Insider Wrap: Serena surges back into action, Kvitova boosts her year

The Insider Wrap is a recap of everything you need to know from the week that was. This week, we look back at the Rothesay International in Eastbourne and the Bad Homburg Open presented by Engel & Voelkers.

Performance of the Week: Petra Kvitova

Kvitova had not posted optimal results in 2022 coming into the Rothesay International. The former World No.2 had not reached a semifinal this year and her season's win-loss record sat at 10-13 at the start of the week.

But in Eastbourne, an event on grass she had somehow not yet won (she is a two-time champion on the lawns of both Wimbledon and Birmingham), the Czech rekindled her magic. Kvitova charged through the field to win the 29th WTA singles title of her career.

Kvitova saved her best for last in Eastbourne. After squeaking past homeland hope Katie Boulter in the Round of 16, Kvitova served brilliantly from the quarterfinals on, facing a total of just seven break points in her last three matches -- and saving them all.

"I’m always trying to serve well; sometimes it’s working more, sometimes it’s not," Kvitova said after her semifinal. "Today I didn’t have a weak game, so it was nice to have for sure, especially at the end of the match when it’s always tough to close it out."

Surprise of the Week: Team Onsrena

The surprise, of course, was that Serena Williams jumped back into the fray after almost a year off the tour. It was less than two weeks ago that Williams announced she would return to Wimbledon, preceding that event with doubles play alongside Ons Jabeur in Eastbourne.

The news rocked us all, but now it feels like she never left. Williams and Jabeur made an entertaining and formidable doubles team, reaching the semifinals before Jabeur stopped their run out of an abundance of caution for a knee injury.

It took 23-time Grand Slam singles champion Williams a set to fully get back into the groove, but after that, the 40-year-old superstar demonstrated that she was ready to take on all comers. Bring on Wimbledon.

Key play: "Got it," 14-time Grand Slam doubles champion Williams called out. Indeed, she does.

Honor Roll

Caroline Garcia: The former World No.4 started the week with a 2022 win-loss record of 9-11, but she, too, rediscovered grass-court mojo, winning her eighth career title in Bad Homburg. Garcia, who saved a match point against compatriot Alizé Cornet in the semifinals, is 3-0 in grass-court finals in her career.

Bianca Andreescu: Another former World No.4, Andreescu fell in a close final to Garcia, but it was still the 2019 US Open champion's first final in over a year. Among her wins was a straight-set dismissal of No.1 seed Daria Kasatkina in the quarterfinals.

Sabine Lisicki: After missing the entirety of last year post-knee surgery, 2013 Wimbledon runner-up Lisicki had the best week of her comeback. The German made the quarterfinals on home soil in Bad Homburg before falling to eventual champion Garcia.

Harriet Dart: The 25-year-old Brit reached her first WTA 250 quarterfinal in Nottingham two weeks ago and backed it up with a run to her first WTA 500 quarterfinal in Eastbourne. Dart is now up to a career-high ranking of World No.94.

Jodie Burrage and Katie Boulter: It was a brilliant British week in Eastbourne. In just her second match against a Top 50 player, Burrage shocked World No.4 Paula Badosa, while Boulter also notched a Top 10 win over last year's Wimbledon finalist Karolina Pliskova.

Notable Numbers

3: Three players have saved match points en route to winning a title this year: Jelena Ostapenko in Dubai, Leylah Fernandez in Monterrey, and Garcia in Bad Homburg.

Photos: Great Escapes 2022: Winning from match point down

12: Beatriz Haddad Maia extended her winning streak to 12 straight victories before she was beaten by Kvitova in the Eastbourne semifinals. That is the most consecutive wins on grass since Serena Williams won 20 straight matches on the surface between 2015 and 2018.

8: Kvitova has reached eight grass-court semifinals in her career. Among active players, only her fellow Wimbledon champions Serena Williams (13), Angelique Kerber (11) and Venus Williams (10) have more grass-court semifinal showings.

9: Jabeur and Williams saved all nine of the break points they faced in their Eastbourne quarterfinal victory over Shuko Aoyama and Chan Hao-ching. Four of the nine were erased by Williams aces.

Here comes Wimbledon: Your one-stop shop below as the third major of the year gets underway:

• Draws, dates, prize money and everything you need to know
• Draw analysis: Serena looms for Pliskova, Gauff; Swiatek ready
• Seed report: The numbers behind Swiatek's streak and the top seeds
• 'It surprised everyone' - Players react to Serena's return
• Hontama, Chwalinska lead list of Grand Slam debuts