PARIS — Only two months after picking up her racket for the first time following a knife attack at her home, Petra Kvitova will be playing at the French Open.

Kvitova, a two-time Wimbledon champ, said Friday she will make her comeback at Roland Garros, although she still lacks power and strength.

“I knew this day would come,” said Kvitova, who was attacked by an intruder last year. “I’m really happy that … the dream comes true.”

Kvitova has missed all season after surgery on her racket-holding left hand. She sustained damage to the tendons in her left hand, with injuries to each finger and two nerves.

Doctors first thought she needed more time before returning, but Kvitova’s recovery was faster than expected. She said last month she was signing up for the French Open, which begins Sunday, in hopes of competing.

“It wasn’t easy but I’m happy that I work through this, and I can play tennis and be in the draw,” she said.

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Kvitova, who won the Wimbledon title in 2011 and 2014, and climbed as high as No. 2 in the WTA rankings, wasn’t allowed to speak about the attack because a police investigation is ongoing. But she spoke about anxiety.

“I didn’t sleep well the days after but I wasn’t really staying alone,” she said. “From the beginning I was feeling really weird when I went in the city or somewhere. I was always staring to the guys and looking if there are no strangers there. But with the time, it’s better.”

Kvitova also provided details on the rehabilitation process that preceded her “last-minute” decision to try her luck in Paris.

“I worked very hard behind the scenes,” she said. “From the beginning I had this hand in a splint for two months, and even then I was practicing every day, always putting the splint away and trying to make this scar softer. So from the second day after surgery I started to work with that, which was kind of easy, just passive work with the fingers. I couldn’t move them.”

Kvitova ditched the splint after two weeks and started to move her fingers slightly. She said she can’t still move them completely.

Kvitova also consulted with a hand specialist in the French city of Grenoble every month and started practicing with a racket in late March.

“I hit a few forehands with soft balls from the net, and it felt very, very weird,” she said. “I didn’t really have touch in the hand for holding the racket. I’m happy I didn’t have to change any techniques or something. Everything seems OK. Of course the hand doesn’t have that power and the strength yet, but I’m working on it. Hopefully one day will be everything perfect.”

Kvitova, who opens her tourney against 86th-ranked Julia Boserup, is making her ninth appearance at Roland Garros.

“Not many people believe I can play tennis again. So I’m happy I can play,” Kvitova said. “I already won my biggest fight. I stayed in life and I have all my fingers.”


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