World No. 4 Petra Kvitova says that she wants to reach No. 1 for her first time in her career.
"Next year I have some clear goals in my mind," she said in her blog. "I want to have better results at the Grand Slams, and of course one day I want to be No. 1 in the world. I have been close already, but I really hope that day will come.”
The Czech won Wimbledon and clinched the Fed Cup final, but had some tough losses in other Grand Slams this season. Kvitova was shocked by Luksika Kumkhum in the first round of the Australian Open, lost in the third round of Roland Garros to Svetlana Kuznetsova, and then lost to Aleksandra Krunic in the third round of the U.S. Open. She rebounded in the fall, winning Wuhan and reaching the final in Beijing, but then lost to Agnieszkaa Radwanska and Caroline Wozniacki at the WTA Finals.
The 24-year-old Kvitova said that defeating Germany's Angelique Kerber to win the Fed Cup in nearly three hours made her season great overall. "It’s a great battle and the perfect match to end the season on a high," she said.
Kvitova is working with her fitness coach, Alex Stober, who worked with Li Na before she retired this year. Stober has worked on the ATP with Pete Sampras, Tommy Haas, Gustavo Kuerten, and Andre Agassi, among others.
"He has a lot of experience and he knows what to do. He arrived with a very specific plan to make me stronger and faster on court," the two-time Grand Slam champion said. "The exercises we are doing are very focused on tennis and on my game specifically so that I can play tennis the 'Petra' way.”