Petra Kvitova will make her comeback at the French Open only five months after suffering serious injuries when she was the victim of a knife attack in her apartment.
The two-time Wimbledon champion was left with what her surgeon, Dr Radek Kebrle, described as "horrific" injuries to her left hand when an intruder attacked her last December.
Kvitova recovered ahead of schedule and has been cleared to return at Roland Garros in a first-round match against Julia Boserup next week.
The 27-year-old Czech's career was in doubt after the incident in Prostejov, but Dr Kebrle's "Miracle Plan" has enabled her to get back to the highest level.
"The injury was horrific. The chances of Petra's hand healing well enough for her to be able to play tennis again were very low for multiple reasons." Kebrle said.
Kvitova's parents, Jiri and Pavla, plus her brothers, Jiri and Libor, will be in her box to watch the 15th seed face American outsider Boserup.
Jiri Vanek, Kvitova's coach, said: "I have to say that I'm happy I could help Petra in this tricky situation. It was really tough for all of us, but Petra stayed strong.
"The first few months were the worst because we didn't know how the hand would respond to work, but we were positive.
"When we couldn't do anything with the hand David (Vydra, fitness coach) did a lot of work on her fitness. When she was able to hold something, we started to hold glasses, soft balls, just gripping them.
"Then we started to hold the racket, from the beginning it was just for one minute and then we started to build up the time.
"We played with very soft balls from the net and then tried to move further and further back, closer to the baseline.
"Before she could grip the racket we played with her right hand, we also played other sports like table tennis and badminton with her right hand.
"Then we started with backhands because the forehand was too difficult, [the] serve too. I was surprised by how well she responded and how motivated she was to come back.
"Her motivation was huge and although it was a tough experience, Petra was always inspired by the challenge of playing again."
