The 2011 and 2014 Wimbledon winner talks about her daily life as a temporary SW19 resident.
Petra Kvitova, of the Czech Republic, is sharing a house near the All England Club with her tennis coach Frantisek Cermak, fitness coach David Vydra, stringer Richard Sodek and PR manager Katie Spellman. She spoke at the practice courts after training with former quarter-finalist Daniela Hantuchova on Sunday.
“I normally get up at around 8.30am after about nine hours’ sleep. Sometimes I do fitness before breakfast, an easy 20 to 25 minutes or when there is time before a tournament, a run. During Wimbledon, my fitness coach and I sometimes go around Wimbledon Village. And sometimes, we stay in the garden to do exercises.
I wash everyone's clothes. I do the laundry. It's totally fine
“After that, it’s time for breakfast. I change it sometimes, but most of the time, it is bread with ham and cheese or jam with coffee. But today I had a cereal so I am kind of changing up!
“After practice (of one hour), I have lunch, normally pasta with pesto and chicken. Then some easy time and then it depends on whether I am practising for a second time or not. In that case, I may have some treatment, or massage or ice bath of something like that.
“I’m not really superstitious. The only thing I always do is make the grips for the rackets when I am playing the matches. Here, the stringer does it, but at other tournaments I do it myself.
“One thing I always do is listen to my iPod. I listen to whatever is kind of new on the radio, I am always downloading stuff. Right now, a Czech band, Pink and Coldplay.
“Kind of this easy stuff. I listen to it when I am leaving the room, or the house. And before the match as well, with the warm-up and everything.
“I try to speak to my mental coach at least once a week, for an hour. But sometimes if I need it, it’s every second day, like during a grand slam, when I need to talk about the opponent or the situation which is coming.
“I love hot baths before I go to sleep, it relaxes me. Most of the time I try to have a bath before dinner, because otherwise I am too sweaty and the circulation is still going on so that makes it difficult to fall asleep sometimes.
“I like sushi or some Italian for dinner. I like to go to Sticks ’n’ Sushi in Wimbledon Village. But actually today, our stringer, who comes every year, he is cooking tonight. So we have a big dinner.
“This is more like a home, like being in a family. If you want some privacy, you can just go to your room. If you want to chat, you go downstairs and chat to the other guys. It’s just fun, you can do whatever you want, you can sit in the garden with a coffee. It’s just really nice.
“Oh, and I wash everyone’s clothes. I do the laundry. It’s totally fine (laughing). It’s easy and I like it, it’s not too much.”
