Petra Kvitova Out For At Least Six Months After Injuries From Home Invasion

Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova will step away from tennis for at least six months as she recovers from a knife attack that occurred Tuesday, although she should be able to resume her career.

Petra Kvitova Out For At Least Six Months After Injuries From Home Invasion

The 26-year-old Czech underwent surgery to tendons and nerves on her left (playing) hand after an attacker invaded her home in Prostejov on Tuesday.

Kvitova faces a slow rehabilitation process following 14 days of bed rest.

Surgeon Radek Kebrle stated the operation on Kvitova’s left hand went “very well, with no complications,” but it will be several months until the World. No. 11 can even hold a racket.

“It is too soon to specify when precisely she can return to competition, but Petra is ready to do everything she can to get back competing at the highest level,” said a statement from her management.

“Petra is happy with how the operation went and is in good spirits.”

Kvitova also tweeted about her condition after the assault, saying she is “shaken, but fortunate to be alive.”

In an earlier statement on the Facebook page of the Czech Republic’s Fed Cup team, Kvitova wrote: “What happened to me was certainly not pleasant, but it’s behind me. I have the best possible care and I’m in touch with my loved ones. The worst is behind me.”

Prostejov police spokesman Frantisek Korinek said the attacker, a man who is about 35 years old, escaped from the scene and was at large. He added that police have launched a manhunt.

Kvitova was scheduled to participate in a charity event in the city of Brno on Tuesday with another Czech player, Lucie Safarova.

“It’s horrible,” Safarova told Czech public radio. “Things like that are shocking to all of us. It can happen to anyone of us. That’s really terrible.”

 In an unrelated move earlier Tuesday, Kvitova withdrew from the Czech Republic team at next month’s Hopman Cup mixed-team tennis tournament due to an earlier foot injury.

 Kvitova reached a career-high of world number two in October 2011, behind Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki. She also won a bronze medal at the Rio Olympics, losing her semi-final to eventual gold medallist Monica Puig.

 BEIJING, CHINA – OCTOBER 07: Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic returns a shot against Madison Keys of the United States during her Women’s Singles Quarter Finals match on day seven of the 2016 China Open at the China National Tennis Centre on October 7, 2016 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Etienne Oliveau/Getty Images)