her success when she was stabbed in the back during a changeover at a tournament in Hamburg.
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