Preview: Wimbledon: Petra Kvitova vs. Emma Navarro - prediction, form, head-to-head

Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova enters her final Championships aiming to avoid a first-round exit to top-10 opponent Emma Navarro.    

The 35-year-old wildcard announced on June 19 that she would retire after this year's US Open, which means that the 2011 and 2014 champion's last match at SW19 could take place in Tuesday's contest against the American player.

Match preview

Having needed a wildcard to participate at this year’s Wimbledon, Kvitova subsequently revealed her intention to retire after the final major of 2025 in the United States.

Although the 35-year-old might have hoped for an easier draw, she must beat a top-10 player to avoid a first-round exit at SW19 for only the fifth time in her 16th appearance in the main draw.

The Championships hold a special significance for the retiring Czech player, who won the title in 2011 and 2014, but has not gone beyond the fourth round since her last victory, reaching the last 16 in 2019 and 2023.

Kvitova's 2023 run was the 31-time WTA champion's penultimate Grand Slam appearance before the birth of her son, Petr, after which she returned to the Majors at the French Open.

However, it was not surprising that the former world No. 2 lost in the opening round against Viktorija Golubic, despite winning the first set.

Kvitova enters her final Wimbledon on a three-match losing streak and with a season record of 1-6, highlighting the tough challenge ahead for the 31-time titlist on Tuesday.

While Navarro has had a mixed 2025, entering her third Wimbledon at 21-16 for the season, the world No. 10 is favoured to avoid an early exit to the former champion.

The two-time WTA titlist has recovered from a disappointing first-round loss to Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, whom she only managed to win one game against out of 13 and has reached the last eight at the Queen's Club Championships, last 16 in Berlin and quarter-finals in Bad Homburg.

Having progressed to the quarter-finals at Wimbledon in 2024, where she defeated Coco Gauff on the way, Navarro, who is 4-2 at SW19, aims to record her fifth Championships win at the expense of the two-time champion.

Following her disappointment at Roland Garros, which ended her streak of quarter-final runs at Grand Slams — she reached the quarters at Wimbledon and semi-finals at the US Open last year and the Australian Open in January — the 10th seed hopes to improve her 4-3 grass-court record in 2025 to beat the world No. 572.

Head To Head

Kvitova and Navarro face off for the first time on the women’s tour, with the eventual winner leading their head-to-head 1-0.    

Although the Czech star has a 64-71 record against top-10 opponents, she has not won one since securing her 64th against Caroline Garcia in Berlin two years ago, losing to Ons Jabeur at Wimbledon in her previous encounter with an elite opponent.  

We say: Navarro to win in three sets

On her final Wimbledon appearance, Kvitova is expected to take a set against 10th seed Navarro; however, the two-time champion, whose only victory in 2025 was against world No. 83 Irina Camelia Begu in Rome, has not demonstrated enough consistency to outlast most women on the tour.    

Therefore, the American player is favoured to beat the veteran and move on to a second-round clash against Veronika Kudermetova or Zhu Lin.  

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