Petra Kvitova defeated Venus Williams 7–6, 7–5 in the first round of the Yarra Valley Classic, a WTA 250 event on hard court in Melbourne on 2 February 2021. As the clear pre-match favourite at 1.25 odds, Kvitova delivered as expected against Williams, who entered at 4.33. The Czech player secured both sets in competitive fashion, taking the opening set to a tie-break before closing out the second with a break of serve. The result underscored Kvitova's early-season sharpness on the Australian hard courts ahead of the Australian Open fortnight.