“At that moment, I'm like, 'OK, I don't think I'll ever hold a racquet,” Muchova reflects on injury setback

Karolina Muchova reflected on the injury that kept her sidelined for 9 months as she awaits her return at the WTA 500 Eastbourne Open. The 2023 French Open runner-up was eliminated in the semifinals of the last US Open by Coco Gauff and has been dealing with a wrist injury that has prevented her from returning to the Tour.

"It's been a while and I know it's tough to just jump on it and be back," Muchova said. "I can't expect myself to have the level that I had last year. I wish, but I think I'll need a few matches and some time to get on it again. But now practicing a few days with others, it was not so bad. I could keep up. It was not like I was losing everything.

"I hope I'll bring the good tennis again and that I can, yeah, make some mess at the top again," commented the 29-year-old Czech, who will debut on Tuesday in Eastbourne against Russian Elina Avanesyan.

"At the start, of course, I was a little bit -- well, maybe more than a little bit – frustrated. After such a great season, I felt great on the court. I wanted to follow up, but then there was the stop,” Muchova added. "Once I knew there's a surgery, there's some time ahead of me that I'll have off, I just tried to -- and I did well in that I think -- accept it and just focus on the steps ahead and what I could do."

The Czech tennis player recently acknowledged in the interview with WTA Insider that she even considered retiring when she realized the aftermath of the injury: "Once I was able to put my hand out of the wrap, I was still not moving with it," she said. "It was crazy. At that moment, I'm like, 'OK, I don't think I'll ever hold a racquet. I don't know if I'll ever hold a fork and eat.' It was really, really weak."

"That might sound a little bit like a cliche, but really just to be able to play and go on the court and the people and the match," Muchova said. "I'm very competitive. So I'm really looking forward to that adrenaline again."