Petra Kvitova pulls out of Billie Jean King Cup finals, says her body "can't cope" with more injuries
Petra Kvitova recently announced her withdrawal from the 2021 Billie Jean King Cup final, which is scheduled to be played in Czech Republic in November.
Kvitova, who has been the driving force behind several of her country's title-winning runs at the tournament, told reporters that she will only play two or three more tournaments in the remainder of the season as she needs to "rest."
The two-time Grand Slam champion pointed out that she has had a tough season, both mentally and physically, having had to endure a few injuries and bio-bubbles.
Kvitova said that at the age of 31, her body is not as adept at coping with the rigors of the tour as it once used to be, before adding that the additional rest during the off season would help her better manage the next few years.
"I have told the team captain I wouldn't play," Kvitova was quoted as saying by AFP. "I'll play two or three tournaments in the rest of the season and then I need to rest."
"This year has been tough mentally and physically, I've had lots of injuries and my body can't cope with it anymore," she added. "Of course I would like to play but I need my time off in order to manage the next few seasons."
Shifting her focus to the Czech Republic's chances of lifting a 12th Billie Jean King Cup trophy, Kvitova said she had full faith in the current roster.
The Bilovec-born southpaw, who was also part of the 2018-winning side, praised the bench strength, saying that youngsters should be able to "take care of it".
"This decision wasn't easy, but I have to think about myself, I'm not the youngest one [on the tour]," Kvtiova continued. "We've got young girls and I believe they will take care of it."
"All those bubbles we were in cost me a lot of strength" - Petra Kvitova
Petra Kvitova had a rough start to the season. She suffered early exits in the hardcourts tournaments in Melbourne, where players spent around a month in bio-bubbles due to COVID-19.
The 31-year-old did win a 28th career title at the Qatar Open, but the rest of her season has been marred by injuries and a slump in form.
Kvitova said she struggled to find the motivation to play in empty stadiums, equating the experience to training. She added that being in several different bio-bubbles over the course of the season had taken a toll on her.
"All those bubbles we were in cost me a lot of strength," Kvitova said. "Playing without people is like training for me and I'm not exactly the training type."
Kvitova is currently scheduled to play in the Ostrava Open. The Czech, seeded second, launches her campaign against Anastasia Potapova on Wednesday.