Marketa Vondrousova has not played a match since the 2024 Wimbledon Championships due to an injury, and the Czech will be off the court for a considerable period after undergoing surgery for the issue.
More than 12 months have passed since Vondrousova's memorable run to the title at Wimbledon. Despite being the 2019 French Open runner-up and an Olympic silver medalist, she was not among the favorites for the title.
The Czech confounded expectations by making the final at SW19 before overcoming Ons Jabeur 4-6, 4-6 to secure the title. Although the Tunisian did not produce her best tennis, Vondrousova played a smart and solid match.
She was undoubtedly excited to return to Centre Court this year. The 25-year-old started as the heavy favorite in her opening-round contest against Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, who had little experience playing on grass.
Unfortunately for Vondrousova and her fans, she made consistent unforced errors during a straight-sets loss to her Spanish opponent and never looked like herself throughout the match.
Vondrousova has not competed since that defeat. She withdrew from this year's Olympics last month. That was a tough moment for her since she won her silver medal at the previous iteration of the games three years ago.
The former world No. 6 also had to withdraw from the US Open due to her injury. Vondrousova reached the quarterfinal at Flushing Meadows last year, playing some excellent tennis during her time in New York.
She has now revealed the extent of her shoulder injury, announcing in an Instagram post that she had surgery for the problem. Luckily, the surgery was successful, and the Wimbledon winner will start her rehab soon.
"Hey guys. i’ve been struggling with shoulder pain for a few months now and there was no other option but to go for surgery. everything went well and i’ll start rehab soon. see you back on the court happy and healthy."
Vondrousova sounds positive in her post. She may have been considering whether to get surgery for a while, and it might be a relief to get it over and done with.
The Czech is undoubtedly happy that the surgery was a success. Although she would have weighed up the risks involved beforehand, there is always a tiny chance of something going wrong. Thankfully, that did not happen to her.
Although Vondrousova did not give an estimated recovery time, fans will not see her on the court again for some time. Surgeries and subsequent rehab are not quick processes, and Vondrousova needs to make sure she avoids a recurrence of the injury.
Other Czech players will hope to step up and star at the US Open in Vondrousova's place. Karolina Muchova reached the semifinal at Flushing Meadows last year, but she recently returned from a long injury, meaning another deep run might be challenging.
This year's Wimbledon champion, Barbora Krejcikova, is another woman capable of filling the void. The 2021 French Open winner has only failed to win one of the hard-court Grand Slams in singles. She has an opportunity to change that at the US Open.
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