Karolina Muchova is set for another extended sabbatical from the WTA Tour: Last year's Roland Garros finalist, and US Open semifinalist, announced Tuesday that she recently underwent wrist surgery on an injury that's disrupted her career since she reached the penultimate round of the women's singles draw in New York last summer.
"Wrist upgrade: completed," world No. 10 Muchova posted on Instagram alongside a photo of herself in a hospital bed, with her right arm noticably bandaged. "Rehab challenge? Accepted.
"Following my injury at the US Open and an extensive rehabilitation phase, it turned out that a medical intervention was necessary. So here I am, tired and sad, but I know I'll be OK now.
"The surgery was successful and I’m gonna do all I can to see you on the court again soon."
The Czech's breakthrough 2023 season, where she reached not just her first major final, but also her first WTA 1000 final in Cincinnati, and broke the world's Top 10 for the first time, was cut short due to the injury, and she also missed 2024's first Grand Slam in Melbourne.
Muchova has, in fact, been sidelined since her 6-4, 7-5 loss to eventual champion Coco Gauff in New York last September.
The all-court shotmaker, who'll turn 28 in August, has been snake-bitten by long layoffs in the past. An abdominal injury first disrupted her 2021 season, after she reached her first major semifinal at the Australian Open, and it caused stops-and-starts for her that continued into the next year; in the spring of 2022, she then suffered an ankle injury at Roland Garros, roughly two months after coming back from what was a six-month hiatus.
At the end of last season, Muchova qualified for the season-ending WTA Finals for the first time, but she had to withdraw from the event in Cancun, Mexico due to her wrist injury. She still finished 2023 ranked at a career-high No. 8 in the WTA rankings, and is currently ranked No. 10.
