Marketa Vondrousova calls out former No. 1 Karolina Pliskova for doubting her injury

Saturday, 25 October 2025 at 12:37

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byErik Virostko

Marketa Vondrousova was unhappy about how former WTA world No. 1 Karolina Pliskova spoke about her injury, calling out her Billie Jean King Cup teammate.

The Czech tennis has thrived in recent years. Karolina Pliskova was the world No. 1 player in 2017, Barbora Krejcikova is a two-time singles Grand Slam champion, and Marketa Vondrousova won a major title as well. On top of that, Katerina Siniakova is arguably one of the greatest doubles players of this generation.

Despite the great success of Czech tennis, there seems to be trouble in paradise. Many Czech players have struggled with injuries throughout the years. Pliskova, for example, has spent more than a year away from the courts after getting injured at last year's US Open.

Vondrousova and Karolina Muchova are two players who don't seem to be able to stop struggling with injuries in their careers, and coincidentally, those two players met twice in a row during this year's Asian swing.

Vondrousova and Muchova were first drawn against each other in the first round of the Ningbo Open, with Muchova winning that match 6-4, 6-3, and they then clashed in the first round of the Japan Open in Tokyo as well.

Muchova was up 6-2 and 1-0 before Vondrousova retired from the match, something that drew criticism from their Billie Jean King Cup teammate, Karolina Pliskova. During her time away from the courts, Pliskova started her own podcast, and during a recent episode, she criticized Vondrousova for her retirement, saying she could have finished the match.

"I saw both of Karolina Muchova's and Marketa Vondrousova's matches that were played in recent days. It's never nice to play against the same opponent twice in a row. You simply don't want that. They both train at Stvanice, they're friends. It was especially unpleasant for Marketa."

"She's now lost to Karolina in Tokyo, Ningbo, and even a big match in Indian Wells. Today, for me, Marketa had absolutely no chance, I give Karolína Muchova credit, she played excellently."

"And again, off topic: Sorry, but I think it could have been finished today. For me, it's similar to Tomas Machac in Shanghai. Maybe Marketa was hurt, but I think that Marketa saw that she had no chance and gave up the match for this reason. I'll probably get another round of criticism, but give it to me."

Vondrousova obviously saw Pliskova's comments. She shared them on her Instagram story, calling out the former world No. 1, saying that Pliskova should understand that sometimes it's impossible for a tennis player to continue, considering she herself spent more than a year away from the courts.

"Anyone who has ever played with an injury knows that sometimes you just can't go on. I'm doubly aware of this after shoulder surgery. I don't understand why someone who should understand it the most is questioning this."

For both, the 2025 season is over. They will now attempt to rest and recover to start the 2026 season in peak form, and maybe even with their dispute settled.