This year's visit to Wimbledon is special for Petra Kvitova.
It marks her return to competition at the All England Club - the site of her two greatest triumphs as a professional tennis player - after missing the event last year while on maternity leave.
And it also marks her farewell to the grass-court Grand Slam tournament she won in 2011 and 2014: Kvitova, a 35-year-old left-hander from the Czech Republic, announced 1 1/2 weeks ago that she plans to leave the tour after the U.S. Open, which ends in September.
"It's crazy to see that she's retiring, because I remember playing her when I just started," said Aryna Sabalenka , 27, the three-time major champion who is seeded No. 1 at the All England Club. "I'm kind of sad. I was thinking when I saw the news: 'Come on. Give it try. Why? Why would you retire? Keep going.'"
Kvitova, who received a wild-card invitation from the tournament, was scheduled to play in the first round of Wimbledon on Tuesday against No. 10 seed Emma Navarro of the United States.