(Rome) Barbora Strycova won her first match since her maternity leave on Tuesday after beating Maryna Zanevska 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 in the first round of the Rome tennis tournament.
The 37-year-old returned to the WTA Tour two weeks ago as part of the Madrid Open, after an absence of more than two years due to the birth of her son, Vincent. After knocking out Zanevska, Strycova hugged her one-year-old son and asked him to “hello daddy in the stands” in front of a TV camera.
In Madrid, Strycova lost in the first round of the singles tournament before reaching the quarter-finals of the doubles tournament with her playing partner Hsieh Su-wei.
Strycova, who faces ninth seed Maria Sakkari in the next round in Rome, plans to announce her retirement after the US Open later this year.
Elsewhere, on clay at Foro Italico, Anna Blinkova came from behind to defeat Mayar Sherif 2-6, 6-2, 6-3. Sherif had just made a name for himself by reaching the quarter-finals of the Madrid tournament.
Nuria Parrizas Dias also defeated Jule Niemeier 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.
On the other hand, Quebecer Leylah Annie Fernandez will begin her journey in the first round against the player from Belarus Aliaksandra Sasnovich a little later today.
On the men’s side, the headliners will undoubtedly be Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz. Quebecer Félix Auger-Aliassime will also be one to watch.
The men’s section will begin on Wednesday.
Just like in Madrid, Rome will be counting on an increased main draw of 96 players, both on the men’s and women’s side.
Strycova and Hsieh are also due to take part in the Roman doubles tournament, a competition they won in 2020.
