Karolina Muchova to miss Australian Open due to recurring wrist problem

MELBOURNE: The 2023 French Open finalist Karolina Muchova will miss the first Grand Slam of 2024 - Australian Open - due to a recurring wrist problem.

Muchova, the world's eighth-ranked player, has stated that she will miss the Australian Open next month owing to a reccurring wrist problem.

"This isn't my favorite 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. I therefore have to postpone the start of the season and fully heal my wrist first," Muchova wrote in an Instagram post that confirmed she won't play.

Muchova was also entered in the WTA 500 Adelaide International, which begins on January 8.

"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 added.

Muchova, the Czech No. 2, reached her first major final in Paris last spring, but her breakout 2023 season was cut short due to a wrist injury.

After reaching the US Open quarterfinals, where she lost to eventual champion Coco Gauff, she withdrew from events in Tokyo and Beijing, as well as the WTA Finals Cancun, where she had qualified for the first time. Despite the fact that her year was cut short, she finished with a career-high rating of No. 8, which she achieved after her exploits in New York.

For the second time in three years, the 27-year-old will be absent on the pitch in Melbourne. She advanced to the semifinals of the Australian Open in 2021, defeating then-World No.1 Ashleigh Barty on the way, but she missed the tournament in 2022 due to injury.