Kvitová knife attacker gets eight-year sentence

The Regional Court in Brno has sentenced Radim Žondra to eight years in jail for a brutal knife attack on the Czech tennis star Petra Kvitová. The 33-year-old was found guilty of grievous bodily harm and unlawful entry over the incident, which occurred at Kvitová’s home in December 2016.

Presiding judge Dagmar Bordovská said that the two-time Wimbledon winner’s testimony had proven crucial in the case. Earlier in the trial Kvitová had told the court that Žondra, who claimed to be a boiler inspector, had held a knife to her throat. When the 29-year-old grabbed the weapon, the blade cut into her left hand, leaving her with career-threatening injuries that required major surgery.

Kvitová, who fell in the world rankings in the wake of the attack, is currently taking part in the Miami Open, where she is in with a chance of becoming women’s number one for the first time in her career.

Author: Ian Willoughby