A former queen of Centre Court is preparing for a return to professional tennis after 17 months away from the game. Petra Kvitova, 34, has not played since the 2023 China Open, where she was beaten in the last 32 by Liudmila Samsonova.

The Czech star, who won the Wimbledon title in 2011 and 2014, then stepped away from the game due to pregnancy and the birth of her first child.

She’s now revealed she’s preparing to end her exile, but she says her determination to come back isn’t driven by titles or financial rewards.

Instead, the former world No.2 wants to return because of her passion for the sport. “I tried to explain to everybody that I came back because I love it,” she told the WTA.

“I miss tennis; I have loved tennis itself since I was four. So, I think my love for the sport took me back to tennis. I missed the hard work, the sweat, that’s why I’m here. I don’t know for how long, or how long I’m going to enjoy it or how my body’s going to feel.”

Kvitova also reached the 2019 Australian Open final, but has now missed five consecutive Grand Slam events. She’s realistic about her prospects though, and isn’t about to set herself unrealistic targets.

“I don’t expect anything, basically,” she continued. “I’m here — that’s already a big deal for me. Sometimes I’m really surprised by myself. Like, why I did it? But I think I would have regretted it if I didn’t come back I’m not putting any goals on myself, I will never play as good as I was playing when I was winning tournaments.

“I want to enjoy myself playing tennis, and I think it will take time. I think it will be very tough in the beginning. But we’ll see how I manage everything. We’ll see how it goes.”

Kvitova’s first chance to ‘see how it goes’ will come on Tuesday at the ATX Open in Austin, Texas. She’ll play Britain’s Jodie Burrage in the first round of the WTA 250 tournament.

She remains renowned at SW19 for her exploits 14 years ago, when she beat Maria Sharapova in the final. Three years later, she overcame Eugenie Bouchard for her second crown and later won a bronze medal at the 2016 Olympics.

Having played in the iconic grasscourt event for 15 consecutive tournaments, though, her Wimbledon fortnight was spent very differently last year. During the Championships, she gave birth to her son Petr on July 7.