Kvitova's Wimbledon career ends with loss to Navarro

Former Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova played her final match at the All England Club, losing to Emma Navarro. Kvitova, who will retire after the US Open, led early but ultimately fell to the No. 10 seed.

Two-time champion Petra Kvitova played the final Wimbledon match of her career on Tuesday at the All England Club, falling 6-3, 6-1 to No. 10 seed Emma Navarro.

Wimbledon: Scores | Order of play | Draws

The former World No. 2 announced earlier this month that she’ll retire from tennis after the US Open, following a brief return to the Hologic WTA Tour this year after the 2024 birth of her son Petr. A wild card for her 16th Wimbledon appearance this year, the 35-year-old left-hander led Navarro -- who reached the quarterfinals in 2024 -- by a break in the first set at 3-1, but lost 11 of the last 12 games to drop the curtain on her career at the tournament she won in 2011 and 2014.

After the defeat, which lasted exactly 1 hour, Kvitova spoke from the heart to the fans. She said that while she "wish[ed] they could've played a little bit longer," she enjoyed a "beautiful atmosphere" on No. 1 Court.

"To have another chance to player here one more time, it means a lot to me," Kvitova said. "This place holds the best memories I could wish for. I never dreamed of winning a Wimbledon, and I won it twice, so this is something very, very special.

"I will miss Wimbledon for sure. I will miss tennis, I will miss the fans, but I'm ready for the next chapter in life as well."

Kvitova ends her Wimbledon career with a 38-14 record in main-draw matches at the tournament. Her victories, and total matches, at the event leads active players.

Navarro, who beat Naomi Osaka and Coco Gauff on her way to her first Grand Slam quarterfinal at Wimbledon last year -- which she then bettered with a run to the semifinals of the US Open -- will face either Veronika Kudermetova or Zhu Lin in the second round. A potential third-round match with No. 17 seed and defending champion Barbora Krejcikova could await the American in the third round, with No. 7 seed Mirra Andreeva also still alive in a third quarter of the draw that lost No. 3 seed Jessica Pegula earlier on Tuesday.

More to come...

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