In her latest exclusive column for the BBC, two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova opened up about to roots of the exhaustion that caused her to pull out of Indian Wells and Miami last month.
Exclusive: Read the Full BBC Article Featuring Kvitova Here
Apparently Kvitova was more than physically tired. She suffered from what sounds like a rather extreme case of ennui, and while it’s probably very common among her peers, who spend 11 months of the year travelling the globe, living out of a suitcase and smashing a fuzzy, yellow tennis ball in perpetuity, Kvitova’s candid confessions about her own feelings, and her insecurity about whether or not they could persist, are certainly rare.
Here are some snippets from what Kvitova wrote for the BBC:
"Playing tennis for me has always meant doing something I love, and doing it with a lot of passion, but from the start of the year I just didn't have that. I was so empty.
I didn't always feel physically bad, I was able to play, but I wasn't there 100%. I felt I was fighting this strange feeling rather than the opponent; I couldn't really describe what was going on.
I discussed it with my coach, David [Kotyza], as long ago as January in Sydney, even though I actually went on to win the tournament.
When I beat Jarmila Gajdosova 6-4 in the third set, I didn't know how I beat her. I didn't enjoy it and wasn't happy that I won the match and had made the semi-finals. It was very weird and I was really confused.
I talked to my mental coach as well as David and it got a little bit better after we had put everything on the table, but only for a short period. It was worrying, of course. You have thoughts in your mind about whether it's going to be like this for long, whether a rest will help, why am I not feeling perfect on the court?"
Kvitova says that during her four weeks off she spent ten days at the beach and slept pretty much all day every day. She then went to Monaco for a week before beginning her physical training. She says she’s practiced two weeks already, with the week leading up to this weekend’s Fed Cup clash being her third.
“I'm so happy to be back on court, practicing and looking forward to playing matches again,” Kvitova said in the column, which is based on conversations she’s had with journalist Piers Newbery. “That's a great feeling and tells me I made the right decision. I think tennis players will understand what I've been through; maybe some other people won't, but the main thing is I am the one who has to understand it. Like every normal working person you get tired and need time out.’