Petra Kvitova is set to play at Wimbledon less than seven months after she was stabbed by an intruder at her home.
The 26-year-old, who required four hours of surgery to her playing hand after the December attack in Prostejov in the Czech Republic, could even be ready to play in the French Open, which begins in Paris on Sunday.
“She is on track for Wimbledon,” Katie Spellman, Kvitova’s publicity manager, said on Tuesday. “She will make a last-minute decision about [playing at] Roland Garros.”
Kvitova, the left-hander who won Wimbledon in 2011 and 2014, will be included on the entry list for the championships, which will be released on Wednesday. The tournament begins on 3 July.
The former world No1 Victoria Azarenka is also planning to play at Wimbledon following the birth of her son. The 27-year-old has not competed since last year’s French Open and gave birth to Leo in December. “Leo kinda said he wants to see London and Wimbledon,” she said.
Azarenka is planning to play in one of the warm-up events before Wimbledon. She is eligible to retain her ranking as world No6 if she is ready to play her first tournament within 12 months of giving birth.
It was a mixed day for British tennis in the first round of the women’s French Open qualifying, meanwhile.
Naomi Broady fell to a straight-sets defeat at the hands of Switzerland’s Jil Teichmann while Heather Watson came from a set down to beat Anastasiya Komardina and progress to the second round.
Broady was broken four times as she was brushed aside by the world No153 in a 6-4, 6-2 loss in Paris, but there was better news for the British No2 Watson, who followed her compatriot on court six with a 3-6, 7-5, 6-1 victory over her Russian opponent.
The 25-year-old was broken three times as she lost the opening set but soon fought back to level the match in a tense second set with a decisive break in the 12th game having trailed 4-3 and a break down.
But the Guernsey-born player breezed through the deciding set and finished the match in emphatic fashion by losing only four points in her final four games to seal a second-round tie with the Czech Republic’s Tereza Smitkova.
Fellow Briton Tara Moore gets her campaign under way with a first-round match with Chang Kai-chen on Wednesday morning. Players must win three qualifying rounds to reach the first round proper, the draw for which is set to be made on Friday.
