"A little connection there": Karolina Muchova sings Iga Swiatek's praises for her support during injury recovery ahead of potential US Open SF

Karolina Muchova recently expressed her admiration for Iga Swiatek, praising the World No. 1 for her support during her injury recovery. The Czech’s comments came after she secured a spot in the semifinals of the 2024 US Open.

Muchova enjoyed arguably her best season last year, reaching the final of the French Open and the semifinals at Flushing Meadows. However, in New York, she sustained a wrist injury that required surgery, sidelining her from tennis for 10 months.

The Czech made a comeback at the Eastbourne International in June and soon reached the final of the Palermo Ladies Open. Now, she has stormed into the semifinals of the US Open with a commanding 6-1, 6-4 victory over Brazil's Beatriz Haddad Maia on September 4. The World No. 52 has yet to drop a set in the tournament.

Iga Swiatek was one of the first to celebrate Karolina Muchova's return to the WTA Tour. The World No. 1 took to her X (formerly Twitter) account, saying she felt "good" to have her colleague back on the court.

"Good to have you back!" the Pole tweeted.

Muchova has now expressed her gratitude to Swiatek for supporting her through the difficult time. After her win over Haddad Maia, she told the media:

"She [Iga Swiatek] really supported me when I got the surgery. It's always nice to get that support, especially from her being World No. 1, I think, the best player that there is."

Muchova continued:

"We know each other since one of hers and one of my first WTA tournaments in Prague that we played first time that we met there, and then we played few matchups as well in the COVID in Prague, and then we practiced last year in Warsaw I came to, so I would say a little connection there, and we always had great practices, it's very intense."

"It's nice. Yeah, I mean, she's World No. 1. It's always challenge to play her, to practice with her. They're a nice team. That's just cool," she added.

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Karolina Muchova will face Iga Swiatek or Jessica Pegula in US Open 2024 SF

Iga Swiatek (L) and Karolina Muchova pictured at the 2023 French Open | Image Source: Getty

Karolina Muchova will face either Iga Swiatek or home favorite Jessica Pegula in the semifinals of the 2024 US Open on September 6. The Pole and the American are currently battling it out to see who will advance to the last four.

Swiatek leads Muchova 2-1 in head-to-head record. They first faced off in Prague in 2019, where the latter emerged victorious. The former won their subsequent encounters at the French Open and in Montreal in 2023.

Pegula and Muchova have met only once on the WTA Tour, with the American winning their match in the Round of 32 at the Cincinnati Open this year. They were scheduled to play each other in the quarterfinals of the Dubai Tennis Championships last year, but the Czech gave a walkover.