Petra Kvitova ended a run of five consecutive four first-round defeats on Tuesday,earning her first WTA win since becoming a mother with a 7-5, 6-1 defeat of Irina-Camelia Begu at the Rome Masters.

The two-time Australian Open winner, 35, only returned to the Tour in Austin, late February, and had yet to taste any success.

But the Czech broke the spell on the clay of the Foro Italico to set up a second-round test against Ons Jabeur.

She brought a 6-1 record into the match with her Romanian opponent, winning eight of nine games in one stretch to close out victory.

“It’s kind of weird that my first win came here in Rome but finally I did it,” Kvitova said. 

“It’s not that easy coming after such a break and at this age as well, I’m not as fit as I would like so I gotta keep working hard.”

She added: “I don’t have a particular goal for my comeback. I came back because I love the sport even though I thought it was not possible at the beginning. 

“Of course you have to train everyday, travel a lot and I don’t really like it, but I love the sport after all and I’m happy to be here.”

Double Grand Slam winner Petra Kvitova is keeping her excitement and hopes in check as the Czech returns to tennis neatly 18 months after stepping aside to give birth.

The Wimbledon winner from 2011 and 2014 is making her return this week at the WTA 250 in Austin, starting with Brit Jody Burrage in the first round.

Kvitoa has not played a match since October, 2023, and gave birth to son Petr last July during Wimbledon.

She said her return to the courts is all about the love – not the money.

“I miss tennis; I have loved tennis itself since I was four. So, I think my love for the sport took me back to tennis. 

“I missed the hard work, the sweat, that’s why I’m here. I don’t know for how long, or how long I’m going to enjoy it or how my body’s going to feel,” she told the WTA.

The Czech added that she will not be setting her goals too high as she joins the group of WTA tennis mothers who have attempted comebacks

“I don’t expect anything, basically.  I’m here — that’s already a big deal for me. “I tried to explain to everybody that I came back because I love it,

“Sometimes I’m really surprised by myself. Like, why I did it? But I think I would have regretted it if I didn’t come back I’m not putting any goals on myself, 

“I will never play as good as I was playing when I was winning tournaments.”

But she added: “I want to enjoy myself playing tennis, and I think it will take time. 

“It will be very tough in the beginning. But we’ll see how I manage everything, we’ll see how it goes.”