Petra Kvitova's Sophomore Slump

The Sophomore slump is something that crops up in sport time and time again. This is where, after a tremendous breakthrough season, a young player struggles to find their footing in their sport the following season. The thing is, it is common enough for sports personalities to not worry about it too much. For new superstars the weight of expectancy grows but the media still expects more and more. That’s when the crash comes, when the new high levels of expectation are not met. This could be applied to Czech tennis star Petra Kvitova who became a household name in the summer of 2011 and then pretty much fell away. The truth is, that she didn’t go too far, but the WTA Tour is still waiting for her to reclaim her spot as a serious challenger for a major.

Pre 2011 Early Career

Kvitova turned pro back in 2006, joining up on the ITF circuit and claiming a couple of ITF singles titles in her maiden pro year. Just a couple of years later, she was breaking into the top 50 in the world rankings and in 2009 she won her first ever WTA Tour title. In 2010 she showed the promise that could be fulfilled as she made a run to the semifinal of Wimbledon. Nobody was betting on Kvitova powering her through to the last four of a major for the first time, where she was stopped in her tracks by Serena Williams. Not a bad way to go out and there would be better things to come at the All England Club just twelve months later. Kvitova was on the map, her power and aggression starting to come to fruition with her reading of the game.

2011 and Kvitova makes her mark

This was pretty much the young Czech star’s year. Six titles came her way during the season, including her crowning moment on centre court at Wimbledon. This was the tournament which made her a household name, as she beat the favourite Maria Sharapova in the final. The smiles were all there on the grass of London as she lifted the famous shield and then went on to win the 2011 WTA Tour Championships as well at the end of the year. It was a twelve-month period that confirmed her as one of the best in women’s tennis at the time. Kvitova ended the year as second seed in the world rankings after what was her career year. But the biggest task was ahead of her for 2012, following up on the remarkable breakthrough season that she had. Could she? Frankly, no.

What happened to Kvitova?

The only answer to this is that her game was found out. The player herself was desperate to improve her game beyond the level she had set in 2011. Perhaps she pushed herself too hard, and she just never was able to push on to be crowned the world number one. That in itself tells a big story. She wouldn’t have needed much to push on past the waning Caroline Wozniacki who was number one in the world then, but Kvitova herself fell below her own standards. Why? She had proven that she had the full repertoire of shots, had the power and reading of the game to sit on top of the world. But here is the thing. As she stormed up the world rankings in 2011, she was coming up against more and more of the strong players that hadn’t had time to familiarise themselves really with her game. The more that she went up against the best in 2012, the more she seemed to struggle.

This is where the Sophomore slump comes in. Avoiding it is simply down to a necessity of being able to adapt your game. It has nothing to do with ability, nothing to do with talent, it is about having your game found out by opponents. Just as football teams will go and scout opponents, it is odds-on tennis coaches will know an opponent’s strengths and weaknesses too and adapt a game plan. It is hard to change your game when you are still young and somewhat naive, and after the successful 2011 that she had, even the mild mannered and humble Kvitova must have felt invincible.

What got found out?

So that naturally begs the question about Kvitova’s game. What got found out? You can start by looking at the basics of her game, power and aggression. During the 2011 season, Kvitova clearly had a spring in her step, was quick on the front foot to try and dictate the pace of the game and rallies. The fact that she had such a powerful serve in her arsenal as well, and phenomenal ground stroke pace from the baseline, made her a threat to all on the WTA Tour. In 2012, nothing had changed in her game. The way that opponents compensate for power is by dropping a little deeper behind the baseline, taking the pace off returns and changing angles of their own attacks. The greats, like Serena Williams, Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova all have the ability to adapt on court to situations and play different games. Kvitova, it was to be found out, was well, all a bit one dimensional on court.

Assets

That is not to say that Kivotiva is finished. Not by a long shot and here are the reasons that she will get another major in her career, and not just be a one hit wonder. The pace in her serve is still there and can still prove to be an immense weapon. Then there is her age of course, still being only 23 years old, so this is not a time to panic. This is a time to steadily start climbing, rung by rung, probably not back to the level she was at in 2011. Kvitova is a great grass court player and probably the best indoor player on the WTA circuit. Those are short swings of the season though, but there is room for titles to come her way again. She picked up a couple in 2012 even when not at her best, so there is still potential for more.

Serving up a treat

It is not that anything went wrong with Kvitova, players around came back into top form, like Sharapova and Serena Williams, and Azarenka took the step to the next level as well. So there is catching up to do for Kvitova, but age is on her side and she has major assets to her game. The only thing lacking is aggression. She was fierce on court in 2011 to a degree we haven’t seen since. It is that fire in the belly, the ability to get riled up, slam a racquet into the ground that has been missing from her game. Always smiling, always polite is Kvitova. It is time for the Czech to get down and dirty on court. If that comes back, so will the titles and further Grand Slams are still a realistic target for her.