Fresh blow for Karolina Muchova, withdraws from latest return at Qatar Open in Doha

Karolina Muchova will not return at the Qatar Open in Doha next week after all and will seemingly be a doubt for the rest of the Middle Eastern Swing heading into Indian Wells and Miami after withdrawing from the tournament.

Linda Noskova gains a spot in the main draw of the WTA 1000 as a result, with it being one Czech in, one Czech out so to speak. The Roland Garros finalist has struggled with injury since the US Open which is where she last played.

She reached the semi-finals during a breakout season which also saw her reach a major final in Paris and lost to eventual champion, Coco Gauff. But in a bid to kick on after the tournament, this fell flat with Muchova not able to play the Asian Swing like she wanted including Beijing and Guangzhou as a result. She was even pictured with Ons Jabeur and Marketa Vondrousova celebrating defeat for Maria Sakkari meaning she had qualified for the WTA Finals.

But she was soon the one who was out of Cancun with the WTA Finals not heralding a return either. She was recently spotted back training giving clinics albeit with a wrist brace on. But some hope was there that she would be back soon. Alas though, it seems the wait will have to go on towards defending her run at Roland Garros if Indian Wells and Miami fall by the wayside.