Finally the light at the end of the dark tunnel. Ten months after her last appearance in an official match, Karolina Muchova has finally tasted the court again, at the WTA in Eastbourne. A return to professional life that lasted a very long time, from the second half of 2023 and the serious injury and problems with her right wrist that led her to live a nightmare. Nightmare, which did not allow her to repeat last year’s extraordinary results. In fact, in 2023 the 27-year-old had reached eighth place in the ranking, thanks to the final reached in Paris and the semi-finals at the US Open.
Karolina Muchova© Sarah Stier / Staff Getty Images Sport
Now the rebirth, in Eastbourne, in a match she lasted only 19 minutes against Elina Avanesyan, before the Russian tennis player withdrew due to an injury to her left thigh. But at least the Czech tennis player was able to savor the joy of hitting the playing fields again. But before her return to the court on English grass, Muchova had made some statements to the WTA Insider Podcast, talking about how exhausting this recovery period has been for her from an injury that has left her no respite. A problem that began to appear after the US Open and which forced her to have surgery in February.
“At the beginning obviously I was a little, well maybe even more than a little, frustrated. After such a good season I felt great on the pitch and I wanted to continue, but then I realized that I had to stop and solve the problem. When I learned that I would have to undergo surgery and that I would have to stay still for a long time, longer than I had anticipated, I tried, and I think I did well, to accept it and focus on the next steps and what I could do,” she told.
Karolina Muchova© Elsa / Staff Getty Images Sport
“It’s been a while and I know that it’s difficult to go back to playing at the top straight away. I certainly can’t expect to have the level of last year. Of course, I’d like to, but I think I’ll need a few games and a bit of time to find the rhythm again. But now that I’ve trained for a few days with the others I’ve seen that it wasn’t that bad: I was able to keep up, it’s not like I’d forgotten everything. I hope to get back to playing good tennis soon and to be able to have my say at the top again,” she explained.
The Czech tennis player has come to think that she will never be able to return to the court.
“When I managed to get my hand out of the cast I still couldn’t move it. It was crazy. At that moment I thought: ‘Okay, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to hold a racket. I don’t know if I’ll even be able to hold a fork and eat. Because the hand was really weak. It might sound a bit cliché, but I’m actually happy just to be able to play and be back on the court, for the crowd and for the game. I’m very competitive, so I can’t wait to feel the adrenaline again,” added Muchova. Now, her career can finally start again.
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