Kvitova loses to Burrage on return from maternity leave

Jodie Burrage came to close to quitting tennis last year following a serious injury setback

Petra Kvitova's return from maternity leave after a 17-month absence ended in defeat as Britain's Jodie Burrage battled back to win in three sets at the ATX Open.

Two-time Wimbledon champion Kvitova, 34, was contesting her first WTA match since 2 October 2023, at the China Open in Beijing.

The Czech made a positive start and won the opening set but the 25-year-old Burrage outlasted her opponent to win 3-6 6-4 6-4.

Burrage, ranked 189 in the world, will play Australian Ajla Tomljanovic in the second round.

Kvitova, who gave birth to her son, Petr, last July, did not know whether she would return to tennis before her break.

She has said she was partly inspired to return after seeing fellow players such as Elina Svitolina, Naomi Osaka and Belinda Bencic do so after giving birth.

Back on the court, Kvitova raced into a four-game lead with an early double break of serve in Austin.

Burrage, who reached the second round at the Australian Open in January, threatened a fightback as she reduced the deficit to 5-3, only for Kvitova to break again and seal the opening set.

Former world number two Kvitova, who turns 35 in March, twice broke back as Burrage applied pressure in the second set, but the Englishwoman struck again in the ninth game before holding serve to love to force a decider.

Both players were unable to seize break point opportunities at the start of the third set.

But the decisive moment arrived when Burrage saw off four break points to hold for 4-4, before breaking Kvitova in the following game and serving out the contest.

Fellow Briton Fran Jones reached the second round of the Merida Open in Mexico.

Qualifier Jones, ranked 136 in the world, led 6-4 3-0 before opponent Mayar Sherif, of Egypt, was forced to retire.