Heartbreak for Karolina Muchova, withdraws from maiden WTA Finals due to injury as Maria Sakkari plays for third straight year

Karolina Muchova has had injury rear its head again and will not play this year's WTA Finals, she has confirmed on Tuesday morning.

Muchova has had a battle with a wrist injury for sometime which she has been trying to resolve and has not played since losing the US Open semi-finals to Coco Gauff.

In qualifying for Cancun, there was always doubts swelling around her, compatriot Marketa Vondrousova and Ons Jabeur, all of whom have suffered with injury problems.

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It is Muchova though who will not play and instead has been replaced by Maria Sakkari, who brought herself back into contention by winning Guadalajara and reaching the latter stages of multiple tournaments after a period of torrid form.

She plays for a third straight year and banked on this opportunity by not playing the WTA Elite Trophy. Madison Keys who was the second alternate did not do the same and is playing in Zhuhai.

This ends Muchova's best year to date on a sour note with the 27-year-old reaching the final of Roland Garros and the semi-finals at Flushing Meadows in a career revival that saw her establish herself among the WTA elite. But injury again has been a thorn in her side.

"I am heartbroken to announce that I will miss my first WTA Finals in Cancun. Together with the team and doctors, we tried everything till the last moments to resolve my wrist injury," she wrote in a statement.

"Unfortunately, the time needed for the recovery is longer than we would've hoped for and therefore I had to make this unpleasant decision. I greatly appreciate the support of all the fans. I will do my best to be back in 2024 and get another chance to be part of the WTA Finals."