Petra Kvitova: Playing a Grand Slam without fans doesn’t look nice to me

Two time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova says she is looking forward to playing a tournament once again, as she spoke  to reporters on Monday on the eve of an all-Czech tournament which will feature a men's event and a women's event of eight players each. The tournament will see no audience and no handshakes with rivals.

Jiri Vesely, ranked No. 65 in the world, is the top player in the men's field.  “It won’t be the same thing as a regular tournament. There are no points to play for, no plot, there will be no fans. But of course we are looking forward to the games and we’ll try to play our best tennis."

Petra Kvitova not happy about racquet bump

Kvitova commented, "We are here to reintroduce tennis not only to the Czech Republic, but also to the world. The hardest thing will be to find the rhythm, we haven’t played a match for a very long time. I hope nobody expects us to play fantastic tennis, because it may happen or it may not. I sincerely think it’s not ethical not to shake hands and just give a racquet bump, I think that’s the most unpleasant thing I’m in for." The 30 year old Kvitova will face Barbora Krejcikova in her opening match on Tuesday. World number three Karolina Pliskova will not play in the event as she pulled out due to a back injury and World No. 18 Marketa Vondrousova is preparing for her final exams at her secondary school.

Petra Kvitova also said that playing WTA events without fans will not make much sense. “I have my age and of course I would like to play another Grand Slam, but if it’s like this, I’d rather cancel them. Playing a Grand Slam is the greatest thing there is and playing without fans who are our engine doesn’t look nice to me and the Grand Slam doesn’t deserve it.”

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/36BrRP0