On April 27, 1993, a plane crashed near Libreville, the capital of Gabon. That plane takes the Zambian team to Dakar to play against Senegal for the World Cup Qualifiers in the United States. On that day of the year where many things happened – from Cartoon Network’s first broadcast in Latin America to Colombia’s unstoppable 5-0 defeat to the Coco Basile National Team – a story began to be written worthy- must say and that end. The story of Kveta Peschke.

On April 27, three days before the brutal attack that Monica Seles suffered and was shocked at tennis, a 17-year-old girl named Kveta Hrdlickova. In her debut, in the brick dust of Taranto, Italy, she defeated Finnish Nanne Tenhovuori, who was 23 years old then, 7-5 and 6-3. That was the first game of a 29-season career that ended on Thursday. The teenager became a 46 -year -old woman. She is no longer Hrdlickova, but Peschke, who has adopted the surname of her husband and coach, Torsten, whom she married in 2003 in Berlin, one of her places in the world.

Peschke’s long and successful adventure ended in defeat in the doubles tournament played in Charleston, in the southern United States, on a green clay that was gradually visible on the professional circuit. There she lost a double 6-3 in a bout for the round of 16. She played as a couple with Slovakian Tereza Mihaikova, just 23 years old. Their winners were the Belarusian Aliaksandra Sasnovich (28) and the Kazakh Anna Danilina (26).

left a career as long as incredible, which included a Grand Slam title when she won the 2011 Wimbledon doubles tournament with Katarina Srebotnik. In Slovenian, he put together a successful partnership that between 2010 and 2012 reached 20 finals, of which they won 9. During that time, in 2011 he won the Fed Cup with the Czech Republic, the Davis Cup women’s and she’s the best doubles player on the circuit.

Peschke – although in reality she is still Hrdlickova – began competing on the ITF circuit in 1991. In 1993 she played her first two WTA tournaments with professionals from around the net. Taranto, on the shores of the Ionian Sea, where she shared a draw with Argentines María José Gaidano and Inés Gorrochategui and fell in the second round against Dutch Brenda Schultz, and six months later in Budapest, where she lost in the first round with Zina Garrison, the American who at the time, was on the verge of 30 years old, was among the best on the circuit.

From there it never stopped. As of Thursday, the day of the break and the emotions were overflowing, he had won a total of 37 trophies (1 in singles and 36 in doubles). Between his first and last title there was a difference of 23 years. He won the singles tournament in Makarska, in 1998, when he first made it into the top 100. And he celebrated for the last time last year when he won the doubles tournament in Chicago in a pair with Andrea Petkovic of Germany. Amazing.

As a single player, as you can see, it costs him more. Among his hits at the Grand Slams, where he reached a record of 18-26, was the round of 16 at Wimbledon in 2005. He did not exceed the third round in Australia (2000) and at Roland Garros (1999 and 2000). and until coming to the US Open was the second round (1998 and 2000). His best ranking was reached in October 2005 when he became 26th in the world.

In 2005, back in doubles, she established herself with Argentine Gisela Dulko in Tier II (Premier 5) after defeating Spanish couple Conchita Martínez and Virginia Ruano. Later, the Tigress, along with Italian Flavia Pennetta, won the finals in Stuttgart, Montreal and the 2010 Tour Championship.

With two surgeries on his left knee – the first in 2003 – the Czech’s goal has always been the same: to have fun with tennis. And he seems to have done.

When the rankings began, it was led by German Steffi Graf and Argentine Gabriela Sabatini as one of the cheerleaders – she started season 93 as third on the planet and finished it with no titles, but fifth. Now, after 29 seasons, the number one in the world is Iga Swiatek. Pole was born on May 31, 2001. Peschke, at the time, had been playing rackets at the highest level in eight years.

Now away from endless plane rides, airports and contests, Peschke will have time to watch over and over again the films of Christopher Reeve, his favorite actor, or his beloved musicals like Mamma Mia. They said, in his bio that was read on the official site of the WTA circuit, he loves happy endings. And Kveta seems to be close to one of those fairy tales. Instead of just wand there is a racket. And strange stories.