Petra Kvitova, Leylah Fernandez & other WTA stars share photographs from pre-season training
Petra Kvitova recently arrived in Dubai to get her training underway ahead of the 2022 season. Kvitova shared a photograph from her first session on social media, captioning the post: "No pain, no gain."
In the picture, the 32-year-old can be seen training by the beach. The Czech also uploaded photographs of her sessions at the gym.
And so it begins… it wouldn’t be pre-season if I didn’t feel my legs burning on this beautiful beach. No pain no gain 🔥💪 https://t.co/Ll4iCcrIHI
"And so it begins… it wouldn’t be pre-season if I didn’t feel my legs burning on this beautiful beach. No pain no gain," Kvitova wrote.
The Czech, who suffered a few injuries during the 2021 season, ended her "exhausting" campaign early to give herself extra time to fully recover before 2022. Kvitova last played a competitive match at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, where she lost to Victoria Azarenka in the third round.
2021 US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez also shared a few snippets from her pre-season on social media. The 19-year-old on Tuesday posted a photo of herself training in Miami, Florida with her sister Bianca Jolie Fernandez.
Fernandez expressed her delight at getting a chance to train with her sister during pre-season, saying she was "enjoying every moment."
"Having a sister is like having a best friend you can't get rid of. 😏 Training with @biancajolietennis and getting to share the love of Tennis with her has been amazing. Enjoying every moment we get to spend together before the season," Fernandez wrote.
Among the big names on the WTA Tour to have started pre-season training this week were former World No. 1 Angelique Kerber, 2021 Courmayeur Open champion Donna Vekic and Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk.
Petra Kvitova's ranking of 17 is her lowest year-end finish since 2017
Petra Kvitova's injury-riddled season has seen her drop to No. 17 in the world, her lowest year-end position in the rankings since 2017.
The Czech lifted her 28th career title at the Qatar Open in the first half of the year, but she suffered an ankle injury at Roland Garros, sidelining her from competition for about three weeks.
Kvitova failed to advance to another tour-level final over the rest of the season, and will now be looking to make a fresh start in 2022.
The Czech had confirmed her participation in the 2022 Australian Open series back in October.