Kvitova on effects of winning Wimbledon at young age: "I think I spent two or three years wondering where I belonged and who I was"

Petra Kvitova won WImbledon at 21 and it's was the crowning moment of a meteoric rise that she did not expect.

Petra Kvitova spent the majority of her childhood playing tennis in her home town never even dremaing about becoming as good as she would end up becoming. Only when got a bit older, did she start blowing other players off the court catching the spotlight:

"I'd always played at home in a small town of 6,000 people and was usually about fifth in the country. It wasn't until I was 15 or 16 that I took off and was the best in the country at my age. That's when Prostejov wanted me to transfer. After a while I learned that my mother had to intervene and said I had to go."

Read also

Murray sets sights higher in 2023: "For most players, that's a really positive year, I don't view it that way"

She further said:

"I was scared, I was just at home until then, playing tennis just for fun," she continued. "It was hard for me to imagine going to a bigger city where there would be more people, more tennis players... I didn't have any ambition to be a professional tennis player at that time. I was most afraid of the jump to the big tennis world."

Winning Wimbledon at 21 was a dream but if left her searching for where she belonged:

"When I won Wimbledon at the age of 21. I think I spent two or three years wondering where I belonged and who I was because I didn't think I really belonged in this world. I'm different than what the fans get to see on TV. But it just kind of happened."

Read also

Murray tweet which saw Garcia rise coming back in 2011 highlighted after WTA Finals win: "Sharapova is playing who is going to be number one in the world one day, Caroline Garcia"