"Frustrating" - Karolina Muchova withdraws from Australian Open 2024 due to injury resurgence

World No. 8 Karolina Muchova has withdrawn from the 2024 Australian Open due to an injury recurrence.

Muchova had one of the best seasons of her career in 2023, reaching a Major final at the French Open. However, her campaign was derailed when she injured her right wrist in the semifinals of the US Open in September.

The Czech subsequently withdrew from what would have been her maiden WTA Finals appearance due to the same injury issues. She was later replaced by World No. 9 Maria Sakkari.

Karolina Muchova had hoped to fully recover during the pre-season and make a strong comeback to the WTA Tour in 2024. However, she revealed in her latest Instagram post that she won't be able to compete in the Australian Open next year as her wrist pain resurfaced in the middle of her preparation.

"Hi fans & friends. This isn’t my favourite thing to share especially at the start of a new season, but unfortunately the pain in a wrist came back in the middle of my tennis preparation," Muchova wrote.

"I therefore have to postpone the start of the season and fully heal my wrist first. It’s frustrating but I have to keep positive, recover and get ready for the rest of the year. See you in 2025 @australianopen," she continued.

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A look into Karolina Muchova's Grand Slam performances in 2023

Karolina Muchova being presented the 2023 French Open runners-up trophy

Karolina Muchova had a forgettable run at the 2023 Australian Open, the year's first Grand Slam. She defeated Ukraine's Lesia Tsurenko with ease before losing in the next round to former tournament finalist Danielle Collins.

The highlight of the Czech's season came at the French Open, where she reached her maiden Grand Slam final but lost the trophy to Iga Swiatek. En route to the summit clash, Muchova beat the likes of Maria Sakkari, Nadia Podoroska, Irina-Camelia Begu, Elina Avanesyan, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and 2023 Melbourne Slam winner Aryna Sabalenka.

The 27-year-old's Wimbledon campaign was somewhat similar to her campaign in Australia earlier in the year, as she faced an opening round exit at the hands of Jule Niemeier. However, she didn't go down without a fight, stretching the match to three sets.

Karolina Muchova proved once again at the US Open that she was here to stay. She advanced to the semifinals by defeating Storm Hunter, Magdalena Frech, Taylor Townsend, Wang Xinyu and Sorana Cirstea before eventual champion Coco Gauff halted her title hunt at Flushing Meadows.