Vera Zvonareva scored the biggest win of her comeback today, but that doesn't mean she'll be back in 2019.
Zvonareva surprised second-seeded Karolina Pliskova, 6-1, 6-2, to reach the Kremlin Cup quarterfinals before her hometown fans in Moscow.
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The 161st-ranked Russian qualifier scored her first Top 10 win since she toppled then world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki at the 2011 WTA Finals.
The 34-year-old Zvonareva, who gave birth to daughter Evelina in 2016, said she will discuss playing in 2019 with her family before they reach a collective decision.
"We will see; I will play a couple of more tournaments this year," Zvonareva told the media in Moscow. "Then I will take my decision. I am a mother and my family is under my responsibility. So we have to make this decision all together whether I play or not during the next season."
The former world No. 2 says she's "far from ideal form" and will commit to more off-season fitness training if she opts to comeback next season.
Zvonareva said past sabbaticals from the sport have taught her about her relationship with tennis.
"I do not look too far. First of all, I try to get in shape," Zvonareva said. "I believe that I am far from ideal form. When I started playing tennis last year, I trained two to three times a week, played for myself, did not think that I could still continue to compete on a professional level. But it so happened that relationship with tennis lasted a bit longer.
" When I started playing, I immediately realized that I could still show a high-level game. I understood that if I want to play the next season, I will have to do more fitness and train more, too. Last year, when I first started playing, there were a lot of injuries. I took a break, paid attention to this. If I want to play at a professional level next year, I need to pay attention to my physical training for two months, not to get so many injuries. As soon as you start playing, all old injuries start to take their toll on you. I am no longer 18 years old."
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