{"id":116411,"date":"2025-09-03T09:44:09","date_gmt":"2025-09-03T09:44:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/116411\/"},"modified":"2025-09-03T09:44:09","modified_gmt":"2025-09-03T09:44:09","slug":"karolina-muchovas-beautiful-tennis-at-the-u-s-open-and-her-injury-journey-to-get-back-there","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/116411\/","title":{"rendered":"Karol\u00edna Muchov\u00e1\u2019s beautiful tennis at the U.S. Open and her injury journey to get back there"},"content":{"rendered":"

FLUSHING, N.Y. \u2014 What would an injury-free Karol\u00edna Muchov\u00e1<\/a> achieve in tennis?<\/p>\n

Sporting counterfactuals like this one can be unsatisfying, but in the case of the 29-year-old Czech, it goes beyond titles and results and into wider tennis stardom. Muchov\u00e1 is one of the most natural volleyers and shotmakers in the women\u2019s game; she grew up idolizing Roger Federer and has been compared to Ashleigh Barty.<\/p>\n

But injuries have been cruel to Muchov\u00e1. Her most recent wrist surgery, in February 2024, kept her out for nine months; she couldn\u2019t hit two-handed backhands for a few months of her return to tennis earlier this year.<\/p>\n

And yet here she is, regenerating once again, taking on Naomi Osaka<\/a> Wednesday night to try and reach a third straight U.S. Open<\/a> semifinal.<\/p>\n

Muchov\u00e1, 29, the No. 11 seed, is a player\u2019s player, and someone who leaves the purists purring. \u201cShe\u2019s always been one of the most talented tennis players out there, and physically she moves really well, and she\u2019s very strong,\u201d Osaka said in a news conference Monday. \u201cSo it\u2019s going to be a really tough challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Muchov\u00e1 returned to tennis last June after that nine-month layoff, Iga \u015awi\u0105tek<\/a> posted on X: \u201cGood to have you back!\u201d \u015awi\u0105tek had beaten Muchov\u00e1 in the Czech\u2019s only Grand Slam final the previous year, a three-set thriller at the French Open.<\/p>\n

Her peers revere here, but talk to legends of the game and Muchov\u00e1\u2019s name comes up unprompted. During an interview last year, Justine Henin<\/a>, the seven-time Grand Slam champion and a beautiful technician, singled Muchov\u00e1 out as a player she liked to watch. Martina Navratilova, the 18-time Grand Slam singles champion who was born and raised in the Czech Republic, said in a phone interview: \u201cWhen she\u2019s on, she can play with anybody, as she\u2019s shown with some of her Grand Slam results. An amazing game when it\u2019s on, and she\u2019s healthy. She\u2019s better than top 10, she\u2019s top-five and if she\u2019s healthy she should win a major, she\u2019s that good.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to disagree. Muchov\u00e1 volleys, lobs and can hit crazy trickshots, like one from behind her back against Katie Volynets at the U.S. Open last year. She overran a smash, but stuck a racket out and redirected a lob over her opponent.<\/p>\n

Or the tweener lob winner against Clara Tauson at the Dubai Tennis Championships in February, that won Muchov\u00e1 the WTA shot of the month.<\/p>\n

Tweener-Lob Winner \ud83d\udea8<\/p>\n

The shot of the month winner for February is\u2026. @karomuchova7<\/a>!<\/p>\n

Presented by @CorpayFX<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/EAXMAZAKAp<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 wta (@WTA) March 11, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

At this year\u2019s U.S. Open, Muchov\u00e1 came up with another early contender for shot of the tournament, chasing down a volley against Sorana C\u00eerstea and flicking a single-handed backhand winner crosscourt.<\/p>\n

Karolina Muchova.<\/p>\n

Tennismo \ud83d\udd25 pic.twitter.com\/p6dls9iEwd<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 28, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

Hitting these kind of shots is important to Muchov\u00e1. \u201cI\u2019d like to have a shot that is unique,\u201d she said in an interview at the Australian Open in January. \u201cThat would be cool.\u201d But the thing that sets her apart is how she does everything else, too. She changes tempo like a jazz musician, mixing syncopated crackerjack groundstrokes with long rallies. Her movement is a study in finesse; her forehand in brutality.<\/p>\n

But what Muchov\u00e1 really wants is to stay fit. The special talent whose body won\u2019t play ball is a potent story, whatever the sport.<\/p>\n

Muchov\u00e1 suffered regular minor injuries as a junior due to a late growth spurt, and didn\u2019t play between August 2021 and March 2022 because of a wrist injury. By then, she had already reached two Wimbledon quarterfinals and an Australian Open semifinal, taking out the then world No. 1 Barty on home turf. Her French Open final, which \u015awi\u0105tek won 6-4 in the decider, came the following year. Muchov\u00e1 had beaten a rising Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals, saving a match point down 5-2 in the final set. Her record against top-five players at majors is 5-1.<\/p>\n

Those results, paired with her ability, have made the Czech something of a cult hero in the sport, a delight to watch and a what-if to discuss until the sun goes down. Muchov\u00e1 herself is stoic. After beating Marta Kostyuk to reach the quarterfinals Monday, she said of her recent wrist surgery: \u201cI mean, it was not my first injury, so been there and done that.\u201d<\/p>\n

This injury though was particularly brutal. It prevented her from hitting through her backhand, just like former U.S. Open champion Juan Martin del Potro, twho reached the final here despite only hitting slices on his backhand in 2018. The pair exchanged messages last year.<\/p>\n

At this year\u2019s Wimbledon, Muchov\u00e1 could only hit slices. In an interview after losing in the first round to Wang Xinyu, she said: \u201cI felt it\u2019s not that difficult, but then when I need that shot, when someone approached the net and I need to play fast and I cannot, then I\u2019m like, \u2018S\u2014, I need it now.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Muchov\u00e1 had also lost her voice, and despite her trying to remain upbeat, it was a very tough time for her and her team.<\/p>\n

After only playing one match during the clay-court season, being able to play at all was a blessing. And with the pain in her wrist easing, she\u2019s been able to hit double-handed backhands again during the American hard-court swing. Not always, and not always without pain, but she\u2019s getting there.<\/p>\n

Muchov\u00e1 has said throughout her run in New York that she needs to build her wrist back up slowly, but the length and drama of her matches have put it under maximum pressure. All four of her matches have been three-setters, the most recent three all lasting around three hours, and none of the players left in the draw have spent longer on court than her.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Karol\u00edna Muchov\u00e1 in full flight is one of the greatest sights in tennis. (Susan Mullane \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Muchov\u00e1 also had to deal with an ex-boyfriend who she said \u201csometimes shows up at places where he shouldn\u2019t\u201d being in her eyeline during the win over C\u00eerstea. A tearful Muchov\u00e1 was visibly upset, and later confirmed that he did eventually leave. She said she wasn\u2019t thinking about it by her third-round match against Linda Noskov\u00e1, which she won despite losing a first set she absolutely should have won.<\/p>\n

Her period of rehabilitation has brought change in other fields. Muchov\u00e1 recently split with Emil Miske, who had coached her for five years in two spells. She then hired Vaclav Shafranek, a former player who she met by chance playing padel at the club in Prague where they are both members. Muchov\u00e1 asked him what he was up to these days, and things went from there, all the way to the quarterfinal against Osaka. After each long match, it has felt as if Muchov\u00e1 will not be able to keep up physically, but every time she has done it. That factor tips things in Osaka\u2019s favor, in a matchup that suits Muchov\u00e1 otherwise, as demonstrated in her win over Osaka last year.<\/p>\n

Whoever she plays, Muchov\u00e1 tries to bring her variety to bear. \u201cIt\u2019s who I am and how I like to play, what fills me up on the court,\u201d she said in a phone interview last year. \u201cIt\u2019s just me. I wouldn\u2019t like to play any other way \u2014 even though sometimes it\u2019s too much.\u201d<\/p>\n

In January, she said that she was serve-volleying and hitting drop shots as early as age 10. Not because she had watched videos of anyone doing it, but because it felt natural. As she got older, she watched more of Federer and loved what she saw.<\/p>\n

\u201cRoger was the inspiration. All of his shots. I really, really liked. How he looked so elegant. So I tried to copy some of his shots for sure. I just like to have fun on the court.\u201d<\/p>\n

She even tried to serve like him, before her coaches said she\u2019d have more power if she kept her legs together in a pinpoint stance rather than Federer\u2019s platform one.. At the U.S. Open last year, Muchov\u00e1 employed Federer\u2019s chip and charge SABR (sneak attack by Roger) tactic to very good effect against Jasmine Paolini in the fourth round.<\/p>\n

Karolina Muchova with the SABR! \ud83e\udd3a pic.twitter.com\/RiEAh3Whct<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 2, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n

When Barty came along, Muchov\u00e1 had another idol: \u201cI was really looking up to her. Her game was amazing, and it\u2019s a shame she\u2019s not playing. Her game I think it\u2019s very similar to mine \u2014 a lot of slices.\u201d Barty retired at 25 in 2022, while she was still world No. 1.<\/p>\n

Muchov\u00e1\u2019s volley game is another point of difference from the rest of the tour. The way she gets low and moves towards the ball are the moves of someone who actually knows how to volley, rather than finding themselves at the net and hoping for the best. Miske used to show her clips of players like Pat Rafter and Stefan Edberg volleying, as he felt she always learned best when watching something. His hope was that she would volley more in the future.<\/p>\n

Miske, who described Muchov\u00e1 as a quick learner, saw almost instant evolution. \u201cMost players need one or two weeks, or one month to improve, say, their forehand,\u201d he said in a phone interview last year. \u201cKarolina is two practice sessions and the timing, everything is absolutely in shape.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s as good as Barty at the net if not better,\u201d said Navratilova, one of the finest in the history of the sport. \u201cI think her technique is better. Amazing technique and feel, and really good feel for when to move forward and attack. She has all the shots so whatever strategy you give her she can implement it. Most men and women don\u2019t have that. A slice that most players would dream about and of course the touch, and can win from the baseline, from the net. She plays old school tennis.\u201d<\/p>\n

Miske added that Muchov\u00e1 has \u201cfour or five different variants of slice\u201d and that \u201cevery practice there\u2019s a shot where you go, \u2018Wow.\u2019\u201d She would always work on developing her variety, and Miske hoped she would develop the Rafael Nadal-esque skyhook overhead.<\/p>\n

Muchov\u00e1 showcased that shot and her her full spectrum of ability at last year\u2019s U.S. Open, never more so than in her semifinal against Jessica Pegula. She dismantled the American, leading by a set and a break with a point for another. On that point, she made yet another foray to the net, but missed a rare volley long. Pegula recovered, found her rhythm and took Muchov\u00e1\u2019s away from her.<\/p>\n

She has suffered a few losses like that, and her tally of one WTA title \u2014 at the lowest-level of the tour \u2014 is an underachievement for someone with her talent, even taking into account her injuries.<\/p>\n

But in part thanks to those injuries, tennis is not everything to her. Muchov\u00e1\u2019s brother is a professional footballer, as was her dad, and as a goalkeeper he would take out a young Karol\u00edna to take shots at him. She also played sports like handball, gymnastics, ice hockey and even ice skating, and attributes her athleticism to having a grounding in so many sports.<\/p>\n

She is also a player with a hinterland, like music, which provides her with another creative outlet. She plays the acoustic guitar and has a good singing voice, as demonstrated by clips she\u2019s posted of herself on social media.<\/p>\n

she\u2019s so talented like\u2014 https:\/\/t.co\/vVuI2eyP0F<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/HUfQlhnzXN<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Ryan (@Some1NamedRyan) June 26, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n

While sidelined after wrist surgery last year, when for two months she was in a cast and initially couldn\u2019t get out of bed or brush her teeth, she went to a lot of concerts and festivals \u2014 seeing English rock band Nothing But Thieves was a highlight. She\u2019s also interested in fashion, and enjoyed the photoshoots for the new Adidas Y-3 range this year. A couple of years ago she did a photoshoot for Czech Vogue.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday night all that will matter is her quarterfinal against Osaka, a player she practiced with ahead of the tournament. Osaka is relieved to be playing her at this stage of the event rather than the second round like last year. \u201cIt\u2019s funny I was hitting with Muchov\u00e1 the other day and I was like thank God I don\u2019t have to play you in the first or the second round and she was laughing about it too,\u201d she said last week.<\/p>\n

Where this latest comeback will take Muchov\u00e1 is uncertain, but she is determined to enjoy it while it lasts.<\/p>\n

(Top photo: Robert Prange \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n