PARIS -- Petra Kvitova said Friday she will play in the French Open, just six months after being stabbed by a knife-wielding attacker in her home.
After months of physical and mental rehabilitation, the 27-year-old Czech star admitted she is not yet 100 percent after her left hand was badly lacerated when she fended off an intruder in December.
"I actually already won my biggest fight," the two-time Wimbledon champion said. "I'm happy that I like challenges. That was one of the biggest, of course. So I stayed in life and I have all my fingers, I can play tennis and I can be here and be in the draw.
"... It felt really weird I couldn't compete. I did miss definitely on the court, I did miss the fight. And now I can just enjoy everything. ... I see different kind of things than before. I'm happy that I'm here."
"I have already won my biggest fight" @Petra_Kvitova is all smiles and here to play at #RG17 pic.twitter.com/bG9DLlul39
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 26, 2017
When doctors told her there was a chance she may never play tennis again, Kvitova said she chose to focus on the possibility she could. The road back was hard but her left hand does not give her pain and she is patient enough to know that it will take time to get back near her best.
"I knew this day would come," Kvitova said. "I'm really happy that I am here. The dream comes true. It was a difficult time for me, of course. It wasn't easy, but I'm happy that I worked through this. I know that my hand is not perfectly ready. It's still not 100 percent ready, so we will see how everything goes, but I'm happy that I am able to play again."
Having targeted Wimbledon as a potential return, Kvitova made a last-minute decision to play in Paris after practice and rehabilitation went better than expected.
"I am very happy I have my second chance to play tennis," Kvitova said. "... I'm really looking forward to my match. When I saw [tennis] on the TV, I didn't really feel great. I felt like the tennis was taken away from me and it wasn't my decision. Suddenly I couldn't do what I love."
Kvitova said she has not spent much time on her own since the incident, details of which she did not want to discuss because the investigation is still ongoing and the attacker hasn't been caught.
She is more wary of strangers, she said, and now sees life from a slightly different point of view.
"Tennis is a joy now," said Kvitova, who will face American Julia Boserup in the first round at Roland Garros. "When I took the racquet for the first time at the end of March, I hit a few forehands with soft balls from the net and it felt very, very weird.
"[But] when I hit a nice forehand, I was so happy inside. I was, like, 'Wow, it's really great that I do have it still.' Now I'm kind of practicing normally, if I can say. It's a matter of time how everything will [work out]."