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Please don’t feel sorry for yourself.
At least not after reading this.
Yes, you know how the rest of this goes. There is always someone who has it far worse off than you.
The challenge for many of us though is that our minds tend to focus on those who not only have it better than us, but specifically those who live much better than we do.
It’s human nature.
The most telling thing about the stunning Czech Goddess Petra Kvitova is that she clearly is much better off than most women.
No make that far better off than most women.
Not only is she extremely young and beautiful, she has substantial wealth and fame. Having said that, if you envy her, you can’t stop there. It’s not fair.
In one particular way she has it worse off than most women.
If you haven’t already heard of Ms. Kvitova, it’s time to meet her.
Petra Kvitová is a Czech professional tennis player.
Known for her powerful left-handed groundstrokes and variety, Ms. Kvitová turned professional in 2006 and has won 20 career singles titles which includes two Grand Slam titles at the Wimbledon Championships, in 2011 and 2014.
She is also an Olympic medalist, capturing the bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Petra reached her career-high ranking of world No. 2 on October 31, 2011 and as of December 11, 2017, is ranked world No. 29 by the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA).
Our blonde stunner was born in Bílovec, Moravian-Silesian Region, Czech Republic.
An incredibly talented beauty, it’s understandable that this Czech luminary is in high demand in even higher places.
Petra endorses Nike apparel and footwear. She currently uses the Wilson Pro Staff 97 racquet, a similar version to Roger Federer‘s. She is represented by IMG, following a signed agreement in August 2014. Her other sponsors include UniCredit Bank and ?eská pošta, a Czech postal service operator.
In addition, Right To Play, a global organization which focuses on using sports and games to educate and empower children facing adversity, named Kvitová as its Global Athlete Ambassador in January 2015.
Three months later, it was announced that Petra had signed a multi-year contract with Beverly Hills-based watchmaker, Ritmo Mundo. In June 2016, Czech jewelry manufacturer ALO Diamonds entered Kvitová’s list of endorsements after both parties signed a one-year deal.
Well, as you can see, the glass is not only half full, it fully runneth over with liquid green.
Better off than most women. Absolutely.
Wouldn’t you like to visit her website and peer into her thoughts? Sure you would and so would we.
At her captivating site petrakvitova.net she shares, “Petra Kvitova joins the WTA Insider Podcast to discuss her 2017 Karen Krantzcke Sportsmanship Award.
The Karen Krantzcke Sportsmanship Award is awarded to the player who conducts herself in a manner fitting of a professional sports figure and observes the rules of fair play, shows respect for others and is gracious on and off the court. The award has been voted on by players since 1978. Kvitova has won it in six of the last seven years.”
Can you believe that? Six out of seven years is amazing.
As of this December 14, 2017 writing, Petra will be heading to Aussie land to compete in the 2018 Australian Open.
She smiles, “Leaving the 26th of December and playing Brisbane. I will be with my family for two days for Christmas and then I will leave on the 26th.
But I have to say, I’m looking forward to it. I love Australia. The people, the weather, everything. For me, it’s like tennis plus the bonus of the Australia.”
Why is it impressive and inspiring that she is competing in the 2018 Australian Open?
Now it’s time to speak about the glass being half empty, and as you continue with us, you could see why someone might see it that way and feel sorry for themselves.
Now for the contrast.
When it comes to Petra, this is what’s so inspiring about her.
The glass is never half empty.
A frightening event occurred in Petra’s life that has permanent ramifications.
As reported on December 20, 2016 by the New York Times, “Petra Kvitova, a two-time Wimbledon singles champion, was attacked by a man with a knife on Tuesday morning in her apartment in Prostejov, Czech Republic, sustaining severe injuries to her left hand.
An unknown assailant entered her apartment to rob it under the guise of checking a utility meter. A struggle in a bathroom led to a knife being placed against Kvitova’s throat. She was able to fight free, but not before sustaining deep cuts to the fingers of her left hand.”
Very terrifying and extremely sad.
It’s a very grisly reminder of the past.
After the great legend Monica Seles was stabbed courtside in Germany sports.yahoo.com reported, “On April 30, 1993, then-world No. 1 Monica Seles was playing Magdalena Maleeva in the Citizen Cup, an undistinguished event in Germany. Seles was up 4-3 in the second set after having won the first, and appeared to be within minutes of taking the match and moving onward.
And then, during the changeover, the entire world of tennis changed in an instant. Gunter Parche, an unemployed 38-year-old, leaned over and stabbed at Seles with a nine-inch blade. Parche later admitted an obsession with Steffi Graf, Seles’ rival, and sought to end the rivalry himself.”
We felt great sympathy for sweet Monica. She was only 19 and thoroughly dominating the women’s tennis tour including Germany’s Steffi Graf.
That stabbing cost her two years away from the tour.
When she came back, she was never the same player again. It wasn’t fair. Those of us who loved the game suffered not as much, but alongside Monica.
In terms of her rivalry with Steffi, we knew the tennis world lost something very special.
So how would Petra react to this horrific incident?
The above cited New York Times article continues, “Karel Tejkal, a spokesman for the Czech Fed Cup team, characterized the attack as “a random criminal act. The end of her career did not even cross her mind,” Tejkal said in an interview on Czech television. “She kept saying, ‘Let them put me together fast, no matter if it takes months or years.’ She is looking forward to training again.”
Good for her.
Very inspiring for us.
Will she ever get justice? Monica certainly didn’t. Her attacker never did jail time. It appears that Petra will not receive justice either.
Stating the unthinkable, on November 16, 2017, cnn.com announced, “Czech police have officially shelved their investigation into last year’s knife attack on two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, citing a lack of evidence.
Czech police told CNN at the time that they believed the assailant was “around 35 years old” and that the attack had occurred just before 0830 CET in her apartment near the center of Prostejov, a small city about 160 miles east of Prague.”
Very disappointing. It made us wonder, in general, who are the Czech police?
At the informative site policie.cz they explain, “The Police of the Czech Republic are an armed security force established by the National Council Act of June 21, 1991. The Police of the Czech Republic serve the public. The objective of the Police of the Czech Republic is to protect the security of people, property and public order, to prevent criminal offences, to meet tasks stipulated by the Code of Criminal Procedure, and to carry out other duties pertaining to internal order and security vested in the Police of the Czech Republic by laws, legal regulations of the European Communities and international agreements which are part of the legal framework of the Czech Republic.”
Okay, thanks for the education.
Their members were recruited from the former communist SNB (National Security Corps), after passing a vetting “democratic” commission established after the Velvet Revolution in 1989 to eliminate from the police force communist ideologues and agents of the secret police.
It’s no secret that Petra is responding well and determined to get back to the upper echelon of the women’s tennis world.
There is good news.
Though she is still unable to feel two of her fingers a full five months after the attack, she has since won the Birmingham Aegon Classic and risen to No. 29 in the WTA world rankings.
The industry site wtatennis.com lists her 2017 year to date prize money at $1,149,122.
Now that gives you something to cheer about and go shopping with.
We will all be rooting for her.
Petra’s life is a reminder that all situations are relative and transitional. Even when you are gorgeous and comfortably rich.
She is also an inspiration in how she continues to train, work hard and keep fighting. Her thinking permeates.
Don’t feel sorry for yourself.
No matter what your situation, someone always has it better and some have it worse. But in all of those situations, no matter what they might be?
With the proper outlook…….
The glass is always half full.
~ ~ ~
OPENING PHOTO photo via L’Occitane
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petra_Kvitov%C3%A1
http://www.wtatennis.com/players/player/314206/title/Petra-kvitova
http://www.cnn.com/2017/11/16/sport/petra-kvitova-investigation-ended/index.html
http://www.policie.cz/clanek/policie-cr-en-english-about-us.aspx
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Police_of_the_Czech_Republic
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_enforcement_in_the_Czech_Republic
https://www.ft.com/content/cbd24ce9-03b8-315b-9ee2-637e439e3ff4
