Petra Kvitova has explained her decision to stop working with longtime coach David Kotyza, saying she wants to turn around her stagnating play.
"I felt I needed some new input into my game,” she told the press in Dubai. “It’s not like we’re not talking anymore. David and I are still good friends, but he’s not my coach anymore … I feel I am not improving, and that is why I made this change."
Kvitova has stuttered recently. She’s won just one match this season and has seen her ranking fall to No. 8 following a year affected by mononucleosis and motivation problems.
The Czech, a two-time Grand Slam champion, will not initially look for a new coach to provide a turnaround. She’s decided to play on her own for a while.
"Now I don’t have a coach, I’m just by myself,” she said. “I’m enjoying this change and I hope it will help my game ... I just feel this step is important for me to find out what I want, what I need to do, and how I can play well again.”
So far, she's enjoying it.
“I feel more free,” she said. “In practice, in matches, every decision now is about me. I am learning a lot about myself as a player. It is a lot of responsibility, of course. It is my job and my game, so everything is on me."
Kvitova took a wild card into the WTA event in Dubai.