Vit Kopriva, a 28-year-old tennis player from Fulnek, Czechia, will compete in the biggest tennis-only stadium in the world on Tuesday when he faces defending champion Jannik Sinner. Kopriva’s journey to the tournament is impressive, coming from a small town with less than 6,000 people.
Interestingly, Kopriva has connections to another famous tennis player, Petra Kvitova, who played her final match on Monday at Flushing Meadows. Kvitova’s father and brother coached Kopriva when he was growing up in Fulnek.
“It’s still in the family,” Kvitova said about competing against Kopriva. “We were literally growing up 200 meters from each other.” The two players have different playing styles, but it will be fun to watch them compete.
Kopriva drew inspiration from his countrymen, such as Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek, who led the Czech Republic to Davis Cup glory in 2012 and 2013. He also admires Kvitova’s achievements.
My breakthrough came in 2021 when I reached the semi-finals of the Gstaad ATP 250 event,” Kopriva said. “It was my first upset win, it was huge for myself.”
Kopriva will face a tough challenge against Sinner, who is ranked World No. 1. However, he knows that giving his best effort is the only way to succeed.
Source: https://www.atptour.com/en/news/kopriva-us-open-2025-feature