Petra Cetkovská (Czech pronunciation: [ˈpɛtra ˈtsɛtkofskaː]; born 8 February 1985) is a Czech retired tennis player. Having turned professional in 2000, she reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 25, on 18 June 2012. Over her career, Cetkovská defeated top-ten players Marion Bartoli, Elena Dementieva, Angelique Kerber, Li Na, Agnieszka Radwańska, Caroline Wozniacki, and Vera Zvonareva.
Cetkovská has been playing tennis since she was five. Her father Petr works at a pro shop in a local tennis club, while her mother Alena is a nurse. She has one younger brother, Matěj. Petra's father is of Macedonian origin.
When she was 14, Cetkovská was involved in an incident with a friend while playing sport when her friend had accidentally pushed her against a wall. Two years later, she had brain surgery due to the swelling caused by the incident. A year later, she had contracted glandular fever, further hampering her tennis career prospects and the third obstacle had come when she broke her foot playing the junior doubles final at the Australian Open.
Cetkovská speaks fluent French and English. She was involved in a relationship with ATP player Marcos Baghdatis when she was 19.
2000–2006: mainly on ITF tournaments
In 2000, Cetkovská played the first events on the ITF Circuit, winning one doubles title. The following year, she won two singles titles and one doubles title.
In 2002, when she competed in her first WTA Tour qualifying at Palermo, Cetkovská won two singles and two doubles titles on the ITF Circuit.
She won another singles title in 2003, and three ITF doubles titles in 2004. The following year, Cetkovská fell in WTA qualifying twice; but she won six singles titles and three doubles titles on the ITF Circuit. In 2006, she lost in Grand Slam qualifyings three times, at Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open; however, she won one singles title and three doubles titles on ITF events.
In 2007, she made a breakthrough in her WTA ranking. She won three ITF titles, and her first WTA doubles title with compatriot Andrea Hlaváčková at the Prague Open defeating Chinese pair Ji Chunmei/Sun Shengnan in the final.
As the 22nd seed in qualifying at the US Open, Cetkovská qualified for the main draw defeating Abigail Spears, Lucie Hradecká, and Anne Keothavong. She made her Grand-Slam debut beating American Jill Craybas in the first round but ended up losing in the second round to 14th seed Elena Dementieva.
Cetkovská ended the season ranked 99.
Cetkovská began her season by playing qualifying at the Hobart International where she lost in the second round to third seed Ashley Harkleroad. At the Australian Open, she was defeated in the first round by world No. 34, Anabel Medina Garrigues.
At the French Open, Cetkovská reached the fourth round, only to be beaten by eventual champion Ana Ivanovic without winning a game.
Cetkovská reached her first WTA Tour singles final at the New Haven Open, losing to world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki in straight sets.
Cetkovská began the season during the last week of January at the Open GdF Suez. She lost in the final round of qualifying to Anna-Lena Friedsam. The week of 10 February saw Cetkovská compete at the Qatar Open. As the 13th seed for qualifying, she advanced to the main draw defeating wildcard Michaela Hončová and Anastasia Rodionova. She had a good run reaching the quarterfinals beating 14th seed Sloane Stephens, Zhang Shuai, and top seed and world No. 3, Li Na. Cetkovská ended up losing in the quarterfinals to sixth seed and eventual finalist Angelique Kerber. She was only able to win one game during the match.
In March, Cetkovská traveled to Indian Wells, California to compete at the Indian Wells Masters. She was defeated in the first round by American wildcard Shelby Rogers. Next week, Cetkovská played at the Miami Masters where she lost in the final round of qualifying to 20th seed Estrella Cabeza Candela. After Miami, Cetkovská stayed in Florida and competed at the Oaks Club Challenger. As the seventh seed, she beat American Melanie Oudin in the first round. Her campaign at the tournament ended as she withdrew from her second-round match versus Kiki Bertens.
Cetkovská started off her clay-court season in Charleston at the Family Circle Cup. She won her first round match over American Varvara Lepchenko. She then lost in the second round to 13th seed Elena Vesnina. During the week of 21 April, Cetkovská competed at the Morocco Open in Marrakesh. She was defeated in the first round by third seed Yvonne Meusburger. Cetkovská qualified for the Madrid Open beating Monica Puig and Mona Barthel. In the main draw, she won her first-round match dispatching Stefanie Vögele. She suffered a three-set loss in the second round to 16th seed Sloane Stephens.
Cetkovská withdrew from the Australian Open due to a hip injury. Cetkovská returned from injury in March at the Indian Wells Open. She lost in the first round to American Christina McHale. At the Miami Open, Cetkovská was defeated in the first round by wildcard Paula Badosa Gibert.