PRAGUE - Petra Kvitova has returned from a month's break to play for defending champion Czech Republic in next week's Fed Cup semifinals against France.

The fourth-ranked Kvitova skipped the Miami Open and the BNP Paribas Open tournaments in Indian Wells to take a rest.

With Kvitova on the team, the Czechs claimed their third Fed Cup title in four years in November by beating Germany in the final in Prague.

Karolina Pliskova, Lucie Safarova and Barbora Strycova are also on the Czech team named Wednesday for the April 18-19 tie on an indoor hard court in the eastern city of Ostrava.

The Czechs have lost all three encounters against France since their country became an independent nation in 1993.