"Good to have you back" - Iga Swiatek extends warm welcome to Karolina Muchova after Czech announces comeback from wrist injury
Karolina Muchova is about to return to the WTA Tour after a long injury hiatus. The Czech received a warm welcome back to action from her rival and peer, Iga Swiatek.
Karolina Muchova was in her best form before suffering a wrist injury in September 2023 following her campaign at the US Open. The 27-year-old has been on the sidelines since nursing back to full recovery and underwent surgery in February 2024 to fix a loose tendon in her right wrist.
The Czech went into rehabilitation after the procedure and has been cautious about avoiding her return to the court before a complete recovery. Now, nine months later, Muchova is finally set to return to the WTA Tour and will begin her season at the WTA 500 Eastbourne Open before heading into the Wimbledon Championships.
She is also eagerly looking forward to making her Olympics debut at the Paris 2024 and will soon decide to play a tournament before that to get valuable practice.
"At the end of this week, I’ll fly to Eastbourne with the team, where we’ll finally try to play some matches in preparation ahead of Wimbledon. After Wimbledon I’ll return back to the clay, maybe play a tournament, or straight to the Olympics," Muchova said in an interview to CANAL+ Sport CZ.
The Czech also shared the news of her comeback on social media to the delight of her fans, and World No. 1 Iga Swiatek was amongst the many who replied to it. The Pole was happy to see Muchova return to the WTA Tour.
"Good to have you back!" Swiatek tweeted.
Karolina Muchova falls out of top 30 on WTA Ranking due to 9-month hiatus
Karolina Muchova was ranked World No. 8 in September 2023, when she stepped back from the tour due to her injury. She had risen to that ranking after a remarkable couple of months on the WTA Tour. Muchova reached her maiden Grand Slam final at the 2023 French Open and was close to winning the title. However, she was bettered by Iga Swiatek in the title contest.
Then, at the 2023 Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, Muchova stood out on the court again and reached her maiden WTA 1000 final. This time, the Czech was defeated by home favorite Coco Gauff. She continued her excellent form at the US Open and reached the semifinals.
Karolina Muchova dropped significant points after failing to defend any points in the first half of the 2024 WTA Tour and found herself ranked 34th in the world. However, she remained inside the top 50 thanks to her performances during the North American swing last year.