Muchova to miss Australian Open with recurring wrist problem

The 2023 Roland Garros finalist will miss the first Grand Slam of 2024.

World No.8 Karolina Muchova announced Thursday that she is delaying the start to her season due to a recurring wrist problem, and as a result, will miss next month’s Australian Open.

“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,” she wrote in an Instagram post that confirmed she won’t play. “I therefore have to postpone the start of the season and fully heal my wrist first.”

Muchova was also entered in the WTA 500 Adelaide International, which begins on Jan. 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 was forced to end her breakout 2023 season early as a result of a wrist injury.

After reaching the semifinals of the US Open, where she lost to eventual champion Coco Gauff, she withdrew from events in Tokyo and Beijing, as well as the GNP Seguros WTA Finals Cancun — having qualified for the year-end event for the first time. Despite her shortened year, she finished at a career-high ranking of No.8, which she reached after her exploits in New York.

The 27-year-old will be missing from the field in Melbourne for the second time in the last three years. She reached the semifinals of the Australian Open in 2021, upsetting then-World No.1 Ashleigh Barty en route, but also skipped the tournament in 2022 due to injury.