Miami champion Kvitova back in top 10 for first time since September of 2021

Petra Kvitova will be back in the top 10 of the WTA rankings on Monday following her Miami Open title, which she clinched by beating Elena Rybakina in Saturday’s championship match.

Petra Kvitova, Miami 2023 | © AI / Reuters / Panoramic

Ricky Dimon

April 2, 2023

Petra Kvitova’s first-ever triumph at the Miami Open didn’t just give her a 30th career WTA title. It will also take her back into the top 10 for the first time since September of 2021.

Kvitova’s 7-6(14), 6-2 victory over Elena Rybakina in Sunday’s final means the 33-year-old will be ranked No 10 when the new WTA rankings come out on Monday. She is set to move up from 12th, passing Belinda Bencic and Veronika Kudermetova. Kvitova is also up to No 5 in the 2023 race.

The 33-year-old was obviously thrilled with her accomplishment in Miami, but at the same time she isn’t satisfied. If anything, this has inspired her to want even more success.

It means a lot for me that even in my age I can still win a big tournament.
Petra Kvitova

“I think I just take it very positively that I can still compete with the best,” Kvitova said afterward. “You know, the clay is waiting and then it’s grass. The tennis world is just very fast, and I can’t really stand there and be [looking at] this trophy all the time. I have to move forward, of course, as everybody would.

“It means a lot for me that even in my age I can still win a big tournament. That’s the biggest thing.”

Kvitova’s up-and-down career is back on the rise

This is one of the biggest titles of Kvitova’s career, trailing only her pair of Wimbledon wins in 2011 and 2014. If not for the stab wounds she incurred from a home invasion in 2016, perhaps even more slams and premier titles would be on her resume.

Despite that 2016 incident, Kvitova has now captured at least one WTA title in every season since 2011 aside from the Covid-shortened 2020 campaign. Her 30 lifetime titles are second most among active WTA players behind only Venus Williams (49).

“Even after ups, it’s tough to get back to work,” Kvitova said when asked about the ups and downs of her time on tour. “The downs make you really feel sad, and you just want to like kick it and just do better. So that’s why probably you just go to the court and trying to be better player every time you’re on the court.

“I love the game, [which gives me] the motivation to do something better. Because I had a lot of ups, as well; that’s always been the motivation to have them again. I think this is the best feeling what you can have — winning a final as I did today. That’s (what) I love the most, the winning feeling of it.”