Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova undergoes surgery after knife attack

She is also recovering from a stress fracture to her foot which has ruled her out of the Hopman Cup starting on January 1.

New Delhi: Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova has undergone surgery to her left hand that was badly cut by a knife-wielding burglar at her home in the eastern Czech town of Prostejov on Tuesday, her spokesman said.

"She is having a surgery on her left hand," spokesman Karel Tejkal told AFP, declining to elaborate.

Earlier on Tuesday, Tejkal said the burglary was a random crime as "nobody was going to attack or rob her as Petra Kvitova".

"I was attacked in my apartment by an individual with a knife," the 26-year-old Kvitova said on Facebook.

"In my attempt to defend myself, I was badly injured on my left hand," added the left-handed world number 11.

"I am shaken, but fortunate to be alive. The injury is severe.

"I trust the doctors and I believe it will all end well. Don`t worry about me," she added.

Local police spokesman Frantisek Korinek said the attack had occurred before 0730 GMT on Tuesday near the town centre and that the burglar was still at large.

The police have the burglar`s description, he told AFP but declined to confirm media reports that Kvitova had let the burglar in as he pretended to be a maintenance worker.

Meanwhile, support poured in from fellow tennis stars.

"So upset hearing the news about @Petra_Kvitova. Hands down one of the nicest people I`ve ever met. All my thoughts with her," tweeted world number eight Madison Keys.

"Just finding out about @Petra_Kvitova and the awful stabbing and injury to her hand - pulling for you Petra," added Czech-born former great Martina Navratilova.

The burglary adds a sombre ending to a rather lacklustre year for Kvitova, who slid from sixth in the world in January to 16th in August.

She sacked two coaches before winning the Wuhan Open in China in October after a 13-month title drought.

She added a victory at Zhuhai, China in November and was on the Czech Republic team that won the Fed Cup later that month, beating France for its fifth title in six years.

On December 1, Kvitova hired a new coach, Czech Jiri Vanek, who had led her Fed Cup teammate Karolina Pliskova to this year`s US Open final.

Bronze medallist from the Rio Olympics and Wimbledon champion in 2011 and 2014, Kvitova is also recovering from a stress fracture to her foot which has ruled her out of the Hopman Cup starting on January 1.

"The results of a scan have confirmed that my foot is healing but not as quickly as we would have liked," she said earlier on Tuesday.

Kvitova was hoping to start next year at Sydney on January 8 to warm up for the Australian Open the following week.