Petra Kvitová was born on 8 March 1990 in Bílovec, in what was then Czechoslovakia. Her father Jiří introduced her to tennis, and she trained in the small town of Fulnek until she was 16. Tall at 1.82 m and left-handed, she developed a game of flat, powerful groundstrokes and a dangerous serve, and from November 2008 she was coached by David Kotyza, who stayed with her until 2016.
Her breakthrough was spectacular. In 2011 she beat Maria Sharapova in straight sets in the Wimbledon final for her first major title, then won the WTA Finals at her first attempt, and on 31 October 2011 she reached world No. 2, the highest ranking of her career. Three years later she won Wimbledon again, beating Eugenie Bouchard in straight sets in the 2014 final. At the US Open her best results were quarterfinals in 2015 and 2017, and in 2016 she won the WTA Elite Trophy at her first attempt.
She was also a key member of the Czech team, winning the Fed Cup six times, in 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2018. In 2012 she won the Hopman Cup with Tomáš Berdych, and in 2016 she took the singles bronze at the Rio Olympics.
In December 2016 she suffered serious injuries to her playing hand in an attack at her home, damaging tendons and nerves. Her recovery was faster than expected: she returned at the 2017 French Open, a month ahead of schedule, now coached by Jiří Vaněk. In 2019 she reached the Australian Open final, losing to Naomi Osaka, and she made the French Open semifinals in 2012 and 2020.
Kvitová won 31 singles titles, finished with a 634–296 singles record and earned more than 37.6 million US dollars in prize money. She announced in 2025 that the US Open would be her last tournament, and her retirement is dated 25 August 2025.