Tennis star Petra Kvitova was badly injured Tuesday morning when a man armed with a knife attacked her at her home in Prostejov, Czech Republic. The two-time Wimbledon champion said she sustained "severe" injuries to her left hand, which is her playing hand, and that she was "fortunate to be alive."
The 26-year-old suffered deep cuts to the four fingers on her left hand and underwent surgery to help repair the ligaments and tendons, as the BBC reported.
The BBC also reported some details about the attack, which was characterized as a burglary. It said: "It is understood she allowed someone posing as a utilities man access to her apartment and while defending herself in a struggle, suffered the injuries to her hand. The intruder is believed to have then run away and is being sought by police."
Though Kvitova's publicist told the BBC that the attack was "a random crime, nobody was going to attack or rob her as Petra Kvitova," a number of female tennis players have faced violent attacks and threats.
Petra Kvitova says she's determined to play tennis again - no matter what that involves after a knife-wielding intruder attacked her inside her home and injured her playing hand. The two-time Wimbledon champion was released from hospital on Friday, three days after she was operated on following injuries suffered in the attack in the town of Prostejov.
With a big bandage covering her left hand and forearm, Kvitova said she was told by the surgeon who operated on her in a specialized clinic in the northern town of Vysoke nad Jizerou on Tuesday that her recovery is “looking good and without complications.”
“I feel better day by day,” she told reporters in Prague. “Yesterday morning during a session (with) the doctor, I was able to move the fingers on my left hand which I think ... was the greatest Christmas present I could have wished for.”
Petra Kvitova shared a heartwarming Christmas tweet in response to being bombarded with flowers after being stabbed in the hand during a knife attack at her apartment.
Following surgery, the two-time Wimbledon champion is able to move the fingers on her left hand, and she tweeted: 'Sending love and kisses for a merry Christmas. Thank you for filling our house with flowers.'
The 26-year-old made her first public appearance on Friday at a press conference near Prague after being released from hospital.
Petra Kvitova capped her remarkable comeback from a career-threatening hand injury by winning the Aegon Classic.
The Czech, playing in only her second tournament since she was stabbed by an intruder at her home in December, beat 21-year-old Australian Ashleigh Barty 4-6 6-3 6-3 in Birmingham.
"It is something very special - it is like a dream or fairytale," the two-time Wimbledon champion told BBC Sport.
"It has been a difficult time and I wasn't sure if I would play again. It wasn't about the tennis, but to come back healthy and alive."
Kvitova may only be two tournaments into a comeback which follows the most traumatic episode of her life, but, with her strong grass-court credentials, she now appears a genuine contender for Wimbledon.
She already has five excellent wins on grass under her belt, with more match practice to come in Eastbourne this week.
