Karolina Muchova played Coco Gauff in Sunday's final of the 2024 China Open, and the Czech has understandably withdrawn from the WTA 1000 event in Wuhan.
It initially seemed like 2024 would be a year to forget for Muchova after she missed the opening five months of the season with a wrist injury. She was also absent for the final few months of 2023 with the same issue.
Muchova became a worldwide name last year due to her performances, most notably reaching the French Open final. She narrowly missed out on the title after losing a thrilling final to Iga Swiatek.
The 28-year-old also advanced to the US Open semifinal in 2023, falling in straight sets to eventual champion Gauff. Those achievements raised expectations for Muchova, who has one of the best games to watch in either men's or women's tennis.
Her results last year made the wrist injury that occurred immediately after the US Open very unfortunate. She was away from professional tennis for nine months in total, returning during the grass-court season.
After being understandably rusty in her first two tournaments back, Muchova made the final on clay at the Palermo Open in just her third event since returning. She lost the final in three sets to Qinwen Zheng.
Reaching the final of a WTA 250 tournament so soon after returning was impressive, but Muchova was still not among the favorites for a deep run at Flushing Meadows after being injured for so long.
However, Muchova exceeded expectations by progressing to the semifinal of the year's final Grand Slam, beating Naomi Osaka and Jasmine Paolini during her run to that stage. She almost made the final but lost to Jessica Pegula despite leading 1-6, 0-2 at one stage.
The disappointment of coming so close to reaching the US Open final did not impact Muchova at the China Open. She took the next step in Beijing by progressing to her second WTA 1000 final, getting revenge against Zheng in the semifinal.
Unfortunately for the Czech, she ran into an inspired opponent in the final in the Chinese capital. Gauff won her second WTA 1000 title by easily beating Muchova in straight sets after her best performance of the season.
Last year's French Open runner-up was scheduled to play two days after her defeat to Gauff because she would have been unseeded. Gauff, by contrast, does not play until Wednesday because she received a bye as one of the Top eight seeds in Wuhan.
Muchova made an announcement confirming her withdrawal from the Wuhan Open, saying she needed some time to recover after playing seven matches during her impressive run in Beijing.
"Hi everyone. Unfortunately, I won't be able to compete in Wuhan this year. After a tough schedule in Beijing, I need a bit more time to fully recover. Looking forward to seeing you all in Ningbo next week!"
The Czech's history of injury issues extends beyond her severe wrist problem that kept her out for nine months. That makes her decision to withdraw entirely understandable, and fans will look forward to watching her at the WTA 500 event in Ningbo.
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