Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova returned to the tennis court on Tuesday, more than four months after her left hand was badly injured in a knife attack.

The 27-year-old Czech posted a picture of herself hitting a ball on a practice court in Monaco on her Facebook account.

"Hello guys, I hope this picture makes you as happy as it makes me!" wrote the Wimbledon champion from 2011 and 2014 and bronze medallist from the Rio Olympics.

"I am in Monaco and guess what? I'm back on the tennis court, hitting with some proper balls."

Kvitova suffered career-threatening injuries to her playing hand as she fought off a knife-wielding intruder at her home in the eastern Czech town of Prostejov in December.

Doctors said the Czech star, ranked 15 in the world, would not be able to return to competition before the second half of the year.

Kvitova's name was included last week on the entry list for the French Open, which runs from May 28 to June 11, but said that did not necessarily mean she would play in Paris.

source: AFP