Tennis stars to compete in Prague for all-Czech coronavirus charity tournament

Petra Kvitová, Karolína Muchová, Jiří Veselý and other stars from the Czech tennis world – some of whom rate among the world’s top-ranked players – will take part in a series of charity tournaments under the banner of the Czech Tennis Association (ČTS) President’s Cup that kick off later this month.

The Plíšková sisters, Karolína and Kristýna, should also take part in the tournament if healthy, organizers have stated.

“We will use the proceeds from the players to mitigate the consequences of the pandemic in the Czech Republic,” organizer Ivo Kaderka stated in a press release.

The first of the tournaments will take place in just two weeks, from May 26 to 28 at the premises of TK Sparta Prague.

A total of eight men and eight women will take part in the opening event across two brackets.

After a day of training, eight quarterfinal matches will be broadcast on Tuesday, May 25 in morning and afternoon blocks at 10:00 and 14:00. Semifinals and finals will follow on Wednesday and Thursday.

In the men’s bracket, Jiří Veselý, Lukáš Rosol, Jonáš Forejtek, Zdeněk Kolář, Vít Kopřiva, Tomáš Macháč, Michael Vrbenský and Jiří Lehečka have all agreed to participate.

Petra Kvitová, Karolína Muchová, Barbora Strýcová, Barbora Krejčíková and Kateřina Siniaková should all feature in the women’s bracket, which will also include sisters Karolína and Kristýna Plíšková if healthy.

Veselý is currently #66 in ATP rankings, and the only Czech representative in the top ATP men’s top 100.

Czech women, meanwhile, feature heavily in 2020 world rankings.

Karolína Plíšková is currently #3 in WTA rankings; her twin sister Kristýna ranks 69th.

Kvitová, who has won two Wimbledon tournaments, is currently ranked 13. Muchová (26), Strýcová (32), Siniaková (54) are also among the top 100 in singles play, while Strýcová (2), Krejčíková (8), and Siniaková (9) rank among the top 10 in doubles.

“This series of competitive matches from the Czech Tennis Association is great, because the best quality sparring preparation will never replace a tournament match,” Kvitová said in a press release.

Further all-Czech tournaments organized by the Czech Tennis Association are planned to take place in June and beyond, in Prague and elsewhere in the Czech Republic.