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Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova injured in knife-attack at her home

Petra Kvitova, the two-time Wimbledon tennis champion, was attacked by a man with a knife Tuesday morning in her apartment in Prostejov, Czech Republic.

The encounter was vicious; Kvitova's agents confirmed an account of the struggle, first reported by the BBC, in which an assailant entered her apartment to rob it under the guise of checking a utility meter, not initially recognising her identity. When he did, a struggle in a bathroom led to a knife against Kvitova's throat. She was able to fight free and escape, but not before sustaining deep lacerations to the four fingers of her left hand, which severely cut and tore ligaments.

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Kvitova undergoes hand surgery after knife attack

World number 11 Petra Kvitova has been injured in knife a attack in her home.

"In my attempt to defend myself, I was badly injured on my left hand," Kvitova wrote in a statement posted to her social media accounts hours after the assault. "I am shaken, but fortunate to be alive. The injury is severe and I will need to see specialists, but if you know anything about me, I am strong and I will fight this."

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Damage to her left hand could affect her future in tennis: Kvitova plays left-handed and uses a two-handed backhand. She was taken to a hospital in Brno, the country's second-largest city, roughly 40 miles away. Hours later, she underwent surgery to repair as much of her hand as possible, a session that lasted nearly four hours.

"The scale of the injury is serious, but Petra is young and strong, according to the surgeon, who sees no reason why she could not return to playing tennis," Karel Tejkal, spokesman for the Czech Fed Cup team, said.

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Doctors operated on all five fingers of her left hand and she will not be able to exert pressure on the injured hand for three months, Tejkal said.

"The end of her career did not even cross her mind," Tejkal said in an interview with Czech television. "She kept saying, 'Let them put me together fast, no matter if it takes months or years.' She is looking forward to training again."

The assailant, described by the police as a man in his mid-30s, escaped from the scene and has not been apprehended.

Kvitova was scheduled to participate in a charity event in the city of Brno on Tuesday with another Czech player, Lucie Safarova.

"It's horrible," Safarova told Czech public radio. "Things like that are shocking to all of us. It can happen to anyone of us. That's really terrible."

Kvitova had been scheduled to begin her 2017 season at the Hopman Cup in Perth, Australia, but had pulled out earlier Tuesday with an existing stress fracture in her right foot. The Australian Open, the year's first grand slam event, begins on January 16.

Kvitova, 26, reached her career-high ranking of No. 2 in 2011, the year of her first Wimbledon title – her second came in 2014. After falling out of the top 10 this year, she found success in the second half of the year, winning a bronze medal at the Rio Olympics, WTA titles in the Chinese cities Wuhan and Zhuhai, and a fifth Fed Cup title with her Czech teammates in November. She finished the year ranked 11th. Last week, she won the WTA's sportsmanship award for the fifth time in six years.

Elite women's tennis players have been subjected to violent attacks before, often with career-altering results. In 1993, top-ranked Monica Seles was stabbed during a match in Hamburg and did not return to the sport for more than two years. When she did, her dominance subsided, and she won only one more grand slam title to add to her previous eight.

In 2007, sixth-ranked Anna Chakvetadze and her family were assaulted during a home invasion in Moscow. Chakvetadze, who had made the semi-finals of the US Open three months before, was unable to replicate that success, and she retired in 2013 at age 26.

Chakvetadze said on Tuesday that she was "very upset" when she heard Kvitova had been attacked, emphasising that mental recovery from such an attack can be more difficult than the physical aspects.

"Especially when you got badly injured, you always ask yourself, 'Why did it happen?'" Chakvetadze said. "Could I do something different in that situation? I got an arm nerve injury after they tied it up with TV cable, and it took one month to feel my arm again. With a knife, it's even worse. I hope she will recover as soon as possible, mentally and physically, but it would not be easy."

New York Times